Petina Gappah Appointed Judge For The 2022 International Booker Prize


Zimbabwean lawyer and writer, Petina Gappah was appointed one of the 5 member panel of judges for the 2022 International Booker Prize. 

The Booker Prizes exist to reward the finest in fiction, highlighting great books to readers. The International Booker Prize is awarded annually for a single book, translated into English and published in the UK or Ireland. The symmetrical relationship between the Booker Prize and the International Booker Prize ensures that the ‘Booker’ honours fiction on a global basis.

"I’m thrilled to be one of the judges of the 2022 International Booker Prize. I look forward to meeting this brilliant panel, to immersive and intensive reading and to what I love most about shared reading: talking and arguing about books!" said Petina Gappah in a statement

The panel is chaired by translator, Frank Wynne, and consists of: author and academic Merve Emre; writer and lawyer Petina Gappah; TV presenter, writer and actor Mel Giedroyc; and translator and author Jeremy Tiang. This is the first time a translator has chaired the panel


Petina Gappah is currently the Principal Legal Advisor to the Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area based in Accra, Ghana. As well as being an international trade lawyer, Petina is a novelist and playwright. She is the author of two novels – Out of Darkness, Shining Light and The Book of Memory – and two short story collections: Rotten Row and An Elegy for Easterly. Her work has been published in more than a dozen languages, including by The New Yorker and Der Spiegel. She is the recipient of the Chautauqua Prize, the McKitterick Prize, the Guardian First Book Award and Zimbabwe’s NAMA Award.

The International Booker Prize, with its focus on the importance of translation and the £50,000 prize split equally between author and translator, continues to build in global importance each year. This year, the shortlisted authors and translators will each receive £2,500, increased from £1,000 in previous years. The 2022 judging panel will be looking for the best work of translated fiction, selected from entries published in the UK or Ireland between 1 May 2021 and 30 April 2022.
Mungwadzi Godwin

twitterinstagramI like sharing positive stories about Zimbabweans at home and abroad. I also write articles on Personal Finance, Fashion, Music, and Tech. Let's connect!

Post a Comment (0)
Previous Post Next Post