Two books given PEN Translates awards feature on the 2020 International Booker Prize longlist.
The longlisted titles are
- The Eighth Life (Scribe UK) by Nino Haratischvili (Georgia), translated from the German by Charlotte Collins and Ruth Martin
- Hurricane Season (Fitzcarraldo Editions) by Fernanda Melchor (Mexico), translated from the Spanish by Sophie Hughes.
PEN Translates is English PEN’s Arts Council England-funded award for literature in translation, which has given more than £1,000,000 in awards.
Will Forrester, English PEN Translation and International Manager, said:
We are immensely pleased that two books supported through our PEN Translates programme have been longlisted for this year’s International Booker Prize. The Eighth Life and Hurricane Season are monumental works of literature, and we’re delighted to have played a part in bringing them to UK readers. PEN Translates has granted £1,000,000 of awards in the last decade – not only in the name of internationalism, but also to foster exceptional literature. These titles – and their writers, translators and publishers – have rightly been recognised as exceptional by this year’s International Booker judges.
Daniel Hahn, English PEN Trustee, said:
English PEN is hugely proud of the work it does to support the publication of some of the world's best literature in translation, so it's always a thrill to see PEN-supported books being celebrated. PEN-supported books have appeared on every International Booker longlist since the prize was re-launched in 2016, and this year is no exception. To see two of our selected titles honoured by the International Booker judges in this way is a great vindication of the importance English PEN places on bringing the world's best books to UK readers.
PEN Translates has now supported over 250 books, in 53 languages. This year is the second time that two books supported by the programme have been longlisted for the International Booker Prize.
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Notes:
- English PEN's Writers in Translation programme has been promoting literature in translation since 2005. Overseen by a dedicated committee of literary professionals, the programme includes a dynamic portfolio of activities, which includes translation grants, events, and PEN Transmissions, an online magazine of international writing.
- English PEN's major publisher grants programme, PEN Translates, awards grants to UK publishers for translation costs and is supported by Arts Council England. Together with the PEN Promotes programme (supported by Bloomberg) over 300 books in translation have been supported by English PEN grants since 2005.
- English PEN, a registered charity, promotes the freedom to write and the freedom to read in the UK and around the world. The founding centre of a worldwide writers' association, established in 1921, we work to identify and dismantle barriers between writers and readers, whether these are cultural, political, linguistic or economic. In 2011 English PEN was awarded the highest funding increase in the literature sector by Arts Council England to develop literature in translation.
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