The 2024 Global Literature in Libraries Initiative Translated Young Adult Book Prize Committee is pleased to announce the winner and honor books for the 2024 prize.  This is the sixth year of the GLLI Translated YA Book Prize and it has been an outstanding one for graphic novels, as evidenced below.

The Winner for the 2024 prize is:

Smash the Patriarchy: A Graphic Novel – by  Marta Breen & Jenny Jordahl / Translated from Norwegian by Siân Mackie (Helvetiq/2023)

This meticulously crafted nonfiction graphic novel serves as an illuminating primer on the intricate histories of feminism and patriarchy. Simultaneously, it invites readers on a delightful visual journey akin to a “Where’s Waldo” adventure, challenging them to spot illustrations of renowned feminist icons and uncover descriptions of lesser-known trailblazers. The monochromatic endpapers provide a comprehensive who’s-who guide to the remarkable women who have shaped history.

The work commences with accessible and informative definitions of its central themes, setting the stage for a chronological exploration that traces its roots back to Ancient Greece, where it examines the historical delineation of gender roles. Subsequently, it delves into the profound impact of historically male-dominated fields, such as philosophy, medicine, psychology, religion, and science, on the categorization and control of women, and the consequent limitations on their access to education and participation in the workforce.

Ultimately, the narrative shines a well-deserved spotlight on the courageous female creators and freethinkers who defied societal constraints and pushed the boundaries of equality, while paying homage to those who tragically lost their lives in pursuit of this noble cause. Jordahl’s illustrations serve as a powerful visual accompaniment to the text’s narrative..

Author Marta Breen (born 1976) is a Norwegian writer, journalist, and one of the country’s most prominent feminist voices. Her literary debut in 2006, Girls, Wine and Song, explored the narratives of Norwegian women through the lens of music. Since then, Breen has solidified her reputation as a notable non-fiction author. Her 2018 book Women in Battle, strikingly illustrated by Jenny Jordahl, has been translated into 27 languages, resonating with readers worldwide.

Illustrator Jenny Jordahl (born 1989) is a multi-talented illustrator, designer, blogger, writer, and cartoonist. She has garnered widespread acclaim for her collaborations with feminist author Marta Breen on groundbreaking works such as The F Word and 60 Women You Should’ve Met. Jordahl’s thought-provoking illustrations in the 2020 title What happened to you? earned her the prestigious Brage Award and the Orbil prize, cementing her status as a visionary artist.

Translator Siân Mackie is a skilled translator who brings Scandinavian literature to English-speaking audiences. Born in Scotland, they now reside on the south coast of England. Mackie holds an MA in Scandinavian Studies and an MSc in Literary Translation as a Creative Practice from the University of Edinburgh. Their diverse translation portfolio spans young adult and children’s literature, thrillers, and non-fiction works. Additionally, Mackie has a passion for theatrical translation, having participated in the theater company Foreign Affairs’ mentoring program for translators and the Royal Court International Residency for Emerging Playwrights.

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Two Honor books have also been selected for 2024. 

The first one is:

The Bodyguard Unit: Edith Garrud, Women’s Suffrage, and Jujitsu – by Clément Xavier (text), Lisa Lugrin (art) & Albertine Ralenti (coloring) / Translated from French by Edward Gauvin (Graphic Universe/2023)

In the fight for women’s suffrage, British suffragettes employed a wide range of tactics to bring attention to their cause, including dramatic protests that led to violent clashes with police. To prepare for such confrontations, suffragette leaders turned to Edith Garrud, a remarkable jujitsu master in Edwardian-era England. Garrud ran a dojo with her husband, and over time, prominent figures like the indomitable Emmeline Pankhurst enlisted her help in teaching self-defense to the suffragettes.

Initially hesitant, Garrud’s commitment to the movement solidified after witnessing the unjust treatment of a domestic violence victim in her class and the police brutality against protestors. The Bodyguard Unit skillfully captures this lesser-known yet well-documented piece of history, subtly drawing parallels to the ongoing struggle for justice through radical means.

The comic deftly weaves in primary sources, including a silent film, breathing life into its source material. With acumen, it explores the necessity of self-defense in an unjust societal system, a theme that still resonates today.

Author Clément Xavier (born 1981) and illustrator Lisa Lugrin (born 1983) have been working together since high school, when they were producing fanzines, and later both graduated from the l’École européenne supérieure de l’image in Angoulême, France, where they were founding members of a comic strip association called “NA.” Some of their other collaborations bringing historical events to life include: Waco Horror: Elizabeth Freeman, l’infiltrée (2022), Geronimo, mémoires d’un résistant apache (2016) and Yékini, le roi des arènes (2014) – all of which we look forward to being translated into English.

Translator Edward Gauvin is a prolific and highly acclaimed translator, writer, and independent scholar, with over 450 graphic novel translations from French to his name.  A first generation Asian American, he studied French in middle and high school, but didn’t pursue it further until he went to teach English in a French university in his twenties. By 2006 he was working as a freelance translator and since then has earned many honors and awards, including a Fulbright scholarship for Belgium Francophone literature in 2010, and a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2021. He now lives in California and is a contributing editor for comics to Words Without Borders.

