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English PEN is to award grants for the translation of ten books into English including titles in Belarusian, Galician and Polish.
A “long llst “ of UK publishers submitted titles to the biannual scheme, Pen Translates!, which is designed to “encourage outstanding literature from a wide range of languages to be published in translation”. Pen Translates! is funded by Arts Council England and launched in April 2012. Each grant funds the cost of translation.
The first 10 titles in the scheme include two from Random House and two from Canongate, plue titles from Stork Press, Gallic, Faber, Hamish Hamilton, Dedalus and Glagoslav Publications.
Ros Schwartz, chair of the Writers in Translation Committee, which decides the list, said: "The panel was impressed with the high quality of the submissions and we’re delighted with the wide range of languages and cultures represented. We intend this programme to introduce new international writers to UK readers, and the books selected in this first round certainly fulfil that aim."
The list in full:
The Town of Fish by Natalia Babina, translated from the Belarusian by James Dingley, published by Glagoslav Publications (August 2013)
The Foundling by Michel Déon, translated from the French by Julian Evans, published by Gallic Books (October 2013)
The Mussolini Canal by Antonio Pennacchi, translated from the Italian by Judith Landry, published by Dedalus (April 2013)
A Curse on Dostoevsky by Atiq Rahimi, translated from the French by Polly McLean, published by Chatto & Windus, Random House (August 2013)
All is Silence by Manuel Rivas, translated from the Galician by Jonathan Dunne, published by Vintage, Random House (May 2013)
The Victoria System by Eric Reinhardt, translated from the French by Sam Taylor, published by Hamish Hamilton, Penguin (July 2013)
Time on my Hands by Giorgio Vasta, translated from the Italian by Jonathan Hunt, published by Faber (April 2013)
The Assassin from Apricot City by Witold Szablowski, translated from the Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones, published by Stork Press (November 2013)
The Goddess Chronicle by Natsuo Kirino, translated from the Japanese by Rebecca Copeland, published by Canongate (January 2013)
The First True Lie by Marina Mander, translated from the Italian by Stephen Twilley, published by Canongate (February 2014)
This week also saw Somali poet Maxamed Ibraahim Warsame receive an Prince Claus Fund Awards. The committee said he had been awarded for "creating profound and beautiful poems that enrich and expand the centuries-old oral poetry tradition that is central to contemporary Somali culture and identity" and for "providing inspiration and promoting peace through poetry".