Books from 15 countries and 13 languages are among the 18 winners of English PEN's translation awards, which include--for the first time--titles from Djibouti and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as work translated from the Mè'phàà and the Char-Chapori dialect of Assamese and Bengali. Among the awarded titles are the first collection of Miyah poetry in translation and the first children's book in Hungarian to feature LGBTQ+ protagonists. Books are selected based on "outstanding literary quality, the strength of the publishing project, and their contribution to U.K. bibliodiversity."
"Not only are these 18 books exceptional works of literature, but they also attest to the current vitality of translated literature publishing," said Will Forrester, translation and international manager at English PEN. "This is the most publishers ever awarded in a single PEN Translates round. Their books, united as works of outstanding writing and translating, span extraordinary differences in form, theme, geography and style: we have protest poetry, the political history of football, gritty short fiction, poetry from an Indigenous language of the Americas, and all-embracing children's literature, all sitting side by side. This is a thrilling set of books, and English PEN is thrilled to be helping them get to U.K. readers."
So Mayer, co-chair of the English PEN translation advisory group, commented: "The panel was thrilled to see the range of submissions, and especially to see increasing numbers of independent publishers developing translation lists, enabling us to reward the literary ambition and radical interventions of writers, translators and editors who are strengthening and expanding contemporary literature."