The Warwick Prize for Women in Translation is awarded annually to the best eligible work of fiction, poetry, literary non-fiction, work of fiction for children or young adults, graphic novel, or play text, written by a woman, translated into English by a translator(s) of any gender, and published by a UK or Irish publisher.
The prize launched in 2017 with the aim of addressing the gender imbalance in translated literature and increasing the number of international women’s voices accessible to a British and Irish readership.
The Long and Shortlist
Translated literary fiction makes up only 3.5% of the literary fiction titles published in the UK, though it accounts for 7% of the volume of sales. You can see the list of 115 eligible titles here, the longlist of 17 titles here (including descriptions of the books) and the shortlist of 8 titles here as shown in the image below.
In 2021, there was a runner up and a winner.
The Runner Up
Strange Beasts of China (Science Fiction/Fantasy) by Yan Ge, translated from Chinese by Jeremy Tiang, published by Tilted Axis Press.
“Yan Ge imagines a landscape of marvels and terrors that eerily resembles our own everyday world… These fables of love and loneliness, belonging & exclusion, solidarity and otherness, assume an agile and genial English voice in Jeremy Tiang’s translation.”
The Winner
And this year’s winner is….
An Inventory of Losses (Essays/Experimental) by Judith Schalansky, translated from German by Jackie Smith, published by MacLehose Press.
Described as:
“The stylistic flair, and variety of voice, in Jackie Smith’s mesmerising translation, turn Schalansky’s reminder that ‘Being alive means experiencing loss’ into a journey full of colour, contrast and bittersweet pleasures. A thoroughly memorable winner […] that will surely endure.”
Word by Word 
Well, that’s timely – I’ve immediately added Judith Schalansky to my Christmas wish list. I thought I recognised the name, and of course, I have long owned and greatly loved her Atlas of Remote Islands.
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It is good timing indeed and Atlas of Remote Islands sounds like an equally intriguing title! I’m so happy that you shared that with us, she’s not an author I was familiar with, but with a background in Art History and Communication Design, it’s no wonder she has created something award winning.
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Not surprised by the winner and it does sound really interesting, but it’s probably the runner-up I will get to first. There’s just something very appealing in the descriptions of it I’ve seen.
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Interesting stuff, thank you for highlighting it. I see you’re reading African Europeans in the side bar, and I’ll be interested in your thoughts on that, as it’s firmly on my wishlist!
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Yes, I’m slow reading African Europeans, it being a history book, and often the names are unfamiliar to me so I go off and look things up. It’s a fascinating read so far though.
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I’ll definitely look out for the Schalansky, which seems interesting.
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Both of these have been on my list for a bit, I am excited to get my hands on them. This blog is the source of too much money being spent… and I thank you for that!
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Oh thank you for continuing to read and comment, consider it like window shopping and keeping up with the literary world. I hope you find time to use the library at least, and introduce your daughter to your love of books.
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We go to the library a lot already, and she has good taste on books, she makes sure she picks her full quota too. Proud of her!
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