Padma Viswanathan, a Canadian translator, has been longlisted for the 2026 International Booker Prize for her work on Ana Paula Maia's novel On Earth As It Is Beneath. The prize, marking its 10th year, honors fiction translated into English and published in the UK or Ireland. Viswanathan expressed excitement about the nomination on social media.
The International Booker Prize announced its 13-book longlist for 2026, featuring works translated from 11 languages by authors and translators from 14 countries. Eligible books were those released in English in the UK or Ireland between May 1, 2025, and April 30, 2026. Among the nominees is On Earth As It Is Beneath by Brazilian author Ana Paula Maia, translated from Portuguese by Padma Viswanathan. The novel is set in the waning days of a wilderness penal colony, where inmates are released every full moon to be hunted by wardens.
Viswanathan, who is also an author, shared her reaction on Facebook: "Undeniably excited to be on the International Booker longlist. Many congrats to Ana Paula Maia, whose searing short novel I was privileged to bring into English." Maia, a writer, screenwriter, and musician, has authored seven novels and won back-to-back Best Romance awards at the Prêmio São Paulo de Literatura for Assim na Terra como embaixo da Terra in 2018 and Enterre Seus Mortos in 2019. Viswanathan's own books include the true crime memoir Like Every Form of Love and the novel The Ever After of Ashwin Rao, which was shortlisted for the 2014 Scotiabank Giller Prize.
The £50,000 prize (approximately $92,000 Cdn) will be split evenly between the winning author and translator. The judging panel, chaired by UK novelist Natasha Brown and including Marcus du Sautoy, Sophie Hughes, Troy Onyango, and Nilanjana S. Roy, selected the longlist from 128 submissions. Brown stated: "The calibre and variety of translated fiction being published in the U.K. is unbelievable. As judges, we’ve been spoilt for choice during these past eight months reading this year’s 128 submissions."
The shortlist of six books will be revealed on March 31, with the winner announced on May 19 at Tate Modern in London. The prize, originally the Man Booker International Prize since 2005, shifted in 2015 to focus on translated fiction to highlight works in other languages and the role of translators. Previous Canadian nominees include Anne McLean, Alison L. Strayer, Sarah Moses, and Darryl Sterk. Last year's winners were Banu Mushtaq and Deepa Bhasthi for Heart Lamp.
