European titles win In Other Words honour gongs

Books from Finland, Italy and the Netherlands were named as the 2018 In Other Words honour titles at the London Book Fair last week.

The In Other Words project, run by reading charity BookTrust, showcases children’s writing from outside the UK and helps UK publishers acquire books in translation.

The three winning titles were: The Robbersons by Siri Kolu, originally published in Finnish by Otava Publishing Company, with an extract translated by Owen Witesman; Red Stars by Davide Morosinotto, first published in Italy by Mondadori Libri, with an extract translated by Denise Muir, and Alaska, by Anna Woltz, originally published in Dutch by Em. Querido Kinderboeken Uitgeverij, with an extract translated by Laura Watkinson.

The books were chosen from a shortlist of seven books by a team of judges, led by journalist Nicolette Jones, who said Alaska was “a cut above” and an “original in both the prose and the characterisation”.

Waterstones’ children’s buyer Florentyna Martin said The Robbertsons was “witty, light and full of charm”, whilst author Candy Gourlay called Red Stars “many-layered, emotional and yet told with a light touch”.

All of the shortlisted books have been partially translated for UK publishers to review and the English language rights are available to buy. BookTrust, which coordinates the project, is also offering UK publishers a marketing bursary of £1,500 to support publication of each book.

Jill Coleman, director of books at BookTrust, said publishers have already shown interest in several of this year’s shortlisted tites.