Read the World. Write the World.
The American Literary Translators Association
The art of literary translation serves as a gateway to world literature and diverse perspectives for readers in English. The American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) curates educational opportunities for translators and discovery tools connecting translators to the publishing industry. ALTA also honors the work of translators through a variety of awards including translated poetry and prose at its annual convention in November. Whether you're new to reading books in translation or have your reading passport stamped with titles from across the globe, sample one of the longlisted titles for poetry and prose!
The Threshold: Poems by Iman Mersal; translated from the Arabic by Robyn Creswell.
When the Night Agrees to Speak to Me by Ananda Devi; translated from the French by Kazim Ali.
1,000 Coils of Fear: a novel by Olivia Wenzel; translated from the German by Priscilla Layne.
Happy Stories, Mostly by Norman Erikson Pasaribu; translated from the Indonesian by Tiffany Tsao.
Concerning My Daughter: a novel by Kim Hye-jin; translated from the Korean by Jamie Chang.
The Rust of History: The Selected Poems of Sotero Rivera-Avilés by Sotero Rivera-Avilés; translated from the Spanish by Raquel Salas Rivera.
The Antarctica of Love by Sara Stridsberg; translated from the Swedish by Deborah Bragan-Turner.
Chinatown by Thuận; translated from the Vietnamese by Anguyẽ̂n An Lý.
Readers may also be familiar with PEN America, another organization recognizing works in translation. The 2023 PEN Translation Prize for book-length prose was awarded to People from Bloomington by Budi Darma; translated from the Indonesian by Tiffany Tsao. The 2023 PEN Award for Poetry in Translation was awarded to The Loose Pearl = La Perla Suelta by Paula Ilabaca Nuñez; translated from the Spanish by Daniel Borzutzky.
Discover additional titles in translation searching the library’s catalog or request a Personalized Reading List. Interested in learning a new language? Check out Mango and contact Ask Us to learn about other tools. Curiosity and your library card will help you read the world!
