2017 Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize Shortlist Announced

Back in June, the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) announced their longlist for the 2017 National Translation Awards. Now they're back with a shortlist, this time for the Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize. The list is "short" but strong. From ALTA's announcement:

The American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) is delighted to announce the 3-title shortlist for the 2017 Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize. Lucien Stryk was an internationally acclaimed translator of Japanese and Chinese Zen poetry, renowned Zen poet himself, and former professor of English at Northern Illinois University. The Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize recognizes the importance of Asian translation for international literature and promotes the translation of Asian works into English. This year’s judges are Eleanor Goodman, Kendall Heitzman, and Aditi Machado.

The award-winning book and translator for 2017 will receive a $5,000 cash prize, and the award will be announced during ALTA’s annual conference, ALTA40: Reflections/Refractions, held this year at the Radisson Blu Minneapolis Downtown in Minneapolis, MN from October 5-8, 2017.

And now for the shortlist:

Cheer Up: Femme Fatale
By Kim Yideum
Translated from the Korean by Ji Yoon Lee, Don Mee Choi, and Johannes Göransson
(Action Books)

Night-Sky Checkerboard
By Oh Sae-young
Translated from the Korean by Brother Anthony of Taizé
(Phoneme Media)

Not Written Words
By Xi Xi
Translated from the Chinese by Jennifer Feeley
(Zephyr Press)

Congrats to all the poets, translators, and presses! Head to ALTA's site to read about each individual title being honored.