Books submitted for this year's prize, which is awarded to the best translator of a children's book, were from languages including Chinese, Icelandic and Yiddish.
With fellow poet Fleur Adcock, I've just finished reading 56 books submitted for a poetry translation prize, one of several to be awarded in London on Monday.
Blue Peter's communications chief Clare Rainsford said books submitted for the awards need to be broadly suitable across the programme's viewer age range of six to 12.
And then there's the cupboard at the Guardian/Observer offices where spare copies of all the books submitted for review are kept.
In some years, clear themes have emerged among the books submitted for the Orange prize; this year, the books spanned everything from Aztec emperors to alienated undertakers, and what was most exciting was the sweep, the scope, the ambition on show.
Griffith, who has led a call for more research into books submitted for literary prizes, and their subject matter, agreed, saying that the "more ideas about how to push back against the problem, the better".
"I am very glad my fellow judges have agreed unanimously to produce an official longlist for the first time ever," he said, "we hope the list will highlight the wide-ranging depth and quality of books submitted for this year's Booker". British publishers are allowed to submit two books to the committee for consideration.
He also highlighted that both 2012 and 2011's Clarke awards were won by female authors – Lauren Beukes for Zoo City, and Jane Rogers for The Testament of Jessie Lamb – and that of the 82 books submitted for the award, just 16 were written by women, and one by a woman and man team.
