Susan Bernofsky's Blog, page 8

Apply Now for a 2019 ALTA Travel Fellowship

It’s that time of year again: time to apply for a travel fellowship to attend ALTA (the American Literary Translators Association Conference), to be held this year in beautiful Rochester, NY from November 7 – 10, 2019. Between four and six of these $1000 fellowships are awarded to emerging translators each year, including the Peter K. Jansen Memorial Fellowship, specifically reserved for a translator of color and/or one who is translating from an underrepresented diaspora or stateless language. Attending the ALTA Conference is a fantastic way for an emerging translator to jumpstart their translation career by meeting others in the field, getting acquainted with colleagues’ work, hearing and participating in discussions of craft, and learning what topics are currently most being talked about in the translation world. The fellows also present their work at a special reading each year that is always well-attended. The deadline is April 15. You’ll find guidelines and application instructions on the ALTA website.

 

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2019 Man Booker International Prize Longlist Announced

It’s longlist time again for the Man Booker International Prize, and the list looks great! It even features a new book by Olga Tokarczuk, whose novel Flights took the gold last year (in a translation by Jennifer Croft). The Man Booker International is one of the biggest prizes out there, with a purse of £50,000 (split evenly between author and translator). This year’s judges include Bettany Hughes, Maureen Freely, Angie Hobbs, Elnathan John, and Pankaj Mishra. Behold the list:

Jokha Alharthi (Arabic / Omani), Marilyn Booth, Celestial Bodies (Sandstone Press Ltd)
Can Xue (Chinese / Chinese), Annelise Finegan Wasmoen, Love In The New Millennium (Yale University Press)
Annie Ernaux (French / French), Alison L. Strayer, The Years (Fitzcarraldo Editions)
Hwang Sok-yong (Korean / Korean), Sora Kim-Russell, At Dusk (Scribe, UK)
Mazen Maarouf (Arabic / Icelandic and Palestinian), Jonathan Wright, Jokes For The Gunmen (Granta, Portobello Books)
Hubert Mingarelli (French / French), Sam Taylor, Four Soldiers (Granta, Portobello Books)
Marion Poschmann (German / German), Jen Calleja, The Pine Islands (Profile Books, Serpent’s Tail)
Samanta Schweblin (Spanish / Argentine and Italian), Megan McDowell, Mouthful Of Birds (Oneworld)
Sara Stridsberg (Swedish / Swedish), Deborah Bragan-Turner, The Faculty Of Dreams (Quercus, MacLehose Press)
Olga Tokarczuk (Polish / Polish), Antonia Lloyd-Jones, Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead (Fitzcarraldo Editions)
Juan Gabriel Vásquez (Spanish / Colombian), Anne McLean, The Shape Of The Ruins (Quercus, MacLehose Press)
Tommy Wieringa (Dutch / Dutch), Sam Garrett, The Death Of Murat Idrissi (Scribe, UK)
Alia Trabucco Zeran (Spanish / Chilean and Italian), Sophie Hughes, The Remainder (And Other Stories)

For more information on the books and the prize, please visit the website of the Man Booker International Prize. The shortlist will be announced on April 9 (and the prize itself on May 21). Best of luck and congratulations to all the longlisted translators!

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2019 EBRD Literature Prize Announced

The EBRD Literature Prize, presented by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in partnership with the British Council, honors an outstanding work of literature translated into English from one of the languages of the 40 countries in which the bank does business. The prize – with a €20,000 purse to be split between author and translator – was established in 2017. And this year’s installment has just been awarded, in a ceremony in London on March 7, to The Devil’s Dance by Hamid Ismailov (Tilted Axis Press), translated from Uzbek by Donald Rayfield (with John Farndon). This novel is apparently the first ever to be translated from Uzbek into English, and it sounds pretty amazing. Rosie Goldsmith, chair of this year’s jury, describes the book as “an Uzbek ‘Game of Thrones.'” For a description of the novel and more information about the prize, visit the European Literature Network website.

Honorable mentions (€2,000 split between author and translator) were awarded to Soviet Milk by Nora Ikstena, translated from Latvian by Margita Gailitis (Pereine Press) and Drive your Plow over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, translated from Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones (Fitzcarraldo Editions).

And last year’s (2018) EBRD Literature Prize (since I missed it) went to Istanbul Istanbul, a novel by Burhan Sönmez translated from Turkish by Ümit Hussein (Telegram Books, now reprinted by OR Books in the U.S.).

