Danish novel translated by Scot longlisted for 2025 International Booker Prize

Solvej Balle’s novel was translated by Scot Barbara J Haveland

A Danish novel translated into English by a Scot has been longlisted for a prestigious international literary award.

On the Calculation of Volume I by Solvej Balle, translated by Barbara J Haveland, is one of 13 books in the running for the International Booker Prize.

The book, which was originally self-published in Denmark by Ms Balle and became a word-of-mouth phenomenon, is part of a septology, which sees the protagonist stuck in the same day. The first three volumes were snapped up in a six-way auction by Faber in the UK.

Ms Haveland, a Scottish literary translator based in Copenhagen, translates fiction, poetry and drama from Danish and Norwegian to English. If the book were to win, she would scoop a £25,000 prize.

Former bookseller Ms Haveland has translated works by Danish and Norwegian writers, both classic and contemporary, including Henrik Ibsen, Peter Høeg, Linn Ullmann and Carl Frode Tiller.

Described by the judges as a “profound meditation on love, connectedness and what it means to exist”, the novel is published by Faber.

Also on the list is the original French edition of Gaëlle Bélem’s coming-of-age novel There’s a Monster Behind the Door and Solenoid – a surreal account of history, philosophy and mathematics described by the New York Times as “an instant classic of literary body horror” written by Romanian author Mircea Cărtărescu. It is the first time a book in the Romanian language has made the longlist.

Barbara J Haveland is the Scotland-born translator of the book. | Faber

Max Porter, chair of judges for the International Booker Prize 2025, said: “Translated fiction is not an elite or rarefied cultural space requiring expert knowledge; it is the exact opposite. It is stories of every conceivable kind from everywhere, for everyone. It is a miraculous way in which we might meet one another in all our strangeness and sameness, and defy the borders erected between us.

‘As we searched for our longlist amongst the 154 books submitted, we marvelled at what the world was thinking. How are people making sense of these times using the novel as a vehicle for thought and feeling? And how are translators taking these books and – in English – making them sing or scream? The books on our unconventional longlist provide a wildly energising and surprising range of answers. We hope they will exhilarate and engage a worldwide community of readers.”

Mr Porter added: “In these books, people are sharing strategies for survival. They are cheating, lying, joking and innovating. Some people are no longer of this earth, or they are sending visions from the future or from parallel universes. These books bring us into the agony of family, workplace or nation-state politics, the near-spiritual secrecy of friendship, the inner architecture of erotic feeling, the banality of capitalism and the agitations of faith.”

The shortlist for the International Booker Prize will be announced on April 8. Each shortlisted title will be awarded a prize of £5,000 - £2,500 for the author and £2,500 for the translator. The overall winning book, which will be revealed at a ceremony at Tate Modern in London on May 20, will involve £25,000 being presented to the author and £25,000 to the translator.