genre fiction in translation

The posts are accumulating at the Science Fiction & Fantasy Translation Awards blog, and it's good to see the range of translated sf available (apparently the Finns are particularly prolific, who knew?). And delighted to see my old friend Blood of Elves receiving one of the inaugural David Gemmell Awards. It shows that translated novels can stand up against domestic product too. Prizes for translations are great but open competition is an important principle too, even when it threatens the status quo (remember the kerfuffle with the Crime Writers' Association Dagger awards, which gave rise to the exclusion of translations from the main award and the creation of the CWA International Dagger?)

For this among other reasons it was cheering that the winner of this year's IMPAC Dublin Literary Award was a translation, The Twin, by Gerbrand Bakker, translated by David Colmer. The hundred-thousand euro prize is the world's richest literary prize, and if it goes to a translation, the translator gets 25,000 euro. A good day for all concerned!