The French-American Foundation received 64 submissions to the Translation Prize this year from more than 35 American publishers. . . . There will be one Fiction and one Non-Fiction prize presented at the annual Awards Ceremony on June 5 in New York. Each winning translator will receive a $10,000 cash prize funded by the Florence Gould Foundation.

The jury, which includes Linda Asher, David Bellos, Linda Coverdale, Emmanuelle Ertel and Lorin Stein, has selected the best English translations of French works published in 2012.

Here’s the list of the Fiction Finalists (descriptions theirs):

No One by Gwenaëlle Aubry and translated by Trista Selous (Tin House Books)

No One is a fictional memoir in dictionary form that investigates the unstable identity of the author’s father, a lawyer affected by a disabling bipolar disorder. Letter by letter, Aubry gives shape and meaning to the father who had long disappeared from her view.

We Monks and Soldiers by Lutz Bassmann and translated by Jordan Stump (University of Nebraska Press)

While humanity seems to be fading around them, the members of a shadowy organization are doing their inadequate best to assist those experiencing their last moments. This remarkable work offers readers a thrilling entry into Bassmann’s numinous world.

HHhH by Laurent Binet and translated by Sam Taylor (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

A seemingly effortlessly blend of historical truth, personal memory, and Laurent Binet’s remarkable imagination, HHhH—a winner of the prestigious Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman—is a work at once thrilling and intellectually engrossing, a fast-paced novel of the Second World War.

Prehistoric Times by Eric Chevillard and translated by Alyson Waters (Archipelago Books)

The characters in Prehistoric Times remind us of the inhabitants of Samuel Beckett’s world: dreamers who in their savage and deductive folly try to modify reality.

With the Animals by Noëlle Revaz and translated by W. Donald Wilson (Dalkey Archive Press)

With the Animals, Noëlle Revaz’s shocking debut, is a novel of mud and blood whose linguistic audaciousness is matched only by its brutality, misanthropy, and gallows humor.

And for those of you who have read this far in this post, you should know that two of those five titles made the Best Translated Book Award fiction longlist . . .

You can find more details about the history of the prize, etc., by but here’s the bit you’re probably more interested in:

Finalists for Fiction

• Mitzi Angel for 03 by Jean-Christophe Valtat (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)

• Alexander Hertich for Dying by René Belletto (Dalkey Archive Press)

• Anna Moschovakis for The Jokers by Albert Cossery (New York Review of Books)

• Lydia Davis for Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (Viking/Penguin Group)

• Alison Anderson for A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cossé (Europa Editions)

Finalists for Non-Fiction

• David Fernbach for The Invention of Paris: A History in Footsteps by Eric Hazan (Verso Books)

• Frederick Brown for Letters from America by Alexis de Tocqueville (Yale University
  Press)

• Donald Nicholson-Smith for Letters to Madeleine by Guillaume Apollinaire (Seagull
  Books)

• Jane Marie Todd for Reading and Writing in Babylon by Dominique Charpin (Harvard University Press)

• A. Kaiser for A Wall in Palestine by René Backmann (Picador)

Jurors for this year’s competition include Linda Asher, David Bellos, Antoine Compagnon, Linda Coverdale, Jeannette Seaver and Lily Tuck.

Congrats to everyone, and it’s really cool to see Anna Moschovakis on here for the BTBA finalist, The Jokers.

I usually avoid whinging about any of these awards (because yes, I know how hard, etc.), but I’m a bit stunned that Charlotte Mandell isn’t on here for Zone. Not that I know whose place she would take, but damn, Zone is an intense undertaking and Charlotte pulled it off in, um, award winning fashion.

Fiction:

John Cullen for Brodeck by Philippe Claudel (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday)

C. Dickson for Desert by J.M.G. Le Clezio (David R. Godine Publishing)

Richard Howard for Alien Hearts by Guy de Maupassant (New York Review Books)

Charlotte Mandell for The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell (HarperCollins)

Richard Sieburth for The Salt Smugglers by Gerard de Nerval (Archipelago Books)

Nonfiction:

Beverley Bie Brahic for This Incredible Need to Believe by Julia Kristeva (Columbia University Press)

M.B. DeBevoise for Manichaeism by Michel Tardieu (University of Illinois Press)

Jody Gladding for On the Death and Life of Languages by Claude Hagege (Yale University Press/Odile Jacob)

George Holoch for Orphans of the Republic by Olivier Wieviorka (Harvard University Press)

Loic Wacquant for Prisons of Poverty by Loic Wacquant (University of Minnesota Press)

Great list of translators/books/publishers . . .

