SELTA members Michael Meigs and Sarah Death have been longlisted for the 2026 Petrona Award.

Michael Meigs features for his translation of John Ajvide Lindqvist’s The Writing in the Water (Amazon Crossing).

Sarah Death features for her translation of Karin Smirnoff’s The Girl with Ice in her Veins (MacLehose Press).

The Petrona Award is open to crime fiction in translation, either written by a Scandinavian author or set in Scandinavia and published in the UK in the previous calendar year. A total of 29 titles were entered.

Congratulations to Michael and Sarah, and fingers crossed for the shortlist which will be announced on 24 September.

Congratulations to Kira Josefsson, whose translation of Judith Kiro’s O was shortlisted this year for the Gregg Barrios Book in Translation Prize.

The prize is awarded by the National Book Critic’s Circle, with books of any genre translated into English and published in the United States being eligible.

“All translation is alchemy of course, though to my mind, this is especially true of poetic texts, and Josefsson’s collaboration with Kiros—along with an excellent translator’s note—is exceptional. Kiros’s sure and powerful vision makes O a literary creature of ambition, risk, and wonder, a polyphonic layering of voices that enjoins multiple rereadings, yielding insight, wonder, and sighs.” – Mandana Chaffa on Words Without Borders.

You can read a review of O by Leonora Simonovis here at the Poestry Foundation.

SELTA members Neil Smith and Rachel Willson-Broyles have been shortlisted for the 2025 Petrona Award.

The Petrona Award recognises outstanding translated crime fiction from Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, with this year’s winner being announced on 16th October 2025. There were a total of 31 entries to the annual prize, so congratulations Neil and Rachel!

The judges on Neil’s translation of Pascal Engman’s The Widows:

“A previous winner of the Petrona Award with FEMICIDE, Pascal Engman once again produces a high-octane thriller which impressed the judges with its complex plotting, nerve wracking tension and strong characterisation throughout.”

And on Rachel’s translation of Deliver Me by Malin Persson Giolito:

“DELIVER ME is a powerful, yet unsettling, examination of the dark underbelly of suburban Stockholm and the real victims of gang violence and social inequality.”

Fiona Graham’s translation of Kjell Westö’s Dusk 41 (Skymning 41) was longlisted for this year’s John Dryden Translation Competition. Congratulations Fiona!

You can see the full list of winners here. Please also note that the 2023-2024 competition is also now open, with a deadline of 5th February 2024.

Our congratulations go to Frank Perry, whose translation of Åsa Larsson’s The Sins of our Fathers has been shortlisted for this year’s Petrona Award.

The Petrona Award recognises translated Scandinavian crime fiction that has been published in the UK during the previous calendar year.

What the judges say:

“Larsson remains a wise, observant, social commentator and creator of a gripping, suspenseful and utterly moving series, with her eye to the past and the future, and emotive style. Delicate and relevant humour adds hope to the fragile lives of the main characters.”

Saskia Vogel’s translation of Ædnan by Linnea Axelsson is now a finalist for the National Book Award for Translated Literature, alongside four other titles from Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, and French. You can read a detailed press release here.

Finalists receive $1,000 and a bronze medal, with the $10,000 prize for the winner being split evenly between author and translator. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, 20th November.