Sunday Submissions: Best Translated Book Awards 2018

This edition of Sunday Submissions is for publishers:

This will be the eleventh year for the US-based Best Translated Book Award, which was founded to “draw attention to the best works of translated literature that came out the following year.” Judges look both at the quality of the book and the translation, “with the argument that you can’t have a great work of literature without both of these aspects working at a very high level.”

Each winning author and translator receives a $5000 cash prize.

Works eligible: Any literary work in translation, published in English, that appeared “for the first time ever” between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017.

Dates: The longlist is expected on April 10, 2018; the finalists on May 15, 2018; and the winners on Thursday, May 31, 2018.

To submit:

To ensure that their books are given full consideration, publishers should send a copy to each of the judges in the appropriate category. Please write “BTBA 2018” on the front of the package. There are nine fiction judges and five poetry, but Open Letter’s offices are included as well for record-keeping purposes. There is no submission fee. Although e-versions are acceptable, they are not encouraged. Every book that’s submitted will be reviewed in full by at least one judge. Unlike past years, all of the 2018 judges are based in the U.S. to save publishers on shipping costs. Send the books now, but make sure you get them all in by December 31, 2017.

For more, including mailing labels for the judges, visit the BTBA website.