The 2026 GLLI Translated Young Adult Book Prize Committee is pleased to announce the shortlist for the 2026 prize. This is the eighth year of the GLLI Translated YA Book Prize, which recognizes publishers, translators, and authors of books in English translation for young adult readers, aged 12 through 18 inclusive.
Publisher submissions to the 2026 longlist consisted of twenty-two books in eight languages, published within the past three years. See the prize criteria here and submission guidelines here.
The seven books on the 2026 shortlist, in alphabetical order by title, are:
Beasts – by Ingvild Bjerkeland / Translated from Norwegian by Rosie Hedger (Levine Querido/2025) – NORWAY
The Big Tournament: Book 1 (Magda, Intergalactic Chef) – by Nicolas Wouters, illustrated by Mathilde Van Gheluwe / Translated from French by Ann-Marie Boulanger (Graphic Universe/2025) – BELGIUM
[Reviewed on this blog on December 17, 2025, by Nanette McGuinness]
Daughter of Doom – by Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem / Translated from Dutch by Kristen Gehrman (Levine Querido/2025) – BELGIUM
The History of World War II: A Graphic Novel – by Arnaud de la Croix, illustrated by Vicente Cifuentes / Translated from French by Amanda Axsom & Peter Law (Abrams ComicArts/2025) – BELGIUM
Movies Showing Nowhere – by Yorick Goldewijk / Translated from Dutch by Laura Watkinson (Pushkin/2024) – NETHERLANDS
Self Portrait – by Ludwig Volbeda / Translated from Dutch by Lucy Scott (Levine Querido/2025) – NETHERLANDS
[Reviewed on this blog on February 4, 2026, by Lynn Miller-Lachmann]
The Village Beyond the Mist – by Sachiko Kashiwaba, illustrated by Miho Satake / Translated from Japanese by Avery Fischer Udagawa (Yonder/2025) – JAPAN
[Reviewed on this blog on March 29, 2025, by Nanette McGuinness]
The prize winners will be announced here on the GLLI website on Sunday, May 31, 2026, the last day of the blog’s month-long focus on International Young Adult Literature (#INTLYALITMONTH). Each of the shortlisted titles will be featured during the month, as well as other recent translated/international books for young adults.
Note: The International Youth Literature Collection (IYLC) at Rutgers University’s Alexander Library is a repository for all of the physical copies of the GLLI submissions each year.
To help promote the shortlist, feel free to print bookmarks using the images (front / back PNG) below or this PDF file.
The 2026 GLLI Translated YA Book Prize Committee:
- Angela Erickson (Chair)
- Anthony Tilke
- Frances Sims-Williams
- Emilia Packard
- Kim Tyo-Dickerson
- Tim Pruzinsky
- Minjie Chen
Assisted by Helle Kirstein and Becky Blackburn, GLLI Adjunct Committee Members
Submissions for the 2027 Prize can be made anytime between now and December 15, 2026. Publishers can find the link to the submission form on this page — https://glli-us.org/submission-guidelines/.
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Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of GLLI.
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 