Canadian Translator Scores Booker Nomination

Padma Viswanathan is nominated for her English translation of the novel "On Earth As It Is Beneath" by Brazilian author Ana Paula Maia. The book is described as a "stark, unsettling exploration of power, violence, destruction and institutional corruption" set in a remote penal colony. The £50,000 prize (approximately $92,000 CDN) is split equally between the author and the translator, celebrating the crucial role of translators in world literature. Each shortlisted author and translator also receives £2,500. Viswanathan is an accomplished author in her own right. Her second novel, "The Ever After of Ashwin Rao," was shortlisted for the 2014 Scotiabank Giller Prize, and her work has been published in eight countries. She is a professor of Creative Writing at the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville. The International Booker Prize, in its current format for translated fiction, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. It aims to boost the profile of fiction from other languages, which accounts for a small share of books published in Britain. This year's longlist includes 13 books translated from 11 different languages, with authors and translators from 14 countries. The selections were made from 128 submitted books. The shortlist of six books will be announced on March 31, with the winner revealed at a ceremony at London's Tate Modern on May 19. Other Canadian translators who have been nominated for the prize in the past include Anne McLean, Alison L. Strayer, Sarah Moses, and Darryl Sterk.