Gabriela Cabezón Cámara longlisted

Gabriela Cabezón Cámara’s *We Are Green and Trembling*, translated from Spanish by Robin Myers, is one of 13 books named to the 2026 International Booker Prize longlist, according to the Booker Prize Foundation. The selection places the Argentine writer back in the Booker conversation after her earlier novel *The Adventures of China Iron* was shortlisted for the prize. The book had already won the 2025 National Book Award for Translated Literature in the United States, according to the National Book Foundation. A May 21 essay in *The Massachusetts Review* drew fresh attention to that run of recognition and to the novel’s treatment of colonial history. ### Which book made the longlist, and who is behind it? *We Are Green and Trembling* was written by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara and translated by Robin Myers, whom the Booker site lists among the 2026 longlisted translators. The Booker Prize Foundation describes the novel as a work of fiction translated from Spanish and included it in its March announcement of the 2026 longlist. On its author page, the foundation says Cabezón Cámara was born in Buenos Aires and is one of the leading figures in Argentine literature. (thebookerprizes.com) Robin Myers is also separately identified by the Booker site as the translator of *We Are Green and Trembling*. The foundation says her recent translations include the Cabezón Cámara novel alongside books by Cristina Rivera Garza and Andrés Neuman. ### What is the novel about? The Booker judges said *We Are Green and Trembling* reworks colonial history through the 17th-century figure Antonio de Erauso, who writes from the South American jungle after fleeing imperial authority. (thebookerprizes.com) The judges’ notes say Antonio cares for two Indigenous girls he has freed from enslavement while becoming both witness to and participant in the violence of conquest. (thebookerprizes.com) The National Book Foundation’s description is similar. It says the novel is based on the real-life figure Antonio de Erauso, who was raised in a Basque convent and fled to the New World during the Spanish conquest, and that the book examines gender identity, religion and colonial violence. ### How significant is this longlist spot? The Booker Prize Foundation said the 2026 longlist was chosen from 128 titles translated into English and published in the United Kingdom and/or Ireland between May 1, 2025 and April 30, 2026. (thebookerprizes.com) Chair of judges Natasha Brown said the list captured the “calibre and variety of translated fiction,” according to the foundation’s press release. (nationalbook.org) Gabriela Cabezón Cámara is not new to the prize. The Booker author page says *The Adventures of China Iron* was previously shortlisted for the International Booker Prize and the Médicis prize. ### What had happened before this Booker recognition? The National Book Foundation said in November 2025 that *We Are Green and Trembling* won the National Book Award for Translated Literature. (thebookerprizes.com) The foundation’s winners page lists Cabezón Cámara as the author and Robin Myers as translator. A May 21, 2026 essay published by *The Massachusetts Review* linked that U.S. award to the newer Booker recognition, presenting the novel as part of a broader discussion about translation and colonial afterlives. (thebookerprizes.com) The magazine’s piece focused on the book one day before this report was prepared. ### What happens next in the prize calendar? The Booker Prize Foundation said the 2026 International Booker shortlist of six books was scheduled to be announced on Tuesday, March 31, with the winner due at a ceremony at Tate Modern in London on Tuesday, May 19. (nationalbook.org) The foundation’s longlist explainer says the prize is awarded to the author and translator, with the £50,000 prize money divided equally between them. (thebookerprizes.com) (massreview.org)