Collectively, judges for the 2021 slate of PEN Literary Awards read over 1,850 titles. I'm honored to say that I played a small part in this monumental effort, busily reading some of the best translated titles published in English in 2020, as one of six judges for PEN's longest running award, the PEN Translation Prize. The more than 200 books we considered were rich, powerful, groundbreaking, full of wit and wonder and heart, spanning the globe and the map of human emotion. A robust, January debate produced our longlist, and our finalists were announced on February 10. Now I look forward to this year's "Oscars for books" with even greater anticipation, knowing our prize winner will be revealed. Join us virtually to celebrate all the winners, in categories ranging from fiction to essay, science writing to drama. As Jane Marchant, Literary Awards Program Director for PEN America urged: "These books reveal to us the world. Read them. Read their stories."
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