Here are the finalists for the 2026 Cercador Prize.

Yesterday, the Cercador Prize, which recognizes works of literature in translation, selected by independent booksellers across the US, announced its 2026 finalists. This year’s committee includes Pierce Alquist of Brookline Booksmith (Brookline, MA) (Chair), Sophie Chen of Belmont Books (Belmont, MA), Mikayla Bryant of Books Are Magic (Brooklyn, NY), Lou Barcott of Myopic Books (Chicago, IL), and James Webster of Recluse Books (Fort Worth, TX).

The winning book will be announced on November 16th; its translator will be awarded $1,000. In the meantime, here are the finalists:

Antoine Volodine, The Monroe Girls, translated from the French by Alyson Waters
(Archipelago)

Vigdis Hjorth, Repetition, translated from the Norwegian by Charlotte Barslund
(Verso Fiction)

Anjet Daanje, The Song of Stork and Dromedary, translated from the Dutch by David McKay
(Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Rene Karabash, She Who Remains, translated from the Bulgarian by Izidora Angel
(Sandorf Passage)

Karim Kattan, Eden At Dawn, translated from the French by Jeffrey Zuckerman
(Restless Books)

Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, Pure Men, translated from the French by Lara Vergnaud
(Other Press)

Egana Djabbarova, My Dreadful Body, translated from the Russian by Lisa C. Hayden
(New Vessel Press)

Irene Solà, Dams, translated from the Catalan by Mara Faye Lethem
(Graywolf Press)

Dorothy Tse, City Like Water, translated from the Chinese by Natascha Bruce
(Graywolf Press)

Balsam Karam, Event Horizon, translated from the Swedish by Saskia Vogel
(Feminist Press)