September 2, 2020—The American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) is pleased to announce the longlists for the 2020 National Translation Awards (NTA) in Poetry and Prose! 2020 marks the twenty-second year for the NTA, and the sixth year to award separate prizes in poetry and prose. The NTA, which is administered by ALTA, is the only national award for translated fiction, poetry, and literary nonfiction that includes a rigorous examination of both the source text and its relation to the finished English work.
Featuring authors writing in 13 different languages, this year’s longlists expand the prize’s dedication to literary diversity in English. The selection criteria include the quality of the finished English language book, and the quality of the translation. This year’s prose judges are Amaia Gabantxo, Emmanuel D. Harris II, and William Maynard Hutchins. This year’s judges for poetry are Ilya Kaminsky, Lisa Katz, and Farid Matuk.
The winning translators will receive a $2,500 cash prize each. The awards will be announced at ALTA’s annual conference, which this year has gone virtual. The awards ceremony will air on October 15, 2020 on ALTA’s Crowdcast page: you can register to attend the NTA in Prose event here, and the NTA in Poetry event here. The shortlists will be announced at the end of September. In the meantime, ALTA will highlight each book on the longlists with features written by the judges here on the ALTA blog.
The 2020 NTA Longlist in Prose (in alphabetical order by title):
Among the Lost
by Emiliano Monge
translated from the Spanish by Frank Wynne
(Scribe Publications)
At Dusk
by Hwang Sok-yong
translated from the Korean by Sora Kim-Russell
(Scribe Publications)
Beyond Babylon
by Igiaba Scego
translated from the Italian by Aaron Robertson
(Two Lines Press)
The Cheffe
by Marie NDiaye
translated from the French by Jordan Stump
(Alfred A. Knopf)
A Couple of Soles
by Li Yu
translated from the Chinese by Jing Shen and Robert E. Hegel
(Columbia University Press)
God’s Wife
by Amanda Michalopoulou
translated from the Modern Greek by Patricia Felisa Barbeito
(Dalkey Archive Press)
Ithaca Forever: Penelope Speaks
by Luigi Malerba
translated from the Italian by Douglas Grant Heise
(University of California Press)
The Old Woman and the River
by Ismail Fahd Ismail
translated from the Arabic by Sophia Vasalou
(Interlink Books)
Optic Nerve
by María Gainza
translated from the Spanish by Thomas Bunstead
(Catapult)
The Quarter
by Naguib Mahfouz
translated from the Arabic by Roger Allen
(Saqi Books)
Welcome to America
by Linda Boström Knausgård
translated from the Swedish by Martin Aitken
(World Editions)
Zuleikha
by Guzel Yakhina
translated from the Russian by Lisa C. Hayden
(Oneworld)
The 2020 NTA Longlist in Poetry (in alphabetical order by title):
The Battle Between the Frogs and the Mice: A Tiny Homeric Epic
by an unknown author
translated from the Ancient Greek by A.E. Stallings
(Paul Dry Books)
The Chilean Flag
by Elvira Hernández
translated from the Spanish by Alec Schumacher
(Kenning Editions)
Forty-One Objects
by Carsten René Nielsen
translated from the Danish by David Keplinger
(The Bitter Oleander Press)
The Hammer
by Adelaide Ivánova
translated from the Portuguese by Chris Daniels
(Commune Editions)
Hysteria
by Kim Yideum
translated from the Korean by Jake Levine, Soeun Seo, Hedgie Choi
(Action Books)
The Last Innocence/The Lost Adventures
by Alejandra Pizarnik
translated from the Spanish by Cecilia Rossi
(Ugly Duckling Presse)
The Next Loves
by Stéphane Bouquet
translated from the French by Lindsay Turner
(Nightboat Books)
Room in Rome
by Jorge Eduardo Eielson
translated from the Spanish by David Shook
(Cardboard House Press)
Tell Me, Kenyalang
by Kulleh Grasi
translated from the Malay by Pauline Fan
(Circumference Books)
The Winter Garden Photograph
by Reina María Rodríguez
translated from the Spanish by Kristin Dykstra with Nancy Gates Madsen
(Ugly Duckling Presse)
If you would like to read these books ahead of the announcement of the winners in October, consider buying them on Bookshop.org — when you do, you help support local bookstores! Find the National Translation Award in Prose longlisted titles here, and the National Translation Award in Poetry longlisted titles here.