But maybe you’ve never heard of the Best Translated Book Award before! It’s one of the most interesting and diverse book awards out there. This year’s lists alone feature authors writing in sixteen different languages, from twenty-four different countries. And the presses! So many great presses. The majority are either independent or university presses. Are you looking for a book published by a small press for your Read Harder challenge? What about a book translated by a woman? This award is a great place to start! I’ve been a fan of the Best Translated Book Award for years and was thrilled to be chosen as a member for this year’s fiction jury. And I’m one of many past and present Book Riot contributors and staff to have been a judge (including contributor Tara Cheesman who is also a judge this year, Executive Editor Amanda Nelson, and contributor Rachel Cordasco). More than 500 titles were eligible and it was an incredible year for international literature—I’m wildly excited to share these lists with you!
Best Translated Book Award 2019 Longlist: Fiction
Congo Inc.: Bismarck’s Testament by In Koli Jean Bofane, translated from the French by Marjolijn de Jager(Democratic Republic of Congo, Indiana University Press) The Hospital by Ahmed Bouanani, translated from the French by Lara Vergnaud (Morocco, New Directions) A Dead Rose by Aurora Cáceres, translated from the Spanish by Laura Kanost (Peru, Stockcero) Love in the New Millennium by Xue Can, translated from the Chinese by Annelise Finegan Wasmoen (China, Yale University Press) Slave Old Man by Patrick Chamoiseau, translated from the French by Linda Coverdale (Martinique, New Press) Wedding Worries by Stig Dagerman, translated from the Swedish by Paul Norlen and Lo Dagerman (Sweden, David Godine) Pretty Things by Virginie Despentes, translated from the French by Emma Ramadan, (France, Feminist Press) Disoriental by Negar Djavadi, translated from the French by Tina Kover (Iran, Europa Editions) Dézafi by Frankétienne, translated from the French by Asselin Charles (published by Haiti, University of Virginia Press) Bottom of the Sky by Rodrigo Fresán, translated from the Spanish by Will Vanderhyden (Argentina, Open Letter) Bride and Groom by Alisa Ganieva, translated from the Russian by Carol Apollonio (Russia, Deep Vellum) People in the Room by Norah Lange, translated from the Spanish by Charlotte Whittle (Argentina, And Other Stories) Comemadre by Roque Larraquy, translated from the Spanish by Heather Cleary (Argentina, Coffee House) Moon Brow by Shahriar Mandanipour, translated from the Persian by Khalili Sara (Iran, Restless Books) Bricks and Mortar by Clemens Meyer, translated from the German by Katy Derbyshire (Germany, Fitzcarraldo Editions) Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, translated from the Japanese by Ginny Tapley Takemori (Japan, Grove) After the Winter by Guadalupe Nettel, translated from the Spanish by Rosalind Harvey (Mexico, Coffee House) Transparent City by Ondjaki, translated from the Portuguese by Stephen Henighan (Angola, Biblioasis) Lion Cross Point by Masatsugo Ono, translated from the Japanese by Angus Turvill (Japan, Two Lines Press) The Governesses by Anne Serre, translated from the French by Mark Hutchinson (France, New Directions) Öræfï: The Wasteland by Ófeigur Sigurðsson, translated from the Icelandic by Lytton Smith (Iceland, Deep Vellum) Codex 1962 by Sjón, translated from the Icelandic by Victoria Cribb (Iceland, FSG) Flights by Olga Tokarczuk, translated from the Polish by Jennifer Croft (Poland, Riverhead) Fox by Dubravka Ugresic, translated from the Croatian by Ellen Elias-Bursac and David Williams (Croatia, Open Letter) Seventeen by Hideo Yokoyama, translated from the Japanese by Louise Heal Kawai (Japan, FSG) This year’s fiction jury is made up of: Pierce Alquist (Book Riot), Caitlin L. Baker (Island Books), Kasia Bartoszyńska (Monmouth College), Tara Cheesman (freelance book critic), George Carroll (litintranslation.com), Adam Hetherington (reader), Keaton Patterson (Brazos Bookstore), Sofia Samatar (writer), Ely Watson (A Room of One’s Own).
Best Translated Book Award 2019 Longlist: Poetry
The Future Has an Appointment with the Dawn by Tenella Boni, translated from the French by Todd Fredson(Cote D’Ivoire, University of Nebraska) Dying in a Mother Tongue by Roja Chamankar, translated from the Persian by Blake Atwood (Iran, University of Texas) Moss & Silver by Jure Detela, translated from the Slovenian by Raymond Miller and Tatjana Jamnik (Slovenia, Ugly Duckling) Of Death. Minimal Odes by Hilda Hilst, translated from the Portuguese by Laura Cesarco Eglin (Brazil, co-im-press) Autobiography of Death by Kim Hysesoon, translated from the Korean by Don Mee Choi (Korea, New Directions) Negative Space by Luljeta Lleshanaku, translated from the Albanian by Ani Gjika (Albania, New Directions) Scardanelli by Frederike Mayrocker, translated from the German by Jonathan Larson (Austria, Song Cave) the easiness and the loneliness by Asta Olivia Nordenhof, translated from the Danish by Susanna Nied(Denmark, Open Letter) Nioque of the Early-Spring by Francis Ponge, translated from the French by Jonathan Larson (France, Song Cave) Architecture of a Dispersed Life by Pable de Rokha, translated from the Spanish by Urayoán Noel (Chile, Shearsman Books) The poetry jury includes: Jarrod Annis (Greenlight Bookstore), Katrine Øgaard Jensen (EuropeNow), Tess Lewis (writer and translator), Aditi Machado (poet and translator), and Laura Marris (writer and translator). For more information, visit the official Best Translated Book Award site and follow the award on Twitter. Over the next month, leading up to the announcement of the shortlists, Three Percent will be featuring a different title each day as part of the “Why This Book Should Win” series.
