Monday, September 8—The America Literary Translators Association (ALTA), in collaboration with the Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre in Tucson, AZ, is excited to announce the winner of the 5th annual Plays in Translation Contest!

The winner of the 2025 competition is The Precursors by Luis Sorolla, translated from Spanish by Don Bogen.

The end of the world has arrived, and three people are the sole survivors. At their lonely and remote campsite they have been given one task to tell until the end of time: tell all the stories, tell everything—until there are no more stories to be told.

In this poetic and chilling story, Sorolla explores the importance of storytelling at the end—or perhaps the beginning—of everything. 

Congratulations to translator Don Bogen for being selected as winner. Bogen’s translation of The Precursors was commissioned by the Cultural Office of the Spanish Embassy in Washington, D.C.

The staged reading and talkback will take place on Friday, November 7 from 7:30–9:30pm at the Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre (738 N 5th Ave, Tucson, AZ 85705), during ALTA’s 48th annual conference.

Tickets are free for ALTA48 attendees. Find out how to reserve your seat on the Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre’s website. Tickets are limited, so please reserve ahead or call the box office at (520) 448-3300. The Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre is an 11-minute walk or a six-minute (free) streetcar ride from the ALTA48 conference hotel.

The staged reading of The Precursors will be livestreamed via HowlRound Theatre Commons at https://howlround.com/upcoming-livestreams.

 

The organizers are also pleased to name two honorable mentions, in addition to those shortlisted during the selection process:

Honorable Mentions

  • Five Seconds by Catherine Benhamou, translated from French by Samuel Buggeln
  • Landfill by Kim Yeon Jae, translated from Korean by Soje

Shortlist

  • Things We Don’t Say by Marilia Samper, translated from Spanish (Brazil/Spain) by by Steven Capsuto
  • Versus by Vincent van der Valk & Casper Vandeputte, translated from Dutch by David McKay