New Delhi, Dec 21 : The French Institute in India on Thursday announced the shortlist of the first Romain Rolland Book Prize which aims at awarding the best translation of a French title (Francophone area) into any Indian language, including English.
The award is a part of Bonjour India -- which aims to move the partnership between India and France. It is administered by the Embassy of France in India with the support of ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival 2018 and the Apeejay Trust "The Indo-French jury has taken into account the qualities of the translation and of the publication itself. The prize aims at encouraging and awarding the efforts made by Indian publishers to bring the best of the Francophone literature, in all its diversity, to the Indian readership," the French Institute said in a statement.
The award will be given away during the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival in January 2018 by the French Minister of Culture Françoise Nyssen and will henceforth be instated as an annual affair. For its first edition, the Romain Rolland Book Prize will award the best work of contemporary and classical fiction.
The short-listed books for the first edition of Romain Rolland Book Prize 2018 are 'Main Gumshuda' by Patrick Modiano - translation of 'Rue des boutiques obscures' into Hindi by Monica Singh; 'Once Upon a Time in India' by Alfred Assolant - translated from 'Aventures Merveilleuses Mais Authentiques du Capitaine Corcoran' into English by Sam Miller; 'Er Shrestha Galpo' by Michel Tournier from 'Le Coq de bruyère' into Bangla by Kanchana Mukhopadhyay; 'Sooraavalee' by JMG Le Clézio - translation of 'Tempête' into Tamil by S.A.Vengada Soupraya Nayaga; 'Ee Chuttuvattathu Ninakku Vazhi Thettathirikkan' by Patrick Modiano -- translation of 'Pour Que Tu Ne Te Perdes Pas Dans Le Quartier' into Malayalam by Prabha R. Chatterji and 'Fukushima, Oru Perazhivin Kathai' by Michaël Ferrier - translation of 'Fukushima, Récit d'un Désastre' into Tamil by S.A.Vengada Soupraya Nayagar.
The winner will get a chance to visit the Paris Book Fair 2018 (March 2018), accomapnied by the publisher of the work.