Congratulations to all the translators (and authors) whose work was honored!

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2019 PEN Translation Prizes Announced

At a ceremony in New York last night, the winners of the two main translation prizes given out annually by PEN America were announced. Each prize comes with a purse of $3000.

The PEN Translation Prize for a book-length translation into prose goes to Martin Aitken for his translation of Love by Hanne Ørstavik from Norwegian (and published by Archipelago).

The PEN Award for Poetry in Translation goes to Richard Sieburth for his translation from French of A Certain Plume by Henri Michaux (NYRB). Honorable mention to Karen Kovacik for her translation from Polish of Aperture by Jacek Dehnel (Zephyr Press).

Big congratulations to all these stellar translators, and to everyone included on the shortlists. For more information about the prizes, judges, and winning books, visit the prize announcement page of the PEN America website.

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Translation on Tap in NYC, March 1 – 31, 2019

The year feels like it’s just gotten started, but look, it’s already March, the month in which Spring officially arrives, ushered in by a lovely bouquet of translation events. Here’s what’s coming up:

Monday, March 4:

Jacques Schiffrin: A Publisher in Exile, from Pléiade to Pantheon: book launch and discussion with translator Sandra Smith, author Amos Reichman, Eric Jennings, Susan Suleiman, and Robert O. Paxton, moderated by Adam Tooze. RSVP requested, more information here. Columbia University, Maison Française, East Gallery, Buell Hall. 6:00 p.m.

Tuesday, March 5:

A Night of Poetry: Translator Rachel Hadas presents her new translations of Euripides’s two Iphigenia plays as part of a poetry line-up also featuring Charlie Bondhus, Andrés Cerpa, and Gardner McFall. More information here. Book Culture, 536 W. 112th St., 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, March 13:

Book Talk: Launch event for Mars, featuring translator Jennifer Zoble in conversation with author Asja Bakić. More information here. Columbia University, International Affairs Bldg., 420 W. 118 St., Marshall D. Shulman Seminar Room, Rm. 1219, 6:15 p.m.

Thursday, March 14:

Mars: Translator Jennifer Zoble joins Asja Bakić for the launch of their book of stories by Bakić translated from the Bosnian by Zoble. More information here. McNally Jackson Books, 52 Prince St., 7:00 p.m.

Friday, March 29 – Sunday, March 30

Festival Neue Literatur: a festival of German-language writing featuring two writers each from Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, curated by translators Liesl Schillinger and Tim Mohr. This year’s festival authors include Daniela Emminger, Laura Freudenthaler, Pierre Jarawan, Stefanie de Velasco, Dana Grigorcea, and Gianna Molinari. Advance RSVPs highly recommended for all events. (Only the events featuring translators are listed below, see Festival Neue Literatur website for full program.)

Friday, March 29:

Words with Writers: All six festival authors interviewed live on stage by graduate students from local universities, moderated by translator Tim Mohr. RSVP recommended, more information here. Austrian Cultural Forum, 11 E. 52nd St., 6:00 p.m.

Saturday, March 30:

Double Lives: Writers Who Translate, featuring translator-writers Idra Novey, John Keene, and Jennifer Croft, moderated by Karen Phillips. RSPV recommended, more information here. Goethe Institut New York, 30 Irving Place, 3:00 p.m.

Another Country: Distant Lands Close Up and Personal, featuring Daniela Emminger, Pierre Jarawan, Dana Grigorcea, and Min Jin Lee, moderated by translator Liesl Schillinger. RSVP recommended, more information here. Powerhouse Arena, 28 Adams St., Brooklyn, 6:00 p.m.

Sunday, March 31:

The Author’s Voice: Six German-language authors read from their work (English-language translations will be read by actors Adelind Horan and Robert Lyons), discussion moderated by translator Tim Mohr. RSVP recommended, more information here. Deutsches Haus at NYU, 42 Washington Mews, 2:00 p.m.

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Apply Now for 2019 Gutekunst Prize

If you’re a young translator (defined as under 35 and unpublished in book form) and translate from German, you should be entering the competition for the 2019 Gutekunst Prize of the Friends of Goethe. Applicants submit translations of a predetermined text provided by the organizers of approximately 15 pages, then a jury picks the prizewinner. The prize itself consists of $2500 plus excellent bragging rights, by which I mean professional recognition. To enter the competition, request a sample from the Goethe-Institut New York. This year’s submission deadline is March 15, 2018. If you think you might apply, best to request the sample posthaste so you’ll have plenty of time to translate and revise.

