The longlist has been selected for the $35,000 Republic of Consciousness Prize, United States and Canada, honoring "the commitment of small presses to exceptional literary merit."
The longlist was selected by a jury of independent booksellers and small press enthusiasts: Luis Alberto Correa (White Whale Bookstore, Pittsburgh, Pa.), James Crossley (Leviathan Bookstore, St. Louis, Mo.), Lori Feathers, chair (Interabang Books, Dallas, Tex.), Rebekah Rine (Watermark Books & Cafe, Wichita, Kan.), Dorian Stuber (Hendrix College, Little Rock, Ark.), and Chris Via (Leaf by Leaf lit vlog, North Carolina).
A virtual party celebrating the longlist, with publishers, authors, and translators, will take place on Wednesday, February 19, at 6 p.m. Central. The shortlist of five books will be announced on February 27, and the winner on March 12.
Each press with a longlisted book will receive $2,000. Five shortlisted books will be given an additional $3,000 each, split equally between publisher and author, or publisher, author, and translator.
The longlist:
Like a Sky Inside by Jakuta Alikavazovic, translated by Daniel Levin Becker (Fern)
To & Fro by Leah Hager Cohen (Bellevue Literary Press)
Melvill by Rodrigo Fresán, translated by Will Vanderhyden (Open Letter)
Lesser Ruins by Mark Haber (Coffee House Press)
Tidal Lock by Lindsay Hill (McPherson & Company)
Overstaying by Ariane Koch, translated by Damion Searls (Dorothy, a publishing project)
The Case of Cem by Vera Mutafchieva, translated by Angela Rodel (Sandorf Passage)
Your Absence Is Darkness by Jón Kalman Stefánsson, translated by Philip Roughton (Biblioasis)
Gifted by Suzumi Suzuki, translated by Allison Markin Powell (Transit Books)
Lublin by Manya Wilkinson (And Other Stories)