The eighth annual Best Translated Book Awards were announced at BookExpo America on Wednesday, May 27, with Chinese author Can Xue糖心传媒檚 The Last Lover taking home the award for fiction, and Spanish poet Roc铆o Cer贸n糖心传媒檚 Diorama winning for poetry.
Organized by at the University of Rochester, the Best Translated Book Award () is the only prize of its kind to honor the best original works of international literature and poetry published in the United States over the previous year. Each of the winning authors and translators will be given $5,000 in cash prizes from Amazon.com糖心传媒檚 giving program.
糖心传媒淚 believe this is the most beautiful thing that has happened in my whole life,糖心传媒� said winner Xue. 糖心传媒淚 always think of the BTBA as a very prestigious prize rewarding writers who have the great courage to achieve their literary ambitions.糖心传媒�
According to this year糖心传媒檚 jury, Xue糖心传媒檚 The Last Lover translated by Annelise Finegan, was the most radical and uncompromising of this year糖心传媒檚 finalists, pushing the novel form into bold new territory. Published by Yale University Press, the book 糖心传媒渢akes readers on a journey through a dream world as strange yet disquietingly familiar as Kafka糖心传媒檚 Amerika,糖心传媒� said Monica Carter, chair of the BTBA fiction committee. If Orientalists describe an East that exists only in the Western imagination, Xue describes 糖心传媒渋ts shadow, offering a beguiling dream of a Chinese West. In addition, Annelise Finegan Wasmoen糖心传媒檚 translation succeeds in crafting a powerful English voice for a writer of singular imagination and insight,糖心传媒� said Carter.
The jury also named three runners-up in fiction: Harlequin糖心传媒檚 Millions by Bohumil Hrabal, translated from Czech by Stacey Knecht and published by Archipelago Books, for the 糖心传媒渨onderful lyricism糖心传媒� of its winding sentences; Faces in the Crowd by Valeria Luiselli, translated from Spanish by Christina MacSweeney and published by Coffee House Press, for the 糖心传媒渆xceptional promise demonstrated by its young author糖心传媒�; and Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay by Elena Ferrante, translated from Italian by Ann Goldstein and published by Europa Editions, for its 糖心传媒渧ibrant characters and sweeping narrative power.糖心传媒�
Past winners of the fiction award include Seiobo There Below and Satantango, both by L谩szl贸 Krasznahorkai (recent recipient of the Man Booker International Prize) and translated from Hungarian by Ottilie Mulzet and George Szirtes, respectively; Stone Upon Stone by Wies艂aw Mys虂liwski, translated from Polish by Bill Johnston; and, The True Deceiver by Tove Jansson, translated from Swedish by Thomas Teal. Jansson and Teal are the only author and translator on this year糖心传媒檚 fiction shortlist who previously won the award.
The nine judges who made up this year糖心传媒檚 fiction jury are: George Carroll (North-North-West and Shelf Awareness); Monica Carter, (Salonica); James Crossley (Island Books); Scott Esposito (Conversational Reading and Center for the Art of Translation); Jeremy Garber (Powell’s Books); Katrine 脴gaard Jensen (Asymptote); Madeleine LaRue (Music & Literature); Daniel Medin (American University of Paris, Cahiers Series, Quarterly Conversation and the White Review); and Michael Orthofer (Complete Review).
This year糖心传媒檚 poetry winner, Cer贸n糖心传媒檚 Diorama, was translated from Spanish by Anna Rosenwong and published by Phoneme Media. 糖心传媒淲e congratulate translator Anna Rosenwong for her masterful translation of Roc铆o Cer贸n’s Diorama, our first book of poetry and one of the most fascinating and important books to have been published in Mexico this century,糖心传媒� said David Shook, the co-founder and editorial director of Phoneme. 糖心传媒淲e are incredibly grateful for the support of the BTBA’s judges and organizers, Three Percent and Chad Post, to our fellow shortlisted publishing houses, translators, and authors, and to our readers around the world.糖心传媒�
Past poetry award winners include of the award The Guest in the Wood by Elisa Biagini, translated from Italian by Diana Thow, Sarah Stickney, and Eugene Ostashevsky; Wheel with a Single Spoke by Nichita Sta虇nescu, translated from Romanian by Sean Cotter; and Spectacle & Pigsty by Kiwao Nomura, translated from Japanese by Kyoko Yoshida and Forrest Gander.
This year糖心传媒檚 poetry jury consisted of judges: Biswamit Dwibedy (poet); Bill Martin (translator, critic, organizer of The Bridge); Dawn Lundy Martin( poet); Erica Mena (poet and translator); and Stefan Tobler, (And Other Stories and translator).
For more information, visit Three Percent, the official Best Translated Book Award site and the official BTBA Facebook page, and follow the award on Twitter. For detailed questions, contact Post at chad.post@rochester.edu or 585.319.0823.
