The Polish Book Institute

Two translations of Polish books have been included in the shortlist of translations nominated for the prestigious National Translation Award granted by the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA). Among the nominees, there are Madeline G. Levine, a winner of Found in Translation Award for her translation of Bruno Schulz, and Bill Johnston, a Transatlantyk Award winner for his translation of Adam Mickiewicz. Both translations have been published with the support of the Book Institute as part of the ©POLAND Translation Programme.

The shortlist of prose nominations:

Uwe Johnson, Anniversaries: From a Year in the Life of Gesine Cresspahl, translated from the German by Damion Searls (New York Review Books)

Bruno Schulz, Collected Stories, translated from the Polish by Madeline G. Levine (Northwestern University Press)

Jun’ichiro Tanizaki, In Black and White, translated from the Japanese by Phyllis I. Lyons (Columbia University Press)

Armonía Somers, The Naked Woman, translated from the Spanish by Kit Maude (The Feminist Press)

Ersi Sotiropoulos, What’s Left of the Night, translated from the Greek by Karen Emmerich (New Vessel Press)

The shortlist of translations nominated in poetry:

Pablo de Rokha, Architecture of Dispersed Life: Selected Poems, translated from the Spanish by Urayoán Noel (Shearsman Books)

Oliverio Girondo, Decals, translated from the Spanish by Rachel Galvin and Harris Feinsod (Open Letter Books)

Tanella Boni, The Future Has an Appointment with the Dawn, translated from the French by Todd Fredeson (University of Nebraska Press)

Adam Mickiewicz, Pan Tadeusz: The Last Foray in Lithuania, translated from the Polsih by Bill Johnston (Archipelago Books)

Robert the Devil (anonymous), translated from the French by Samuel N. Rosenberg (Penn State University Press)

The nominations were announced yesterday. The ALTA Award is the only award in the United States to be awarded on the basis of a rigorous examination of both the source text and its relation to the finished English work.

This year’s prose judges are Bonnie Huie, Charlotte Mandell, and Jeffrey Zuckerman. This year’s judges for poetry are Anna Deeny Morales, Cole Heinowitz, and Sholeh Wolpe. The winning translators will receive a $2,500 cash prize each. The winners will be announced at ALTA’s annual conference on 8th November.