For more information about the prize and application guidelines, see the Gutekunst Prize page on the Goethe-Institut New York website.

Best of luck to all the translators sharpening their pencils right now.

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2018 Society of Authors Translation Prizes Announced

This evening at a ceremony at the British Library in London, the Society of Authors in the UK announced their 2018 translation prizes. You’ll find the shortlists for this years prizes here, and the winners in the various categories below:

The TA First Translation Prize was shared by translator Janet Hong and editor Ethan Nosowsky for the translation from Korean of The Impossible Fairytale by Han Yujoo (Tilted Axis Press).

The John Florio Prize for translations from Italian went to Gini Alhadeff for her translation of I Am the Brother of XX (And Other Stories) by Fleur Jaeggy, with an honorable mention to Cristina Viti for her translation of Stigmata by Gëzim Hajdari (Shearsman Books).

The Schlegel-Tieck Prize for translations from German went to Tony Crawford for his translation of Wonder Beyond Belief by Navid Kermani (Polity Press), with an honorable mention to Tess Lewis for her translation of Kruso by Lutz Seiler (Scribe).

The Scott Moncrieff Prize for translations from French went to Sophie Yanow for her translation of Pretending is Lying by Dominique Goblet (New York Review Comics), with an honorable mention to Frank Wynne for his translation of Vernon Subutex 1 by Virginie Despentes (MacLehose Press).

The Bernard Shaw Prize for translations from Swedish went to Frank Perry for his translation of Bret Easton Ellis and the Other Dogs by Lina Wolff (and other stories), with an honorable mention to Deborah Bragan-Turner for her translation of The Parable Book by Per Olov Enquist (MacLehose Press).

The Premio Valle Inclán Prize for translations from Spanish went to Megan McDowell for her translation of Seeing Red by Lina Meruane (Atlantic), with an honorable mention to Daniel Hahn for his translation of In the Land of Giants by Gabi Martínez (Scribe).

The Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for translations from Arabic went to Luke Leafgren for his translation of The President’s Gardens by Muhsin Al-Ramli (MacLehose Press).

More information about each of the prizes can be found on the Society of Authors website. Congratulations to all the translators whose work was honored this year!

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Translation on Tap in NYC, Feb. 1 – 28, 2019

It may be so cold right now that you’re thinking you’ll never leave the house again, but be of good cheer: warmer days and translation events to coax you outside are coming your way soon!

Thursday, Feb. 7:

On Translating Pan Tadeusz: a meeting with translator Bill Johnston. RSVP requested, More information here. Kosciuszko Foundation, 15 E. 65th St., 7:30 – 9:00 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 12:

Children’s Books Salon Reception: Discussion of several international children’s book markets and translation funding, featuring Karin Aghadjanian, Sheikh Zayed Book Award; Hege Langrusten, NORLA; Tiia Strandén, FILI (Finland); Walter Schlecht, Goethe-Institut New York; and Anges Vogt, Dutch Foundation for Literature; moderated by Hannah Johnson, Publishing Perspectives. Reception to follow. RSVP by Feb. 11. Goethe-Institut, 30 Irving Place, 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 19:

Poet in Spain: Translator Sarah Arvio will read from her new translations of Lorca (and others) in conversation with translator John Keene. More information here. Dia:Chelsea, 535 W. 22nd St., 5th Fl., 6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 26:

Lost in America: Translator Alex Zucker will read from his translations of Modernist author Milada Součková to accompany a talk by Zuzana Říhová on her work. RSVP requested, more information here. Bohemian National Hall, 321 E. 73 St., 7:00 p.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 27:

Selected Shorts Special Event with Words without Borders: Translator Idra Novey hosts an evening of international literature also featuring Karan Mahajan and Siri Hustvedt. Ticketed event, more information here. Symphony Space, Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theater, 250 W. 95th St., 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, Feb. 28:

Relative Genitive: reading and talk by translator Val Vinokur presenting new translations of Osip Mandelstam and Vladimir Mayakovsky. More information here. Columbia University, Harriman Atrium, 12th Floor International Affairs Bldg., 6:30 p.m.

