‘Torto Arado’, by Itamar Vieira Jr., is nominated for an international literature award

Summary
Itamar Vieira Jr., Brazilian writer, was nominated for ‘The International Booker Prize’, having his book ‘Torto Arado’ translated into English. The winner announcement ceremony will be broadcast live on May 21.

The Bahian Itamar Vieira Jr. is representing Brazil in The International Booker Prize – an award that honors the best novels and collections of short stories that have been translated into English and published in the United Kingdom and/or Ireland. The book Crooked Plowfrom 2020, was translated into Crooked Plowin English, in October last year, and nominated for the 2024 edition of the international award.

“A fascinating and moving story about the lives of subsistence farmers in the poorest region of Brazil”, defines the award organization about the book.

The list has 13 nominated books by authors from different countries around the world. There are translations from Portuguese, German, Polish, Albanian, Russian, Korean, Italian, Spanish and Swiss. In Latin America, in addition to the Brazilian Crooked Plough, translations of original books from Peru, Venezuela and Argentina were recommended. In total, 149 works were entered for the award.

See the list of recommended translations:

• The Silver Bone
• Sympathy
• Not a River
• Undiscovered
• White Nights
• Mate 2-10
• What I’d Rather Not Think About
• Crooked Plow
• The House on Via Gemito
• Lost on Me
• Dictator Calls
• Kairos
• The Details

In addition to international recognition, the winner of the The International Booker Prize will take a hefty amount of money. US$50,000 (around R$250,000) will be awarded to be divided between the author and translator of the winning work. In case of Crooked Plowthe book was translated by Johnny Lorenz.

On April 9, the award organization will announce the “short list”, with only six nominated books. The winner will be announced at a ceremony on May 21, which will also be broadcast live.

Who is Itamar Vieira Jr.

In Brazil, Itamar Vieira Jr. won the most traditional national literature award, the Jabuti, in 2020. After the success of Crooked Plow (However, 2019), he released two more books: Doramar or the Odyssey: Stories (Todavida, 2021) and Save the fire (However, 2023).

In an interview with Earthduring the tour to promote Save the fire, Itamar told where his inspiration for his characters comes from. “For many it may be a story that doesn’t make much sense, but these are characters who exist and who are on the margins of everything, and who are writing the history of this country, although they are neglected and silenced,” he said. Read the full interview here.

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Source: Redação Terra