Translator's Choice 2020 1
3 Translator’s choice Dear readers In this specia
l edition of New Swedish Books – Translator’s Choice you will meet fifteen translators, each presenting one of their favourite works of contemporary Swedish literature. In short, personal texts the translators describe what it is that makes these works so special to them. One has unearthed a treasure of literary techniques, one recognises their own experiences in the text they’ve chosen, and another has found a message of compassion that they want to convey to their own country. What all these translators have in common is that they have received grants for sample translations from Swedish Literature Exchange in 2020. The sample translation grant makes it possible for translators to work on a book that they are passionate about and want to pitch to publishers in their own language areas. This year 75 translators applied and we awarded 25 grants. Some of the 25 have already succeeded in securing publishing deals for the books they received grants for, which is why they are not included here. By highlighting these works we at Swedish Literature Exchange want to give a boost to exciting, but not necessarily the most recently published ones. The translators know the literary scenes in their respective languages and are therefore important and inspiring ambassadors for the books that they have taken to heart. At the same time we of course hope that translators and publishers in other countries will also become curious about the books that are written about with such elegance and enthusiasm here. Apart from everything else, 2020 has been a year of cancelled meetings. Yet, our conversations about books must go on. We at Swedish Literature Exchange want to do all we can to continue the literary conversation and so we thank all translators who work on recreating Swedish books into their own languages. And in particular we thank those who have contributed to this publication – it has been a pleasure working with you! Enjoy! Susanne Bergström Larsson, Head of Swedish Literature Exchange Maria Antas, Editor New Swedish Books