I'M SHOOK!!!! • I don’t think I’ve been this immensely surprised by an award longlist announcement. I have to celebrate the wins though. TOWN OF BABYLON!!!! What a moment. When I saw it on the list I literally screamed. So happy to see it here. Also Gayl Jones!!!! Finally!! I thought she should have been nominated last year for Palmares but this is great too. • I’m not going to lie but I’m very surprised. I still have my mouth open because of the snubs. I mean I thought Trust was going to win this award. To not see it here...I don’t know what to say lol 😂. Nightcrawling was another book I thought I would see on this list. Sad to not see it here. The Swimmers being snubbed is shocking to me as well. I’m just speechless. I don’t know how to feel. • Nevertheless, I will say that it’s always exciting to see an unexpected longlist. We get the privilege to enter these books with no expectations or hype around them so that’s nice. I’m always down to get introduced to some new shit. I’m looking forward to reading some of these titles. So far I’ve only read Maria, Maria. There’s some strong and experimental writing in that collection that I appreciated. • Other than that, if I’m being honest I’m not going to read the entire fiction longlist. I’m prioritizing the translated and poetry longlist instead. But I’m definitely going to read the four unread titles that I have with me. Anyway, what did you think about this longlist?!! Let me know all your thoughts down below 👀👀.