I delighted to say the The Good Son has been chosen out of 160 books to be 1 of 12 that will take part in The UK-Russia Year of Language and Literature 2016. It was announced yesterday at the London Book Fair. An extract of the novel has been translated into Russian and will be showcased in Moscow where the extracts will form the basis of a competition for English literary translators in Russia. This will be awarded on the UK pavilion at Russia’s annual 18th Non/Fiction book fair in Moscow this November. Thanks to The British Council and The Literary Platform.

How apt this should happen during my translation week where I’ve been putting translations of my stories on my site in celebration of The Good Son coming out in France  –  Un bon garçon (for the chance to win a copy  see here). Read more about the initiative below of visit the website.

Read more on The Literary Platform site too. The twelve selected books are:

Andrew Michael Hurley, The Loney (John Murray)

Bernardine Evaristo, Mr Loverman (Hamish Hamilton)

Claire Fuller, Our Endless Numbered Days (Fig Tree)

Cynan Jones, The Dig (Granta)

Jackie Kay, Red Dust Road (Picador)

Laline Paull, The Bees (4th Estate)

Laurence Scott, The Four-Dimensional Human (William Heinemann)

Louise Welsh, A Lovely Way to Burn (John Murray)

Marion Coutts, The Iceberg: A Memoir (Atlantic Books)

Patrick Barkham, Coastlines (Granta)

Paul McVeigh, The Good Son (Salt)

Sunjeev Sahota, The Year of the Runaways (Picador)

“In spring 2016, the British Council will hold an open competition for the best translation of works by contemporary British writers. Competition entrants will be presented with the first chapters of 12 works written by contemporary British authors. The authors of the best translations will receive a cash prize. Both amateur and professional translators are invited to take part in the competition. An expert panel will judge the work of participants, including contributors to literary journals, critics, editors and recognised specialists of literary translation. The translations of the competition winners will be published online and also in one of the Russian periodicals.

The competition will be held with the aim of presenting the best translations of works by contemporary British writers to Russian publishers. The project will increase publishers’ and translators’ interest in contemporary British literature, presenting new writers to Russian audiences and also helping to continue a professional dialogue between publishers in the UK and in Russia.”