22-05-2025
Puns, poetry and pence per word — the secrets of literary translators
This week Heart Lamp, written by Banu Mushtaq and translated from Kannada by Deepa Bhasthi, became the tenth book to win the International Booker prize. Recognising a work of fiction published in English translation, the prize is shared by a book's author and its translator, recognising their skills and contributions equally, with the £50,000 prize money split equally too.
As a literary translator myself (from Portuguese, Spanish and French), I've been gratified over this past decade to watch the prize's growing impact, not only spotlighting a dozen interesting books a year, but also helping to raise the profile of literary translators and the work we do. Still, literary translation remains more mysterious than I would like. So here are some things I wish people
