PEN Translates’ Latest Winners
JULY 23, 2026 — Earlier this week, English PEN announced the latest winners of their flagship grant program, the “PEN Translates” award.
The winners include two translations from the Arabic: Love Stories on al-‘Asha Street by acclaimed Saudi writer Badriah Al-Bishr, to be translated by Sawad Hussain and published by Héloïse Press, and The Lord’s Ways by award-winning Egyptian-British author Shady Lewis, to be translated by Katharine Halls and published by Peirene Press.
In addition, four Maghrebi books in French — two from Moroccan writers and two by Algerians — also made the list. Lara Vergnaud will translate Moroccan writer Zineb Mekouar’s Remember the Bees, which will be published by Foundry Editions. Sam Taylor will be translating Moroccan writer Rachid Benzine’s The Man Who Read Books, which is set to be published by Canongate. Sarah Ardizzone will translate Algerian writer Mehdi Charef’s Rue Des Paquerettes, for publication with HopeRoad/Small Axes, and Helen Stevenson will translate Algerian-French writer Xavier Le Clerc’s The Skull, also to be published with HopeRoad/Small Axes.
Books are selected for PEN Translates awards on the basis of “outstanding literary quality, the strength of the publishing project, and their contribution to UK bibliodiversity.“
The award funds up to seventy-five percent of translation costs. Or, when a publisher’s annual turnover is less than £500,000, they sometimes support the full cost of a translation.
The other winners:
- Blinding: The Body by Mircea Cărtărescu (Romania), translated from the Romanian by Gabi Reigh (Penguin International Writers).
- Poems from the Loophole by Maksym Kryvtsov (Ukraine), translated from the Ukrainian by Larissa Babij and Helena Kernan (Jantar Publishing).
- All the Iron in the Eiffel Tower by Michele Mari (Italy), translated from the Italian by Brian Robert Moore (And Other Stories).
- Unbalancing Act by Alcide Pierantozzi (Italy), translated from the Italian by Antonella Lettieri (Fitzcarraldo Editions).
- 98 Seconds without Shadow by Giovanna Rivero (Bolivia), translated from the Spanish by Isabel Adey (Charco Press).
- Family of the Wasteland by Atsushi Sato (Japan), translated from the Japanese by Ginny Tapley Takemori (Akoya Publishing).
- Paper Lineages by Anna Lidia Vega Serova (Cuba), translated from the Spanish by Jennifer Shyue (Amaurea Press).
- The Adventures, Misfortunes, and Dreams of Adonis García, the Vampire of Colonia Roma by Luis Zapata (Mexico), translated from the Spanish by Karim Kazemi (Sternberg Press).
There are two submission periods each year, the first in April–May and the second in October–November. Interested publishers can expect submissions to re-open in the fall.