The prizes will be given out on Thursday, September 16th at a special event at the Gallery at the Century Association. For more information about the awards (and how to attend the ceremony/reception—which is always quite stunning) contact Sierra Schaller at sschaller [at] frenchamerican [dot] org.

The Florence Gould Foundation and the French-American Foundation are currently accepting submissions for their Annual Translation Prizes.

This year the foundation will present a $10 000 cash award for the best English translation of French in both fiction and non-fiction.

Translations for consideration must have been published for the first time in the United States between January 1 and December 31, 2009 and must be submitted, accompanied by the French original work by December 31, 2009 (one French copy and one English copy).

All categories of work are eligible in fiction and nonfiction, with the exception of poetry, technical, scientific and reference works, and children’s literature. The prizes will be announced and presented in the spring of 2010.

All submissions should be sent to:

The French-American Foundation
Translation Prizes
28 West 44th Street, Suite 1420
New York, New York 10036

Each submission must be sent with the corresponding submission form. This form should include required contact information for both French and American publishers (editorial and publicity departments) and for the translator.

Submissions will not be considered without duly filled submission form. For inquiries, please contact:

Emma Archer, Director: earcher [at] frenchamerican.org.

The Florence Gould Foundation and the French-American Foundation are currently accepting submissions for their Annual Translation Prizes.

DEADLINE: DECEMBER 31, 2009

This year the foundation will present a $10 000 cash award for the best English translation of French in both fiction and non-fiction.

Translations for consideration must have been published for the first time in the United States between January 1 and December 31, 2009 and must be submitted, accompanied by the French original work by December 31, 2009 (one French copy and one English copy).

All categories of work are eligible in fiction and nonfiction, with the exception of technical, scientific and reference works, and children’s literature. The prizes will be announced and presented in the spring of 2010.

All submissions should be sent to:

The French-American Foundation
Translation Prizes
28 West 44th Street, Suite 1420
New York, New York 10036

Each submission must be sent with the corresponding submission form.This form should include required contact information for both French and American publishers (editorial and publicity departments) and for the translator.

Submissions will not be considered without duly filled submission form.

For inquiries, please contact earcher [at] frenchamerican [dot] org.

Exploring the future of publishing:
French-American Foundation exchange to focus on new approaches in the industry

New York, October 22, 2009 – The powerful economic and technological forces transforming modern publishing, and the comparative perspectives in France and the U.S., will be the focus of an investigative exchange between the two countries organized by the French-American Foundation in collaboration with the French Ministry of Culture. Professionals from each country’s publishing industry will spend one week meeting with leading figures from the other country’s literary and editorial communities.

This year’s publishing and literature exchange is part of the Courants program, formed in 1998 by the French-American Foundation, the French Ministry of Culture and the Florence Gould Foundation to foster international exchange and promote deeper trans-Atlantic understanding in a specific area of arts and the humanities.
“A particular focus area for this year’s program is the impact of new information technologies on traditional publishing models and the opportunities it presents for increasing exposure and creating new avenues for international literature,” said Emma Archer, Director of Cultural programs at the French-American Foundation. “We believe that the exchange of perspectives and insights gained as a result of this program will help contribute to increased cooperation and mutual understanding regarding the future of publishing in both countries.”

Among the issues identified as priority focus areas to be examined during the program:

• The effects of technology on the economics of publishing in all media
• The latest trends in foreign literature and translation
• How emerging online innovations and new marketing approaches are redefining publisher-audience relationships
• Strategies for marshaling resources to advance translation of foreign literature
• How new business models offer opportunities to increase access to foreign literature and other economically “risky” works in the face of industry concentration and profitability pressures?

The selected American participants in the French program, to be held from October 24-31, include some of the leading innovators among American editors and publishers.

Participants:

Molly Barton – Director of Business Development, Associate Publisher of eSpecials, Penguin Group USA

Julia Cheiffetz – Senior Editor, HarperStudio, HarperCollins

Eli Horowitz – Publisher and Managing Editor, Mc Sweeney’s Books

Paul W. Morris – General Manager, Digital Media & Marketing – BOMB Magazine

Chad W. Post – Director, Open Letter, �����Թ�

Maja Carolin Thomas – Senior Vice President, Hachette Digital, Hachette Book Group & Hachette Livre

Todd Zuniga – Founder of Opium Magazine, Creator of the Literary Death Match Series

The trip will introduce the participants to trends in American and French publishing and provide them with networking opportunities, industry overviews, and an introduction to the latest American and French fiction and nonfiction. During their stay, they will visit publishing houses, bookstores, participate in panel discussions during which they will gain insight into different cultures, establish new contacts and build relationships with their counterparts.

