Last month, we unveiled the longlists for the Best Translated Book Awards (BTBA), an award founded by Three Percent that comes with a $5,000 prize for author and translator alike. Below, behold the finalists. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in New York and at The Millions on May 4.
For more information on the award, its history, the judges, etc., please visit the official Best Translated Book Award site and the official BTBA Facebook page, and follow the award on Twitter.
Best Translated Book Award 2017: Fiction Finalists
Wicked Weeds by Pedro Cabiya, translated from the Spanish by Jessica Powell (Dominican Republic, Mandel Vilar Press)
Chronicle of the Murdered House by Lúcio Cardoso, translated from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa and Robin Patterson (Brazil, Open Letter Books)
Eve Out of Her Ruins by Ananda Devi, translated from the French by Jeffrey Zuckerman (Mauritius, Deep Vellum)
Zama by Antonio di Benedetto, translated from the Spanish by Esther Allen (Argentina, New York Review Books)
Doomi Golo by Boubacar Boris Diop, translated from the Wolof by Vera Wülfing-Leckie and El Hadji Moustapha Diop (Senegal, Michigan State University Press)
War and Turpentine by Stefan Hertmans, translated from the Dutch by David McKay (Belgium, Pantheon)
Umami by Laia Jufresa, translated from the Spanish by Sophie Hughes (Mexico, Oneworld)
Oblivion by Sergi Lebedev, translated from the Russian by Antonina W. Bouis (Russia, New Vessel Press)
Ladivine by Marie NDiaye, translated from the French by Jordan Stump (France, Knopf)
Among Strange Victims by Daniel Saldaña Paris, translated from the Spanish by Christina MacSweeney (Mexico, Coffee House Press)
Best Translated Book Award 2017: Poetry Finalists
Berlin-Hamlet by Szilárd Borbély, translated from the Hungarian by Ottilie Mulzet (Hungary, New York Review Books)
Of Things by Michael Donhauser, translated from the German by Nick Hoff and Andrew Joron (Austria, Burning Deck Press)
Cheer Up, Femme Fatale by Yideum Kim, translated from the Korean by Ji Yoon Lee, Don Mee Choi, and Johannes Göransson (South Korea, Action Books)
In Praise of Defeat by Abdellatif Laâbi, translated from the French by Donald Nicholson-Smith (Morocco, Archipelago Books)
Extracting the Stone of Madness by Alejandra Pizarnik, translated from the Spanish by Yvette Siegert (Argentina, New Directions) (read our review)
Didn’t this guy die like a couple days ago? I wouldn’t be surprised. If they wanted to give it to a dead guy why not one of the nineteenth century great Russians, unless they have a one week expiration date, or something like that.
Also, was this guy really a transformer or was that just his name? Because that would explain a lot, giving the prize to a transformer — one moment a killing machine, the second some dweeby poet, the third a compact car! — even if he was dead. Transformers are cool.
Really ML?! You sound like a stoned 12 yr old? Don’t you filter for stuff like this C. Magee?
I don’t know. Sometimes I like to leave the comments from morons up for posterity so that we do not forget there are morons in their midst. Also, my fervent but likely too optimistic hope is that the likes of ML will one day return and be embarassed that such an inane comment has been sitting there all this time.
I was so hoping Transtromer would win this year (comfortably before he passes away . . . ). Hooray!
As to M.s one nearly cogent thought, Ralph M. Steinman, one of the 3 winners of the Nobel Prize for Medicine this year, died after the award was granted but before the announcement of the award was made. The Committee has decided that the award will stand.
I think this year I’m going to do something different and not complain about the fact that my choice (Roth) did not win the prize. I will simply go on appreciating the work of the authors that I love and no that Nobel or not they bring me a great deal of joy.
I’ll also take this as an opportunity to discover something new. I’ve heard the name Transtromer before since his name has been thrown around for the past few years as someone who is expected to receive the prize. I have never really sought out his work, however, and in general I haven’t always been a great follower of poetry, especially more contemporary poets.
There’s always some eccentricity and unpredictability associated with this prize and I’ve come to accept that.
I’m with Ravi.
I agree wholeheartedly with the morons being left up for posterity. If you’re gonna hate, hate with a reason, a rationale, a purpose, rather than sequestering yourself in the anonymous space of the internet, like a real contrarian…
No disrespect to Mr. Roth but I’m glad the Pultizer went to a poet I’d never heard of, just because now myself and plenty of more people will be exposed to the work. And besides an octagenarian gets a nice payday before he shuffles off the mortal coil…Isn’t that what these kinds of prizes are for, anyway?
Jesus, The Millions, take yourself a little more seriously. Pretty sure ML was making a joke. Maybe you thought it was a bad joke. Fine. Move on with your day. Perhaps I type this because I’m 23 and not yet full of despair and misdirected anger.
I know we’re talking about Literature and Prizes and Opinions, but man, unclench your collective buttholes.
(Seriously, not related to ML in any way.)
I hold out no hope for Roth winning the Nobel and I don’t think it matters. I KNOW who Roth is.
I am not familiar with Transtromer and I am now gifted with something new to read. This is always great. As problematic as major literary awards can be, they are such a bonus for those of us seeking out something new and noteworthy.