Books from fifteen countries and fourteen languages make up the latest round of PEN Translates award winners. These include the first novel from Mauritania to be translated into English; novels translated from minority and lesser translated European languages such as Occitan, Galician and Albanian; and an equal number of male and female authors.
Ros Schwartz, co-chair of the Writers in Translation committee, said:
‘We’re delighted to see that publishers are becoming increasingly adventurous in their choices, and that, interestingly, a number of projects are translator-led, underscoring the pro-active role translators can play in bringing books to publishers’ attention.’
Books are selected for PEN Translates awards on the basis of outstanding literary quality, strength of the publishing project, and contribution to literary diversity in the UK. The award-winning books are featured on the English PEN World Bookshelf website, in partnership with Foyles.
2017 PEN Translates award winners:
- The Yogini by Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay, translated from Bengali by Arunava Sinha. Tilted Axis Press, October 2019. Country of origin: India
- Butterfly Valley by Sherko Bekas, translated from Sorani (Iraqi Kurdish) by Choman Hardi. Arc Publications, March 2018. Country of origin: Iraqi Kurdistan
- The Desert and the Drum by Mbarek Ould Beyrouk, translated from French by Rachael McGill. Dedalus, June 2018. Country of origin: Mauritania
- The Eight Mountains by Paolo Cognetti, translated from Italian by Simon Carnell and Erica Segre. Harvill Secker, April 2018. Country of origin: Italy
- The Chilli Bean Paste Clan by Yan Ge, translated from Chinese by Nicky Harman. Balestier Press, June 2018. Country of origin: China
- Men Don’t Cry by Faïza Guène, translated from French by Sarah Ardizzone. Cassava Republic, September 2018. Country of origin: France
- L’ora de partir by Sèrgi Javaloyès, translated from Occitan by James Thomas. Francis Boutle, autumn 2018. Country of origin: France
- A Place Upon Your Face by Sema Kaygusuz, translated from Turkish by Nicholas Glastonbury. Tilted Axis Press, November 2018. Country of origin: Turkey
- The Luminous Novel by Mario Levrero, translated from Spanish by Annie McDermott. And Other Stories, spring 2020. Country of origin: Uruguay
- Negative Space by Luljeta Lleshanaku, translated from Albanian by Ani Gjika. Bloodaxe Books, February 2018. Country of origin: Albania
- Home is Like a Different Time by Eva Moreda, translated from Galician by Craig Patterson. Francis Boutle, 2018. Country of origin: Spain
- States of Passion by Nihad Sirees, translated from Arabic by Max Weiss. Pushkin Press, August 2018. Country of origin: Syria
- The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk, translated from Polish by Jennifer Croft. Fitzcarraldo Editions, 2019. Country of origin: Poland
- The Shape of the Ruins by Juan Gabriel Vásquez, translated from Spanish by Annie McLean. Maclehose Press, May 2018. Country of origin: Colombia
- The Polyglot Lovers by Lina Wolff, translated from Swedish by Saskia Vogel. And Other Stories, February 2019. Country of origin: Sweden
- Moving Parts by Prabda Yoon, translated from Thai by Mui Poopoksakul. Tilted Axis Press, October 2018. Country of origin: Thailand