Bora Chung’s ‘Cursed Bunny’ longlisted for US National Book Award

The English edition of Bora Chung’s short story collection “Cursed Bunny” has been longlisted in the translated literature category for the 2023 National Book Award in the US.

Among the 10 nominations announced on this year's long list, "Cursed Bunny" stands as the sole work originating from Asia. Finalists are to be announced on Oct. 3, with the final winner selection coming on Nov. 15.

The English edition of “Cursed Bunny” was translated by Anton Hur and published by Algonquin Publishing, an imprint of Hachette Publishing Group, in the US. The UK edition was also previously shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2022.

In its announcement, the National Book Award said, "Bora Chung blends genre and form to tackle the very real horrors of big tech, capitalism and the patriarchy."

It also said: "The ten stories in 'Cursed Bunny' dive headfirst into the surreal -- a pregnant woman is forced to identify the father of her unborn child or face unspeakable consequences, another woman’s bodily waste comes back to haunt her, and in another story a cursed lamp brings misfortune to anyone who touches it."

The National Book Award, presented by the National Book Foundation, is widely regarded as the most prestigious literary accolade in the United States. It recognizes outstanding works in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, translated literature and young people’s literature.

Among Korean literature, Cho Nam-ju’s novel “Kim Ji-young, Born 1982” (translated by Jamie Chang) and Kim Bo-young's short story collection “On the Origin of Species and Other Stories” (translated by Joungmin Lee Comfort) also were previously longlisted in the translated literature category.