The BOOKS FROM RUSSIA stand was held at the London Book Fair for the third time by the Russian Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communication in collaboration with Academia Rossica. Building on the success of last year, publishers were offered even greater opportunities for creating and expanding business links with the fast growing Russian book market. This was of particular important this year as part of the lead up to the 2011 London Book Fair, where Russia will be the Guest of Honour. Despite being affected by the unexpected volcanic activity, as was the entire London Book Fair, we were very pleased to see that the BOOKS FROM RUSSIA stand was one of the liveliest at the fair.

The first Russian stand at BookExpo America New York, 25 - 27 May 2010 This year the BOOKS FROM RUSSIA stand took part in BookExpo America, the main fair in the American book industry. The stand was organised by the Russian Federal agency for Press and Mass Communications and represented a range of Russian publishers. BookExpo America is currently undergoing major changes, transforming itself from a fair which focused primarily on the domestic market into an international book forum.

AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN RUSSIAN TO ENGLISH LITERARY TRANSLATION We are delighted to announce that entries for the Rossica Translation Prize 2011 are now open. The Rossica Prize is the only prize awarded for the best new translation of a high-quality Russian literary work into English. Literary work must be written in Russian by any author, present or past, and published in English in 2009 and 2010. The prize is open to works published in any country. The value of the prize is £5,000 divided between the winning translator and the publisher.

Winner of the Rossica Young Translators Award 2010 announced! On 21 April the winner of the RYTA was announced by judges Oliver Ready and Robert Chandler at a special ceremony in the PEN Literary Café at the London Book Fair. The winner is: Leo Shtutin for his translation of an extract from Mikhail Shishkin's novel Letter-Book (Письмовник) Leo Shtutin receives £500 and an invitation from Academia Rossica to travel to Moscow to take part in a Translators' Congress in September 2010. The Congress will be a high-profile event which will take place during the International Moscow Book Fair and in which more 100 translators of Russian literature will take part.

Now in its second year, the Rossica Young Translators Prize is hard on the heels of the success of the main Rossica Prize. Through this prize we would like to encourage young people under 25 who are passionate about Russia, literature and translation to enter into the world of professional literary translation. We hope that this award will help to nurture a new generation of Russian to English literary translators, as well as further cultural dialogue between Russia and the English-speaking world. The Winner will be announced on 21 April at the London Book Fair. The winning translator will receive £500 and the opportunity to travel to Moscow to take part in a Translators' Congress in September 2010. All shortlisted translators will be invited to a special programme of events at the London Book Fair and introduced to writers and publishers. If you would like to take part in this competition, please translate one of the three extracts in this brochure. They are taken from new novels written by Russia’s foremost contemporary novelists: Leonid Yuzefovich’s “Журавли и карлики”, Mikhail Shishkin’s “Письмовник”, and Viktor Pelevin's "t". The deadline for submission is 1 April. The translations will be judged by prominent translators and winners of the Rossica Prize – Robert Chandler, Amanda Love Darragh and Oliver Ready. It is an exciting opportunity for young translators to enter into the professional world of literary translation.

Translate one of three extracts taken from new novels written by Russia’s foremost contemporary novelists and send us your entry by 1 April. The winning translator will receive £500 and the chance to attend a Translators' Congress In Moscow in September 2010. All under 25s, don’t let this exciting opportunity pass you by!

In order to prepare Russia’s participation as Market Focus Country two steering committees have been set up - in London and in Moscow. The first London steering committee was held at the Russian Embassy in London on 9 November 2009. It was chaired by Mr Alistair Burtenshaw, Director of The London Book Fair.

I was delighted and astonished when I received the invitation to be one of the judges of this year’s ‘Rossica’ Translation Prize. Delighted – because, by accepting, I would be able to indulge myself with a clear conscience in reading (or, as it often turned out, rereading) many works of Russian literature rather than doing what I all too often do – reading works about Russian literature (and various other things). Astonished – because I am not a prolific or high-profile translator of Russian literature, so I was unsure about why I had been chosen. However, not being known for false modesty, I did feel that I was reasonably well qualified for the work ahead.

The first day ended with an evening with Dmitry Bykov and Bridget Kendall at Waterstone’s, Piccadilly. Bykov entertained the large audience with, along with everything else, a joke. It went like this: “At birth you get a label put on your arm, after death, it’s put on your foot. If someone gets the same number both times, they win a prize – a pressure cooker.”

by Andrey Platonov
Translated by Robert and Elizabeth Chandler with Angela Livingstone, Olga Meerson and Eric Naiman
New York Review of Books; 2007; pp. 58
The Soviet writer Andrey Platonov saw much of his work suppressed or censored in his lifetime. In recent decades, however, these lost works have reemerged, and the eerie poetry and poignant humanity of Platonov's vision have become ever more clear. For Nadezhda Mandelstam and Joseph Brodsky, Platonov was the writer who most profoundly registered the spiritual shock of revolution.

Alexander Drozdov has been Director of the First President of Russia Boris Yeltsin Foundation since its inception in November 2000. The foundation undertakes a broad range of educational, scientific, scholarly and cultural projects. It strives to promote cultural cooperation and an open exchange of ideas and information between Russia and the West. After establishing together with Academia Rossica the Rossica Translation Prize, the only prize for literary translation from Russian into English in the world, the foundation has subsequently establishes prizes for literary translation from Russia into French and Italian, with Spanish and German soon to follow.
We are indeed privileged to benefit from the insights of such visionary people as Alexander Drozdov, who wish to promote a greater understanding of Russian culture in all its varied aspects.

FOUND IN TRANSLATION
This special issue is devoted to the Rossica Translation Prize, awarded in 2007 for the second time

Alexander Drozdov has been Director of the First President of Russia Boris Yeltsin Foundation since its inception in November 2000. The foundation undertakes a broad range of educational, scientific, scholarly and cultural projects. It strives to promote cultural cooperation and an open exchange of ideas and information between Russia and the West. After establishing together with Academia Rossica the Rossica Translation Prize, the only prize for literary translation from Russian into English in the world, the foundation has subsequently establishes prizes for literary translation from Russia into French and Italian, with Spanish and German soon to follow.

FOUND IN TRANSLATION
This special issue is devoted to the Rossica Translation Prize, awarded in 2007 for the second time

The Ties of Blood
Russian Literature from the 21st Century
This edition of Rossica takes on a new form! It is an Anthology of New Russian Writing, featuring both prose and poetry translated into English and edited by leading specialists.
The issue was launched at the first Russian Literature Week, in April 2008.