The longlist for the National Book Award for Translated Literature has been revealed, with 10 books representing nine different languages up for the prize.
On the Calculation of Volume (Book III), written by Solvej Balle and translated from Danish by Sophia Hersi Smith and Jennifer Russell, made the longlist; the first volume of the series, translated by Barbara J. Haveland, was longlisted for the prize last year.
Perfection, written by Vincenzo Latronico and translated from Italian by Sophie Hughes, was nominated; Hughes has been longlisted for the prize three times before. Christina MacSweeney, another previously longlisted translator, was nominated this year for The Queen of Swords, originally written in Spanish by Jazmina Barrera.
We Computers: A Ghazal Novel, written by Hamid Ismailov and translated from Uzbek by Shelley Fairweather-Vega, becomes the first book in that language to make the National Book Award longlist.
We Do Not Part, written by Nobel laureate Han Kang and translated from Korean by e. yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris, was nominated, as were We Are Green and Trembling, written by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara and translated from Spanish by Robin Myers; The Remembered Soldier, written by Anjet Daanje and translated from the Dutch by David McKay; Sleep Phase, written by Mohamed Kheir and translated from Arabic by Robin Moger; Hunchback, written by Saou Ichikawa and translated from Japanese by Polly Barton; and Sad Tiger, written by Neige Sinno and translated from French by Natasha Lehrer.
Previous winners of the National Book Award for Translated Literature include Tokyo Ueno Station, written by Yu Miri and translated from Japanese by Morgan Giles, and Seven Empty Houses, written by Samanta Schweblin and translated from Spanish by Megan McDowell.
The shortlist for this year’s award will be announced on October 7, with the winner revealed at a New York ceremony on November 19.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
