National Book Award for Translated Literature · 2025 · Winner
National Book Award for Translated Literature
2025 Winner
2025 Shortlist & Longlist
Shortlist
Complete History
2020s
About the National Book Award for Translated Literature
The National Book Award for Translated Literature is awarded annually by the National Book Foundation to recognize the best translated book published in the US in a given year. The award was originally given from 1967 to 1983 in a translation category, then discontinued. It was re-established in 2018 after years of advocacy for translated literature in the US market. Since its reinstatement, both the author of the original work and the translator receive equal recognition and each receives half of the $10,000 prize. The award covers all genres of literary fiction and nonfiction translated from any language into English. It has recognized works translated from Japanese, Hungarian, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Norwegian, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese, among others. The award has helped shine a spotlight on the relatively small percentage of books published in the US that are translations, and has become a significant recognition for both international authors and their English-language translators. Longlists are announced in September, finalists in October, and the winner at the November ceremony.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Both the author of the original work and the English-language translator receive recognition and share the $10,000 prize equally — $5,000 each.
- No. Works translated from any language and originating from any country are eligible, as long as the book is published in the US.
- All genres of literary fiction and creative nonfiction in translation are eligible — novels, story collections, poetry, and narrative nonfiction.
- The award was re-established in 2018 after a hiatus that began in 1983. The first winner of the modern award was Yoko Tawada's The Emissary, translated by Margaret Mitsutani.
- Winners are announced in November at the National Book Awards ceremony, with longlists in September and finalists in October.
- The winner (author and translator together) receives $10,000 in total (split equally), plus a bronze medal. Finalists receive $1,000 (split equally) and a bronze medal.
- No. The translator does not need to be a US citizen. The book must be published in the US, but the translator can be of any nationality.