The National Book Foundation has unveiled its longlist for the 2026 Translated Literature Award, featuring a diverse selection of ten titles across various genres and languages. This year, an impressive total of 159 books were submitted by publishers before the final list was narrowed down.
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The longlist highlights literature that has been translated from seven different languages, encompassing works originally written in Arabic, Chinese, French, Indonesian, Norwegian, Russian, and Spanish. Among the nominees are nine novels and a single nonfiction title, reflecting a rich tapestry of global narratives.
Notable names have emerged from the longlist, including both authors and translators who have previously garnered acclaim from significant literary honours such as the English PEN Translates Award and the International Booker Prize. This year’s contenders include works by recognised talents such as Martin Aitken, who was a finalist in 2018 with the translation of Hanne Ørstavik’s “Love” and was also longlisted in 2022 for his work with Olga Ravn’s “The Employees.”
Authors Mohamed Mbougar Sarr and Maria Stepanova have also made an impression in past years. Sarr’s work, co-translated by Lara Vergnaud, was longlisted in 2023 for “The Most Secret Memory of Men.” Similarly, Stepanova, along with translator Sasha Dugdale, was acknowledged in 2021 for “In Memory of Memory.” The calibre of talent represented in this longlist further underscores the cultural significance of translated literature in a global context.
The ten nominated titles for this year’s prestigious award include a range of unique voices and stories. Among them are Egana Djabbarova’s “My Dreadful Body,” Álvaro Enrigue’s “Now I Surrender,” and Karim Kattan’s “Eden at Dawn.” Other noteworthy entries consist of Karl Ove Knausgaard’s “The School of Night,” Ping Lu’s “To the East of the East,” and Vicente Luis Mora’s “Centroeuropa.”
Additionally, Intan Paramaditha’s “Night of a Thousand Hells,” Mohamed Mbougar Sarr’s “Pure Men,” Maria Stepanova’s “The Disappearing Act,” along with Samar Yazbek’s poignant work, “Your Presence Is a Danger to Your Life: Voices of Survival and Witness in Gaza,” round out the list of contenders. Each title offers a glimpse into a distinctive narrative experience, inviting readers to explore themes as varied as survival, identity, and the human condition.
The distinguished panel of judges for the Translated Literature Award consists of Shelley Fairweather-Vega, Javier García del Moral, John Keene, Christopher Merrill, and Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi. Their expertise in the literary field will play a crucial role in assessing the merits of each nominated work and ultimately selecting the finalists.
The announcement of the longlist comes ahead of the upcoming National Book Awards Ceremony, set to take place on 18 November 2026. This annual event celebrates outstanding literary achievements across multiple genres and is highly anticipated within the literary community.
As the countdown to the awards continues, readers and literary enthusiasts alike are encouraged to engage with this year’s longlist, exploring the breadth of global literature represented. The nominees not only showcase the profound impact of translation in bringing diverse stories to new audiences but also highlight the vital role that literature plays in fostering understanding and empathy across cultures.
The winners of this year’s Translated Literature Award will be revealed during the ceremony, and the anticipation surrounding the announcement is already building. For those seeking literary inspiration, this longlist serves as an exciting opportunity to discover new voices and narratives that challenge and enrich our understanding of the world.