August 8, 2023

Andy Turner’s translation of ‘Wild Boar’ by Hannah Lutz shortlisted for publication by the Emma Press

Congratulations Andy!

Book cover of Vildsvin by Hannah Lutz.

Congratulations to Andy Turner, whose translation of Wild Boar by Hannah Lutz has appeared on the shortlist of titles to be published soon by Emma Press.

The independent publisher specialises in poetry, short fiction, essays and children’s books. They run regular calls for submission to decide what to publish and are open to translations as well as original works in English. You can read more about the submissions process, as well as specific information relating to the current round here.

Praise for Andy from the shortlist: “Not a word is wasted in the opening of this Swedish-language polyphonic short novel raising questions of memory, migration and the anthropocene. We also appreciated the translator’s clear vision of the novella and how it would fit within The Emma Press catalogue.”

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Book cover of Vildsvin by Hannah Lutz.
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November 16, 2022

Two SELTA members featured on 2022 Petrona Award shortlist

Congratulations to Agnes Broomé and Elizabeth Clark Wessel!

SELTA members Agnes Broomé and Elizabeth Clark Wessel have been shortlisted for the 2022 Petrona Award for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year. Agnes is shortlisted for her translation of Maria Adolfsson’s Fatal Isles (Zaffre), while Elizabeth is shortlisted for her translation of Anders Roslund’s Knock Knock (Harvill Secker).

The winner will be announced on 8 December.

The award longlist announced earlier in November also featured SELTA member Ian Giles for his translation of Gustaf Skördeman’s Geiger.

The full shortlist, with more details of all 6 shortlisted novels, translated from Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, and Finnish can be seen here.

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February 10, 2022

Bernard Shaw Prize awarded to Sarah Death for Tove Jansson translation

The 2021 Bernard Shaw Prize has been awarded to Sarah Death for her translation from Swedish of Tove Jansson’s Letters from Tove.

The winner of the 2021 Bernard Shaw Prize is Sarah Death for her translation of Letters from Tove by Tove Jansson (edited by Boel Westin and Helen Svensson) and published by Sort of Books. The announcement of the winner was made as part of the Society of Authors’ annual Translation Prizes ceremony held online on 10th February.

The judges’ citation noted: ‘This translation was the standout contribution from within the shortlist for the judges. It is beautifully illustrated and produced, balancing general reader interest with scholarly value throughout its footnotes and index.’

The two runners up were Amanda Doxtater for her translation of Karin Boye’s Crisis, and Sarah Death, whose translation of Chitambo was also featured on the shortlist. The judges noted that ‘Death and Doxtater’s translation prowess proved inseparable’.

The prize is awarded for the best translation into English of a full length Swedish language work of literary merit and general interest, with the winner receiving £2000. Named after the author and dramatist George Bernard Shaw, whose Nobel Prize went towards a foundation for ‘the promotion and diffusion of knowledge and appreciation of the literature and art of Sweden in the British Islands’, the prize was established in 1991 and is generously sponsored by the Anglo-Swedish Literary Foundation and the Embassy of Sweden in London. It has been awarded triennially since its inception, but will be awarded biennially from now, meaning that the next award will be for 2023 (awarded in 2024).

Sarah Death has won the Bernard Shaw prize on two previous occasions, in 2003 and 2006, and was commended in 2015. This is also a third win for the late Tove Jansson and her publisher Sort of Books. SELTA offers its wholehearted congratulations to Sarah on her achievement.

You can watch the full prize ceremony here. And finally well done to all the translators who were featured on the shortlist for the 2021 prize as announced last November.

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November 17, 2021

Four SELTA members shortlisted for the Bernard Shaw Translation Prize

Deborah Bragan-Turner, Sarah Death (twice), Nichola Smalley and Neil Smith are all on the shortlist.

The triennial prize, instituted in 1991 by the Anglo-Swedish Literary Foundation, is administered by the Society of Authors and awarded to translations into English of full-length Swedish language works of literary merit and general interest. The full shortlist is as follows:

Neil Smith for a translation of Anxious People by Fredrik Backman (Penguin, Michael Joseph)

Sarah Death for a translation of Chitambo by Hagar Olsson (Norvik Press)

Amanda Doxtater for a translation of Crisis by Karin Boye (Norvik Press)

Sarah Death for a translation of Letters from Tove by Tove Jansson and ed. by Boel Westin and Helen Svensson (Sort of Books)

Deborah Bragan-Turner for a translation of To Cook A Bear by Mikael Niemi (MacLehose Press)

Nichola Smalley for a translation of Wretchedness by Andrzej Tichý (And Other Stories)

Congratulations to them all. We are also delighted that from now on the prize will be awarded every two years thanks to an increase in funding.