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Shortlists Announced for 2019 PEN Translation Prizes

PEN America has just announced the finalists for the PEN Translation Prize (for a book-length work of prose in translation) and the PEN Award for Poetry in Translation (both for books published in 2018). The judges this year are Ezra Fitz, Barbara Harshav, Vincent Kling, Marian Schwartz, Ron Slate (prose) and Sinan Antoon, Ewa Chrusciel, Peter Filkins, Katrine Øgaard Jensen (poetry). Each comes with a purse of $3000. Here are the finalists:

PEN Translation Prize:

Nevada Days, Bernardo Atxaga (Graywolf Press)

Translated from the Spanish by Margaret Jull Costa
Disoriental, Négar Djavadi (Europa Editions)

Translated from the French by Tina Kover
The Stone Building and Other Places, Aslı Erdoğan (City Lights)

Translated from the Turkish by Sevinç Türkkan
Love, Hanne Ørstavik (Archipelago Books)

Translated from the Norwegian by Martin Aitken
Trick, Domenico Starnone (Europa Editions)

Translated from the Italian by Jhumpa Lahiri

PEN Award for Poetry in Translation:

The Shutters, Ahmed Bouanani (New Directions)

Translated from the French by Emma Ramadan
Aperture, Jacek Dehnel (Zephyr Press)

Translated from the Polish by Karen Kovacik
Today, Juan Gelman (co•im•press)

Translated from the Spanish by Lisa Rose Bradford
Negative Space, Luljeta Lleshanaku (New Directions)

Translated from the Albanian by Ani Gjika
A Certain Plume, Henri Michaux (NYRB)

Translated from the French by Richard Sieburth

In prose, I’m tickled to see the large overlap (3 out of 5 books) with the National Book Award shortlist this year.

You’ll find more information about the shortlisted books and the prizes themselves on the PEN America website, along with links to purchase the books via Hudson Booksellers, which is partnering with PEN. I was curious whether this meant that the finalists would be featured and available for purchase at Hudson’s many airport and train station stores (that would be so great) and wrote to PEN last week to ask, but have received no reply, so probably it’s an online-only deal, which means that Hudson must have made a donation to PEN to trigger this “partnership.” Which is fine, but remember that Hudson (a big corporate chain of stores) is not the same as your local bookshop, so I encourage you to use the Indiebound links also provided on the PEN website to purchase your books online if you can’t do so in person. And if you’re traveling and spot any of the PEN finalists featured in an airport bookstore, please let me know!

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2019 Batchelder Award Announced

The Mildred L. Batchelder Award, presented by the ALSC – Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association – honors the U.S. publishers of outstanding books in translation published during the preceding year. It’s been around for a while, but I’ve been regrettably slow to the kid-lit party, so intend to make up for lost time with some overdue posts (like recruiting Sara Lissa Paulson to write about indie kid-lit publishers). The Batchelder Award winner, as announced today at the ALA’s Midwinter Meeting in Seattle is:

The Fox on the Swing, published by Thames & Hudson, Inc., written by Evelina Daciūtė, illustrated by Aušra Kiudulaitė, and translated from the Lithuanian by The Translation Bureau

I’m not sure if “The Translation Bureau” is the cute name of a translators’ collective somewhere or whether it just means that this was an in-house job done by someone at Thames & Hudson whose work on the winning book was merely uncredited. Well, certainly there are a lot of works out there translated by Anonymous. Is this typical in the children’s book publishing world? Please leave a comment if you know how it works.

I do note that the translators are credited for all four books that received an honorable mention for the award this year:

Run For Your Life, published by Yonder, an imprint of Restless Books, Inc., written by Silvana Gandolfi, translated from Italian by Lynne Sharon Schwartz
My Beijing: Four Stories of Everyday Wonder, published by Graphic Universe, a division of Lerner Publishing Group, Inc., written and illustrated by Nie Jun, and translated by Edward Gauvin
Edison: The Mystery of the Missing Mouse Treasure, published by NorthSouth Books, Inc., written by Torben Kuhlmann, illustrated by Torben Kuhlmann, and translated by David Henry Wilson
Jerome By Heart, published by Enchanted Lion Books, written by Thomas Scotto illustrated by Olivier Tallec, and translated by Claudia Zoe Bedrick and Karin Snelson

For more information about the winning books and the prize (including past winners from 1968-2018), please visit the Batchelder Award page on the ALSC website.

And congratulations to all the translators of the books selected for this honor (named or not)!

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