Announcing the Women's World Cup of Literature!

Last summer, to coincide with the Real Life World Cup, we hosted the World Cup of Literature, an incredible competition featuring 32 books from 32 countries, and ending with Roberto Bolaño’s By Night in Chile (Chile) triumphing over Valeria Luiselli’s Faces in the Crowd (Mexico). It was glorious.

Since the Women’s World Cup is kicking off in Canada next week, it’s time to do this all over again. Except that this time, only living female authors are allowed to participate. (And, as much as possible, the books included were published within the last ten years.)

Before announcing the participating titles, I have to announce that we’re still looking for judges. And, unlike last year, we want at least two-thirds of the eighteen judges to be females. So, if you’re interested—as a judge you read two books, write up the result of that “match” complete with soccer-esque score, then chime in on the final—just email me at chad.post[at]rochester.edu. You’ll have to do this fast though. The competition launches next week . . .

Tomorrow (or later today) we’ll post the new graphics and bracket so that you can see the first round competitions and debate which book has the easiest path to the final four, but for now, here’s a listing of all the titles that we’re including. (These are alphabetical in order of the country each is representing.)

Australia: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

Brazil: Crow Blue by Adriana Lisboa, translated from the Portuguese by Alison Entrekin

Cameroon: Dark Heart of the Night by Léonora Miano, translated from the French by Tamsin Black

Canada: Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

China: The Last Lover by Can Xue, translated from the Chinese by Annelise Finegan Wasmoen

Colombia: Delirium by Laura Restrepo, translated from the Spanish by Natasha Wimmer

Costa Rica: Assault on Paradise by Tatiana Lobo, translated from the Spanish by Asa Zatz

Cote d’Ivoire: Queen Pokou by Veronique Tadjo, translated from the French by Amy Baram Reid

Ecuador: Beyond the Islands by Alicia Yánez Cossío, translated from the Spanish by Amalia Gladhart

England: Life after Life by Kate Atkinson

France: Apocalypse Baby by Virginie Despentes, translated from the French by Sîan Reynolds

Germany: The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine by Alina Bronsky, translated from the German by Tim Mohr

Japan: Revenge by Yoko Ogawa, translated from the Japanese by Stephen Snyder

Mexico: Texas: The Great Theft by Carmen Boullosa, translated from the Spanish by Samantha Schnee

Netherlands: The Ministry of Pain by Dubravka Ugresic, translated from the Croatian by Michael Henry Heim

New Zealand: The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton

Nigeria: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Norway: The Cold Song by Linn Ullmann, translated from the Norwegian by Barbara Haveland

South Korea: Nowhere to Be Found by Bae Suah, translated from the Korean by Sora Kim-Russell

Spain: The Happy City by Elvira Navarro, translated from the Spanish by Rosalind Harvey

Sweden: The Stranger by Camilla Läckberg, translated from the Swedish by Steven Murray

Switzerland: With the Animals by Noëlle Revas, translated from the French by W. Donald Wilson

Thailand: The Happiness of Kati by Ngarmpun (Jane) Vejjajiva, translated from the Thai by Prudence Borthwick

USA: Home by Toni Morrison