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November 6, 2021

Deborah Bragan-Turner’s translation of Michael Niemi’s To Cook a Bear wins Petrona Award

Congratulations to Deborah!

The Petrona Award celebrates the best Scandinavian crime novel of the year and in choosing Michael Niemi’s To Cook a Bear, published by MacLehose Press, this is the first time the award has gone to historical fiction.

In announcing the award, the judges said “The beautiful translation by Deborah Bragan-Turner lets the novel shine for English-language readers around the world.”

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October 20, 2021

Poetry Book Society selects David McDuff’s translation of Tua Forsström

The Poetry Book Society has chosen SELTA member David McDuff’s translation of Finland-Swedish poet Tua Forsström’s poems as part of its Winter Selection to be sent out to its members this November.

Tua Forsström’s I walked on into the forest: poems for a little girl, translated by David McDuff, is the Poetry Book Society’s Translation Choice for Winter 2021.

“Her poetry draws its sonorous and plangent music from the landscapes of Finland, seeking harmony between the troubled human heart and the threatened natural world,” the Poetry Book Society.

Subscribers will receive the book as part of their poetry bundle this November. Read more about the author at the publisher’s website, Bloodaxe Books here.

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September 30, 2021

2021 Petrona Award shortlist announced for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year

Congratulations to Sarah Death and Deborah Bragan-Turner!

SELTA members Sarah Death and Deborah Bragan-Turner have been shortlisted for the Petrona Award. Sarah is shortlisted for her translation of Håkan Nesser’s The Secret Life of Mr. Roos (Mantle), while Deborah is shortlisted for her translation of Mikael Niemi’s To Cook A Bear (MacLehose Press).

The winner will be announced on 4 November.

The full shortlist, with more details of all 6 shortlisted novels, translated from Swedish, Norwegian and Icelandic, can be seen here.

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July 22, 2021

Saskia Vogel wins PEN Translates award

One of 12 PEN Translates awards goes to fund Saskia Vogel’s translation of Strega by Johanne Lykke Holm. The book will be published by Lolli Editions.

Strega by Johanne Lykke Holm was nominated for the 2021 Nordic Council Literature Prize.

PEN Translates awards fund the translation and publication of books “on the basis of outstanding literary quality, the strength of the publishing project, and their contribution to UK bibliodiversity”. See this year’s titles here.

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November 20, 2020

Swedish Book Review launches new site

SELTA’s journal Swedish Book Review has launched its new website.

SELTA is pleased to share some happy news in these difficult times: the long-awaited new online Swedish Book Review is now live! The new website address is: swedishbookreview.org

Although the editorial team still have work to do in uploading SBR’s archive of material, which goes back to 2004, there is already an exciting collection of translated extracts, articles, interviews and book reviews from 2018 to 2020. The material for 2020 is all new and focusses on the theme of emerging voices in Swedish literature, including the debut authors who attended the SELTA seminar in Edinburgh last autumn.

Once more of SBR’s archive is in place, a new membership scheme will launch offering access to the full digital archive and all new issues, in addition to other member benefits. Membership of Swedish Book Review will remain part of the SELTA membership package in the same way that a subscription to the printed journal was in the past.

For the time being, stop by the new website and take a look!

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Catch up on SELTA live event with literary agents

SELTA hosted a live virtual event with three guest speakers.

On 18 November, SELTA was delighted to be joined for a live event by three distinguished literary agents working in the Nordic region to find out about their pandemic year, and to gain a better understanding of what their work involves. Our invited speakers were Urpu Strellman (Helsinki Literary Agency), Judith Toth (Nordin Agency) and Sofie Voller (Politiken Literary Agency), all of whom represent Swedish-language authors and titles, as well as other Nordic writers. The panel was chaired by Alex Fleming (Editor, Swedish Book Review). The event was recorded and you can now catch up here.

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