About the Prize
The Cercador Prize recognizes works of literature in translation as selected by a committee of independent booksellers based across the United States.
Each committee member is responsible for nominating two book-length translations published and distributed in the U.S. between January 1st and December 31st of the current year. The committee’s primary focus is English-language translation including but not limited to fiction, nonfiction, memoir, and hybrid texts. There is no formal submission process for this prize.
The ten finalists for the 2025 prize will be announced on September 30 (International Translation Day) with one winner to follow in November. An amount of $1,000 will be conferred entirely to the winning translator or translators.
Translators based anywhere in the world are eligible for the Cercador Prize. ✦
-
The ten finalists for this year’s prize will be announced on September 30, 2025.
2025 Prize Committee — Emily Tarr (Chair), Thank You Books, Birmingham, AL; Javi Tapia, Third Place Books, Seattle, WA; Dylan McGonigle, Wayfinder Bookshop, Fairfax, CA; Beatriz Quiroz García, Skylight Books, Los Angeles, CA; C. Rees, Alienated Majesty Books, Austin, TX -
Mohamed Mbougar Sarr's The Silence of the Choir, translated from the French by Alison Anderson | Europa Editions
Alki Zei's The Wildcat Behind Glass, translated from the Greek by Karen Emmerich | Yonder
Munir Hachemi's Living Things, translated from the Spanish by Julia Sanches | Coach House Books
Jean-Baptiste Del Amo's The Son of Man, translated from the French by Frank Wynne | Grove Press
Adèle Rosenfeld's Jellyfish Have No Ears, translated from the French by Jeffrey Zuckerman | Graywolf Press
Eva Baltasar's Mammoth, translated from the Catalan by Julia Sanches | And Other Stories
Agustín Fernández Mallo's The Book of All Loves, translated from the Spanish by Thomas Bunstead | Fitzcarraldo Editions ✦
László Krasznahorkai's Herscht 07769, translated from the Hungarian by Ottilie Mulzet | New Directions
Yuri Herrera's Season of the Swamp, translated from the Spanish by Lisa Dillman | Graywolf Press
Scholastique Mukasonga's Sister Deborah, translated from the French by Mark Polizzotti | Archipelago Books
✦ winner
2024 Prize Committee — Spencer Ruchti (Chair), Third Place Books, Seattle, WA; Thu Doan, East Bay Booksellers, Oakland, CA; Riley Rennhack, Deep Vellum Books, Dallas, TX; Emily Tarr, Thank You Books, Birmingham, AL; Oscar Almonte-Espinal, Uncle Bobbie's Coffee & Books, Philadelphia, PA -
Fernanda Melchor’s This Is Not Miami, translated from the Spanish by Sophie Hughes | New Directions
Ana Paula Maia’s Of Cattle and Men, translated from the Portuguese by Zoë Perry | Charco Press ✦
Cheon Myeong-kwan’s Whale, translated from the Korean by Chi-Young Kim | Archipelago Books
Norman Erikson Pasaribu’s Happy Stories, Mostly, translated from the Indonesian by Tiffany Tsao | Feminist Press
Xu Zechen’s Beijing Sprawl, translated from the Chinese by Jeremy Tiang and Eric Abrahamsen | Two Lines Press
Juan Gómez Bárcena’s Not Even the Dead, translated from the Spanish by Katie Whittemore | Open Letter
Guadalupe Nettel’s Still Born, translated from the Spanish by Rosalind Harvey | Bloomsbury Publishing
Olga Ravn’s My Work, translated from the Danish by Sophia Hersi Smith and Jennifer Russell | New Directions
Jon Fosse’s A Shining, translated from the Norwegian by Damion Searls | Transit Books
Mathias Énard’s The Annual Banquet of the Gravediggers’ Guild, translated from the French by Frank Wynne | New Directions
✦ winner
2023 Prize Committee — Spencer Ruchti (Chair), Third Place Books, Seattle, WA; Thu Doan, East Bay Booksellers, Oakland, CA; Riley Rennhack, Deep Vellum Books, Dallas, TX; Javier Ramirez, Exile in Bookville, Chicago, IL; Gary Lovely, Prologue Bookshop, Columbus, OH