We publish books that matter — narrative and literary nonfiction on important topics, and the best of local, international, and translated fiction.

Scribe is delighted to share that A System So Magnificent it is Blinding by Amanda Svensson (translated from the Swedish by Nichola Smalley) has been longlisted for the International Booker Prize this year.

This year, the International Booker judges are Uilleam Blacker, Parul Sehgal, Tan Twan Eng, and Frederick Studemann, chaired by Leïla Slimani. ‘When a set of adult triplets learn that one of them might have been switched in the hospital after their birth, each of them become convinced that they are the changeling. Amanda Svensson’s raucous, sprawling debut takes on the enigmas of our origins, riddles of human consciousness and animal cognition, doomsday cults, and the most bedeviling of mysteries — the minds and choices of our closest intimates,’ said the judges about the book. 

Describing the longlist overall, the judges stated that, ‘It celebrates the variety and diversity of literary production today, the different ways in which the novel can be viewed. We wanted to give the reader the chance to discover this and to find something that will move or disturb them. The list is also a celebration of the power of language and of authors who wanted to push formal enquiry as far as possible. We wanted to celebrate literary ambition, panache, originality and of course, through this, the talent of translators who have been able to convey all of this with great skill.’ 

Congratulations to Amanda and Nichola for their work on this brilliant book.