FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact:  

Gina Kromhout, chair
GKromhout@bklynlibrary.org
May 15, 2023

Brazilian Novel Awarded 2023 GLLI Translated YA Book Prize

Marks Translator’s Third Win and Author’s Second

BROOKLYN, NY – This Is Our Place by Brazil’s Vitor Martins and translated from Portuguese by Larissa Helena is the winner of the 2023 GLLI Translated YA Book Prize. Administered by the Global Literature in Libraries Initiative, the prize recognizes publishers, translators, and authors of books in English translation for young adult (YA) readers. It is the third title to win the prize translated by Helena, who also won in 2021 for her translations of both co-winners that year: Martins’ debut novel Here the Whole Time and Where We Go from Here, by Brazil’s Lucas Rocha. It also marks author Martins’ second win. 

“I am so impressed with this year’s submissions – we had so many titles to choose from and I’m excited at the number of graphic novels submitted!” said Gina Kromhout, chair of the prize committee. 

This is Our Place was initially published in Brazil and published in English in the United States by Scholastic. The novel chronicles three teens’ lives as they live in the same house at different times in 2000, 2010, and 2020. Characters handle growing up, moving on, and keeping in touch with people that matter to them. Crises such as Y2K and the recent pandemic loom in the background as the teens try to make sense of their personal lives. This LGBTQ+ affirming title offers hope and the magic of found family to adolescent readers around the world.

The committee also chose two honor books, Alice on the Run: One Child’s Journey Through the Rwandan Civil War, by Gaspard Talmasse, translated from French by Nanette McGuinness and published by Life Drawn, by Humanoid, and The Cat Who Saved Books: A Novel, by Sosuke Natsukawa, translated from Japanese by Louise Heal Kawai and published by HarperVia.

The GLLI prize aims to highlight the gems of world literature for 12-to-18-year-olds. The original list of submitted titles included works translated from more than 15 languages, and the shortlist includes stories from Asia, Africa, Europe, and North and South America. Works considered were published within three years of the submission deadline. The shortlist of seven titles contains various themes and subject matter of interest to teens and includes many graphic novels.

Members of the prize committee include Gina Kromhout, (Chair) Brooklyn Public Library; Kim Becnel, Appalachian State University; Danny Glasner, American International School, Vietnam; Nichole Brown, Oakland Public Library; Mia Spangenberg, independent translator; Sarah Swan, Jeffco (CO) Remote Learning Program; and Katie Day, Tanglin Trust School, Singapore.

The Global Literature in Libraries Initiative brings together translators, librarians, teachers, editors, and others dedicated to helping librarians identify and raise the visibility of world literature for children, teens, and adults. Our activities include creating pan-publisher catalogs; maintaining a database of translations; sharing ideas for selecting, evaluating, and promoting world literature for all ages, and administering the GLLI Translated YA Book Prize. We regularly showcase and review world literature on our blog. Check us out on Facebook, Twitter (@GlobalLitin), as well as at our website. 

For more information about the prize and instructions for submission, see https://glli-us.org/prizes/

The 2023 Short List

You Can’t Kill Snow White, by Beatrice Alemagna, translated by Karin Snelson and Emilie Robert Wong from French. New York: Enchanted Lion, 2022. 

Movements and Moments, by Sonia Eismann, translations from multiple languages. Montreal: Drawn & Quarterly, 2022.

My Body in Pieces, by Marie-Noëlle Hébert, translated by Shelley Tanaka from French. Toronto: Groundwood Books, 2021.

This Is Our Place, by Vitor Martins, translated by Larissa Helena from Portuguese. New York: Scholastic, 2022.

The Cat Who Saved Books: A Novel, by Sosuke Natsukawa, translated by Louise Heal Kawai from Japanese. New York: HarperVia, 2021.

Alice on the Run: One Child’s Journey Through the Rwandan Civil War, by Gaspard Talmasse, translated by Nanette McGuinness from French. Los Angeles: Life Drawn, by Humanoid, 2022.

Ironhead, or Once a Young Lady, by Jean-Claude Van Rijckegham, translated by Kristin Gehrman from Flemish. Montclair, New Jersey: Levine Querido, 2022.

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