It’s been 20 years now since the National Translation Award was first established by the American Literary Translators Association, and four since it was split into separate awards for poetry and prose. Unlike most multilingual translation prizes, the NTA includes a round of judging in which the translation is read against the original by a colleague specializing in that language area. But like most translation prizes, the NTA rewards translations that are not only accurate but also beautiful works in their own right. It’s one of the great honors for a literary translator to be selected for acclaim by a jury of their peers.
And this year’s longlists have just been announced, and here they are:
Poetry
The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa, translated from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa
(New Directions)
Directions for Use by Ana Ristović, translated from the Serbian by Steven Teref and Maja Teref
(Zephyr Press)
Hackers by Aase Berg, translated from the Swedish by Johannes Göransson
(Black Ocean)
I Remember Nightfall by Marosa di Giorgio, translated from the Spanish by Jeannine Marie Pitas
(Ugly Duckling Presse)
If I Were a Suicide Bomber by Per Aage Brandt, translated from the Danish by Thom Satterlee
(Open Letter Books)
Magnetic Point: Selected Poems by Ryszard Krynicki, translated from the Polish by Clare Cavanagh
(New Directions)
My Lai by Carmen Berenguer, translated from the Spanish by Liz Henry
(Cardboard House Press)
The Odyssey by Homer, translated from the Greek by Emily Wilson
(W. W. Norton & Company)
Oxygen: Selected Poems by Julia Fiedorczuk, translated from the Polish by Bill Johnston
(Zephyr Press)
Sonic Peace by Kiriu Minashita, translated from the Japanese by Spencer Thurlow and Eric Hyett
(Phoneme Media)
Spiral Staircase: Collected Poems by Hirato Renkichi, translated from the Japanese by Sho Sugita
(Ugly Duckling Presse)
Third-Millennium Heart by Ursula Andkjær Olsen, translated from the Danish by Katrine Øgaard Jensen
(Action Books)
Prose
Affections by Rodrigo Hasbún, translated from the Spanish by Sophie Hughes
(Simon & Schuster)
August by Romina Paula, translated from the Spanish by Jennifer Croft
(Feminist Press)
Compass by Mathias Énard, translated from the French by Charlotte Mandell
(New Directions)
Dandelions by Yasunari Kawabata, translated from the Japanese by Michael Emmerich
(New Directions)
Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbhag, translated from the Kannada by Srinath Perur
(Penguin Books)
The Impossible Fairy Tale by Han Yujoo, translated from the Korean by Janet Hong
(Graywolf Press)
The Invented Part by Rodrigo Fresán, translated from the Spanish by Will Vanderhyden
(Open Letter Books)
Italian Chronicles by Stendhal, translated from the French by Raymond N. MacKenzie
(University of Minnesota Press)
Moving the Palace by Charif Majdalani, translated from the French by Edward Gauvin
(New Vessel Press)
Old Rendering Plant by Wolfgang Hilbig, translated from the German by Isabel Fargo Cole
(Two Lines Press)
Swallowing Mercury by Wioletta Greg, translated from the Polish by Eliza Marciniak
(Transit Books)
The World Goes On by László Krasznahorkai, translated from the Hungarian by George Szirtes, Ottilie Mulzet, and John Batki
(New Directions)
The NTA longlists will be announced in September, and the prizes awarded at a ceremony at the 2018 ALTA Conference in Bloomington, Indiana in early November.
Congratulations to all the longlisted translators!