BTBA 2012 Longlist

They just announced the 25 titles longlisted for the Best Translated Book Award. I'm delighted to see three German books among them, including Peter Stamm's Seven Years, translated by Michael Hofmann. I'm even more delighted to see my friends Thomas Pletzinger and (top translator) Ross Benjamin on the list for their book Funeral for a Dog. And to be perfectly honest, I'm over the moon to find Inka Parei's wonderful, wonderful novel The Shadow-Boxing Woman there, which I translated.

Here's what they say:

February 28, 2012—The 25-title fiction longlist for the 2012 Best Translated Book Awards was announced this afternoon. This is the fifth year for the BTBA, which launched in 2007 as a way of highlighting the best works of international literature published in the U.S. in the previous year.
Featuring authors from 14 countries writing in 12 languages, this year’s fiction longlist illustrates the prize’s dedication to literary diversity, ranging from works by established and classic authors, such as Moacyr Scliar’s Kafka’s Leopards and Imre Kertesz’s Fiasco, to works by emerging voices, like Johan Harstad’s Buzz Aldrin, What Happened to You in All the Confusion?, and Inka Parei’s The Shadow-Boxing Woman.
The longlist also includes an eclectic mix of translators, from Steve Dolph—whose translation of Juan José Saer’s Scars is his second full-length publication—to world-renowned translators Bill Johnston—who has two entries on this list, Stone Upon Stone by Wiesław Myśliwski and In Red by Magdalena Tulli. As in years past, the list is dominated by smaller independent publishers, such as Dedalus, Seagull Books, Melville House, and Archipelago Books, although a number of larger houses—like W.W. Norton, Knopf, and Bloomsbury—are also represented.

The shortlist will be out on 10 April, but up to then make sure you go to Three Percent regularly for biased and unprofessional hymns in praise of all the longlisted books.