Mohamed wins Warwick Prize for Women in Translation for 'exuberant satirical fantasia'

The graphic novel Your Wish Is My Command (Granta), written, illustrated and translated by Deena Mohamed, has been announced as the winner of the £1,000 Warwick Prize for Women in Translation.

The book was first published in Arabic in three volumes in 2017, 2019 and 2021. It tells the story of three people who are navigating a world in which "wishes are literally for sale". The judges hailed Your Wish Is My Command  as "a spellbinding narrative, a visual tour de force and as a unified work of art". They said that the author’s writing and drawings result in an "exuberant satirical fantasia". 

The judges have also awarded a special commendation in 2023 to A Line in the World, written by Dorthe Nors, translated from Danish by Caroline Waight (Pushkin Press). They commented: “Our specially commended title weaves wind and tide, experience and history, into a magical memoir of a place, a life and a culture. Dorthe Nors’ A Line in the World transforms the North Sea coast of Denmark into an enchanted shoreline. Here past and present, nature and humanity, meet, in superbly evocative prose carried flawlessly into English by Caroline Waight.”

The winner and the specially commended title were chosen from an eight-strong shortlist, all of which were from independent publishers, while the competition received 153 eligible entries from 32 languages in 2023. Submissions for the 2024 Warwick Prize for Women in Translation will open on 1st April 2024.

Last year, the judges selected joint winners for the prize, awarding it to Osebol by Marit Kapla, translated from Swedish by Peter Graves (Allen Lane) and Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree, translated from Hindi by Daisy Rockwell (Tilted Axis Press).