Twenty-five books have been announced as contenders for the 2010 Best Translated Book Award.
Three Percent, a self-described "resource for international literature" at the University of Rochester, New York, chose works of fiction in 17 different languages, representing 23 different countries and 15 different US publishers.
The competition was formed in 2007 to raise awareness of foreign literature. Translations make up just a small fraction of the US book market, hence the name Three Percent.
Nominees are chosen not just for the standard of the translation, but for the quality of the original work. To qualify, they must have been published in the US as English translations between December 1st, 2008 and November 30th, 2009.
Daily articles on the Three Percent website will feature each of the 25 candidates in turn, beginning on January 11th. On February 16th, finalists will be announced, and the prize will be awarded in March.
Among this year's entrants are books by Chilean author Roberto Bolaño, Austrian Robert Walser, and Nobel Prize winners Orhan Pamuk and JMG Le Clézio.
Last year's winner was a Hungarian novel by Attila Bartis, translated by Imre Goldstein. Tranquility was the tale of a writer enduring a miserable existence with his housebound mother, an ex-actress.
Three Percent is run by One Letter Books, a press whose mission is "connecting readers with great international authors and their works." It is tied to the University of Rochester's literary translation programs, whose students often intern with the publisher.
10 January 2010
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