2015 Best Translated Book Award Finalists: Some Clues!

It’s basically impossible to guess all 25 books on the Best Translated Book Award longlist, no matter how many odd clues I post. Which is why, when we play that game, I offer a lifetime subscription to anyone able to naming all of the books. (I really hope that some year someone actually does pull this off. It would be an incredible feat.)

When it comes down to picking the books making the shortlist though . . . This is totally do able. Below are a handful of stats about the 10 titles on the fiction shortlist and the 6 poetry collections that have been shortlisted.

The first person to name all 10 fiction titles or 6 poetry ones, gets a free year’s subscription to Open Letter Books. Only one guess per person though, so make it good. And you’ll have to do this fast: Get your entry to me at chad.post [at] rochester.edu by midnight tonight. The announcements start tomorrow morning at 10am . . .

First up, here’s the Poetry Longlist and a few clues:

• There are four languages represented on the shortlist, with no single language having more then two titles on the list;

• Each of the six shortlisted authors hail from different countries;

• Four of the books on the shorlist are by female poets;

• Only one publisher has two books on the shortlist.

Now, on to the Fiction Finalists . . . First up, here’s a link to the longlist.

• There are four female and six male finalists on the list;

• Nine different countries are represented on the shortlist;

• The fiction finalists have been translated from seven different languages;

• Ten different publishers have a book on the list.

Man, are those clues almost worthless . . . I’ll give you one more good giveaway. In terms of languages, one language has four representatives on the list. OK . . . go! Send me your guesses!