Shortlist for Read Russia Prize revealed

On August 20, the Read Russia journal published its shortlist for the 2016-2018 Read Russia Prize on its official website. A total of 19 Russian works translated into various languages were on the list, among which was Andrei Bitov’s Pushkin House, translated by Chinese professor Wang Jiaxing.

Pushkin House, published by Peking University Press in March, was translated as part of a cooperative translation and publishing project between China and Russia.

Established in 2013, the project aims to translate 100 books into Chinese and Russian by 2019.

At a press event on Friday in Beijing, the project’s latest progress was revealed. A total of 23 works, including the Russian translations of Chinese works Fortress Besieged, Hibiscus Town and Qinqiang as well as works from famous Chinese authors such as Mao Dun and Zhong Acheng and the Chinese translation of a collection of Russian contemporary dramas were on display.

Maria Semenyuk, the Russian coordinator for the project, said, “Literature is a cultural bridge that connects China and Russia. Through reading and translating, we are better able to know a nation and the perspective of a people.”

The biannual Read Russia Prize is a Russian award for excellent Russian literature translated into foreign languages.

The award was established in 2011 by the Institute for Literary Translation, an independent nonprofit organization.

The final winners will be announced on September 8 at the International Conference for Russian Literary Translators at The Russian State Library.