A reciprocal study tour to the U.S. for a group of French editors will take place next January.

The French-American Foundation

Founded in 1976, the French-American Foundation is committed to advancing the dialogue between France and the United States. The French-American Foundation brings together key policymakers, academics, business leaders and other prominent individuals from both countries so that they may exchange their ideas and create productive bonds likely to have a lasting effect on policies in France and in the United States. To reach these objectives, the French-American Foundation creates multi-year thematic programs, holds conferences, organizes exchanges and produces publications meant to foster and share best practices between the two countries. http://www.frenchamerican.org/

Press contact: William Mengebier
Tel: +33 (0)6 29 62 03 04
E-mail: press [at] french-american [dot] org

As Thomas Bishop pointed out in his opening remarks, it’s interesting that both winners were translated by a pair of translators. Not that this is necessarily good or bad, just interesting. He also gave a shout out to American university presses as one of the admirable publishing segments of the book business trying to do a lot of literature in translation.

Of the finalists for the nonfiction category, four of the five titles were published by university presses (the exception being Camus’s Notebooks that came out from Ivan R. Dee). The fiction category had a different make-up, but three of the six finalists were from independent presses (Archipelago, Europa Editions, and New York Review Books).

The event—which took place at the Century Association—was very well attended (standing room only!), filled with all the editors, agents, translators, and other cultural peoples involved in international lit. (Especially French literature. One of the cool things the FAF did, which I’ve never seen before, is hand out a printed list of all RSVPs, so attendees could see who else was supposedly there and seek them out . . . Actually sort of helpful for a reception of this sort, where you’re only one or two connections away from everyone else . . .

As Thomas Bishop pointed out in his opening remarks, it’s interesting that both winners were translated by a pair of translators. Not that this is necessarily good or bad, just interesting. He also gave a shout out to American university presses as one of the admirable publishing segments of the book business trying to do a lot of literature in translation.

Of the finalists for the nonfiction category, four of the five titles were published by university presses (the exception being Camus’s Notebooks that came out from Ivan R. Dee). The fiction category had a different make-up, but three of the six finalists were from independent presses (Archipelago, Europa Editions, and New York Review Books).

The event—which took place at the Century Association—was very well attended (standing room only!), filled with all the editors, agents, translators, and other cultural peoples involved in international lit. (Especially French literature. One of the cool things the FAF did, which I’ve never seen before, is hand out a printed list of all RSVPs, so attendees could see who else was supposedly there and seek them out . . . Actually sort of helpful for a reception of this sort, where you’re only one or two connections away from everyone else . . .

This Prize is for the best fiction and nonfiction translations from French into English over the past year and comes with a $10,000 case award. The shortlist was loaded with great books and translators, all of whom were incredibly deserving.

In the end though, the were Linda Coverdale for her translation of Jean Echenoz’s Ravel, and Linda Asher for her translation of Milan Kundera’s The Curtain. Congratulations to both Lindas!

Every year these two foundations give out a prize to the best fiction and non-fiction translations from French into English. Here are this year’s finalists:

Fiction:

• Allah Is Not Obliged by Ahmadou Kourouma, translated by Frank Wynne;

• Kick the Animal Out by Veronique Ovalde, translated by Adriana Hunter

• Place Names by Jean Ricardou, translated by Jordan Stump;

• Ravel by Jean Echenoz, translated by Linda Coverdale;

• Solea by Jean-Claude Izzo, translated by Howard Curtis.

Non-fiction:

• The Curtain by Milan Kundera, translated by Linda Asher;

• Divagations by Stephane Mallarme, translated by Barbara Johnson;

• How to Talk about Books You Haven’t Read by Pierre Bayard, translated by Jeffrey Mehiman;

• Life Laid Bare by Jean Hatzfeld, translated by Linda Coverdale;

• A Voice from Elsewhere by Maurice Blanchot, translated by Charlotte Mandell.

All are worthy titles, although I’m pulling for Ravel and Life Laid Bare so that Linda Coverdale can walk away with a dual victory . . .

Winners receive a cash prize of $10,000 each, and in case you’re interested, the ceremony takes place Wednesday, May 28—the day before the start of BookExpo America.