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The other book selected to be an Honor book for 2024 is:

The Boy From Clearwater: Book 1 – by Yu Pei-Yun & Zhou Jian-Xin / Translated from Hoklo Taiwanese, Mandarin Chinese, & Japanese by Lin King (Levine Querido/2023)

The complicated history of Taiwan between 1930 and 1960, which continues to have global significance today, is graphically illuminated in this gripping coming-of-age biography of Tsai Kun-lin (蔡焜霖) (1930-2023).  When he was born, Taiwan had been under the rule of the Empire of Japan for thirty-five years, and when he was fifteen, the country was retroceded to Chiang Kai-shek’s Republic of China following the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II.  The first part of the book depicts the early family and school life of this ordinary boy who grew up to be an avid reader (and eventually a publisher).

For the crime of being part of a book club when still a teenager, Tsai Kun-lin ended up being falsely accused of espionage (“distributing Communist flyers”) and sentenced to ten years on Green Island, a notorious reeducation prison during the White Terror years (1947-1967) in Taiwan.  How he managed to survive this injustice – both physically and mentally – is chillingly told in the second half of the book.

The political and cultural shifts experienced by Tsai Kun-lin and his family are cleverly conveyed by the use of different colored texts for the four languages translated in the book: Hoklo Taiwanese, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, and English.  Footnotes, timelines, and informational sections also provide useful context.

Note: Part 1 of this work, 來自清水的孩子, was a Chinese-language selection for the prestigious White Ravens collection in 2021, cataloged under the English title “Son of Formosa: the boy who loves reading books.”  The title of this translation (which includes Part 1 and Part 2) was chosen because Tsai Kun-lin was born in Chingshui, Taichung, and “Chingshui” means “clear water” in Mandarin.

The Boy from Clearwater: Book 2 (which includes Part 3 and 4) will be published by Levine Querido on May 7, 2024.

Author Yu Pei-Yun 游珮芸 (born 1967) first met Tsai Kun-lin 蔡焜霖, the protagonist of this memoir, in 2016 at an exhibition of writings by victims of the White Terror. As an author and scholar of children’s literature, she realized what a powerful story for young people his life would be.  Currently teaching at the Graduate Institute of Children’s Literature at National Taitung University in Taiwan, she is a graduate of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at National Taiwan University, and also holds a PhD from Ochanomizu University in Japan. 

Illustrator Zhou Jian-Xin 周見信 (born 1973) is an award-winning illustrator from Taiwan.  He has a master’s degree in printmaking from Taipei National University of the Arts and worked as a printmaker and teacher before becoming a full-time illustrator. His first picture book, The Maroon Oriole (小朱鸝), won the 2014 Taiwan Golden Butterfly Award for Best Book Design.

Translator Lin King 金翎 キン･リン is a writer and translator, who was born in 1993 in New York and raised in Taipei, Taiwan.  Fluent in Taiwanese Hoklo, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and English, she graduated from Taipei American School before getting a BA in English at Princeton University and an MFA at Columbia University in Fiction and Literary Translation.  She is currently working as a program officer at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at Columbia University.

The Night Raven (Book 1 of The Moonwind Mysteries) – by Johan Rundberg / Translated from Swedish by A. A. Prime (Amazon Crossing Kids/2023)

This wonderfully gritty murder mystery, set in 1880 Stockholm, features a highly observant twelve-year-old orphan girl Mika who unexpectedly teams up with a has-been police officer to solve crimes.

Note: The second book in this series – The Queen of Thieves – was published on March 5, 2024.

Pardalita – by Joana Estrela / Translated from Portuguese by Lynn Miller-Lachmann (Levine Querido/2023)

Sixteen-year-old Raquel tenderly details, via prose and poetry, how she falls in love with Pardalita in this queer romance coming-of-age graphic novel set in Portugal.

Wild Poppies – by Haya Saleh / Translated from Arabic by Marcia Lynx Qualey (Levine Querido/2023)

This short hard-hitting novel follows two teenage brothers, Omar and Sufyan, as they individually navigate the limited (and dangerous) options available to them to support their family, now refugees, after their father’s death during the Syrian civil war.

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The prize winner and honor books were publicly announced Tuesday, April 2, 2024 at the illustrious Alexander Library’s International Youth Collection at Rutgers University, as part of a ceremony celebrating International Children’s Book Day.

Note: The Rutgers International Youth Collection is a repository for all of the physical copies of the GLLI prize submissions each year.

The prize announcement was also posted on the GLLI social media sites.

• Instagram
• Facebook
• Twitter

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Nominations for next year’s award are already open! See the prize criteria here and submission guidelines here.

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Many thanks to the 2024 GLLI Translated YA Book Prize Committee members listed below for all the reading and thoughtful discussions over the past few months. We are lucky to have such a range of professions in the group, including translators, academics, book reviewers, and teacher-librarians, as well as experience with book awards.

• Katie Day (Chair)
• Angela Erickson 
• Gillian Esquivia-Cohen
• Larissa Helena
• Terry Hong
• Anthony Tilke
• B.J. Woodstein 

Assisted by Samantha Bremekamp, GLLI Adjunct Committee Member