Independent publishers lead PEN Translates awards

Independent publishers are "leading the field" in the latest round of the PEN Translates awards with Orenda Books, Arc Publications and Tilted Axis Press among the 16 publishers picking up accolades for their titles.

Awarded authors include Laia Jufresa (one of Hay Festival's México20 authors), celebrated Argentinian man of letters César Aira, Thai rising star Prabda Yoon and multi-award-winning French YA writer Sarah Cohen-Scali. Five poetry collections, from Cuba, Malta, Ukraine, Israel and Italy, also received awards in this round.

Poetry publisher Arc Publications received three awards for three of its titles with Lives of the Dead by Hanoch Levin, translated from Hebrew by Atar Hadari, Penelope Waits: A Handful of Poems by Immanuel Mifsud, translated from Maltese by Maurice Riordan, and Xenia by Eugenio Montale, translated from Italian by Mario Petrucci, picking up awards.

And Other Stories received awards for two of its titles: The Proof by César Aira, translated from Spanish by Nick Caistor, and Malacqua by Nicola Pugliese, translated from Italian by Shaun Whiteside.

Books are selected for PEN Translates awards on the basis of outstanding literary quality, strength and innovation of the publishing project, and contribution to literary diversity in the UK. Every book receiving an English PEN award is featured on the English PEN World Bookshelf website, in partnership with Foyles bookshop.

Samantha Schnee, a trustee of English PEN and chair of the Writers in Translation Committee, said: “We're very pleased to be able to support the translation of these 19 diverse titles that present perspectives ranging from a north African migrant's odyssey, to a family's multi-generational journey from Georgia to Moscow to London and Berlin, to a young girl's escape from ISIS into Germany. It is also great to see independent publishers leading the field with their bold and imaginative projects. We are excited that some of these PEN-supported books will be available to UK readers as early as the summer.”

Winners of the 2016 PEN Translates awards:

The Proof by César Aira, translated from Spanish by Nick Caistor (And Other Stories); July 2017
The Poetry of Bohdan Ihor Antonych, translated from Ukrainian by Stephen Komarnyckyj (Kalyna Language Press); September 2016
Alpha: Abidjan–Gare du Nord by Bessora and Barroux, translated from French by Sarah Ardizzone (Barrington Stoke); August 2016
Constellation by Adrien Bosc, translated from French by Willard Wood (Serpents Tail); August 2016
The Return by Dulce Maria Cardoso, translated from Portuguese by Angel Gurría-Quintana (MacLehose Press); August 2016
Diary of a Gulag Prison Guard by Ivan Chistyakov, translated from Russian by Arch Tait (Granta Books); November 2016
Max by Sarah Cohen-Scali, translated from French by Penny Hueston (Walker Books); July 2016
The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischwili, translated from German by Charlotte Collins and Ruth Martin (Scribe UK); April 2017
Affections by Rodrigo Hasbún, translated from Spanish by Sophie Hughes (Pushkin Press); July 2016
A House in Norway by Vigdis Hjorth, translated from Norwegian by Charlotte Barslund (Norvik Press); May 2017
Umami by Laia Jufresa, translated from Spanish by Sophie Hughes (Oneworld Publications); July 2016
The Girl Who Beat ISIS by Farida Khalaf and Andrea-Claudia Hoffman, translated from German by Jamie Bulloch (Square Peg); July 2016
Lives of the Dead by Hanoch Levin, translated from Hebrew by Atar Hadari (Arc Publications.); October 2016
Penelope Waits: A Handful of Poems by Immanuel Mifsud, translated from Maltese by Maurice Riordan (Arc Publications); March 2017
Xenia by Eugenio Montale, translated from Italian by Mario Petrucci (Arc Publications); August 2016
Malacqua by Nicola Pugliese, translated from Italian by Shaun Whiteside (And Other Stories); November 2017
The Bird Tribunal by Agnes Ravatn, translated from Nynorsk by Rosie Hedger (Orenda Books); September 2016
A Vampire Goes Missing in Pattaya by Prabda Yoon, translated from Thai by Mui Poopoksakul (Tilted Axis Press); February 2017
Nothing out of This World by various, translated from Spanish by Katherine Hedeen (Smokestack Books); December 2016