Out of 139 submissions, ten books were long listed for the 76th National Book Award in Translated Literature, out of which five finalists were picked. The winner, Gabriela Cabezón Cámara's "We Are Green and Trembling,” was announced on November 19, 2025.
What Makes a Good Book? Annette Joseph-Gabriel Shares Her Insights on Being a Judge for 2025’s National Book Award
What makes a good book?
This was one of the impossible questions Annette Joseph-Gabriel, the John Spencer Bassett Associate Professor of Romance Studies, had to answer as a judge for the 76th National Book Awards for Translated Literature. We asked her to share some of the insights she gathered from this experience, and how she recommends one should dive into the world of translated literature. Spoiler alert: her advice is “Run, don’t walk.”
This interview was lightly edited for clarity and length.
How did you get involved with the National Book Award Judging Committee?
Serving on the committee has felt a little bit like a mystery to me. I don't know what the selection process is for judges, I just got an email out of the blue, and it's probably the most amazing email a person can get. It said: “Will you be a judge for the National Book Awards?” And they really tried to sell it, you know, like, “We understand that it's a time commitment.” And I was, “you don't need to sell this. I am in!”
What did you enjoy most from this experience?
What I liked most about this process is just how much of a learning experience it has been for me. I have learned so much about who I am as a reader. I've learned a lot from my fellow judges.
One of the first questions we asked ourselves at the very beginning of the process, before we ever even started reading any books, was: “What makes a good book for you?” And I think it's a question maybe people think they have an answer to, but have you ever really tried to articulate that to someone else? It's really challenging. It's one of those “I'll know it when I see it,” but we had to be really deliberate about articulating it, for ourselves and for one another: What makes a good book? What makes a work of great literature? Is it a question of how the form serves the content? Is it the kind of questions, or subjects, or themes that the book is treating? Is it the way that language is used to evoke emotion or to make us think? There are lots of things that go into what we think make a good book of translated literature.
What makes a work of great literature? Is it a question of how the form serves the content? Is it the kind of questions, or subjects, or themes that the book is treating? Is it the way that language is used to evoke emotion or to make us think?
What’s special about translated literature?
For me, I think it’s a constant reminder of how big our world is, right? It's being able to read books that were written in a different language, but that are conveyed to us. And let me shout out the work of translators, because it is a thankless task very often, but also a very complex task, to be able to bring not just the words to life in a different language, but the cultural context, all of the history and the weight and the emotion that comes with a particular language and with the speakers of that language.
And so really, for me, the value is becoming part of a community that sometimes feels a little bit far away from who we are and where we are, but then once you start reading a work that's been translated, you find yourself sobbing because you're reading about, you know, a World War One veteran who has amnesia, but you're not a World War One veteran, and you're completely far away from that time and place, right? That's the power for me, it's being able to bridge space and time, being able to bring culture and history to bear on the thing that is most fundamentally human for all of us.
That's the power for me, it's being able to bridge space and time, being able to bring culture and history to bear on the thing that is most fundamentally human for all of us.
What advice would you give to someone who hasn’t yet explored translated literature?
I would say, if you have not read a work of translated literature recently, you should rectify that immediately. Run, don't walk. Pick up one of the books that are finalists for this year, some of the finalists or winners from next year, or really just the first translated work you see on a shelf in a bookstore or in the library, and just immerse yourself and be reminded of all of the things that make language so powerful, all the things that make being human messy and ugly, but also beautiful and rewarding.
Just immerse yourself and be reminded of all of the things that make language so powerful, all the things that make being human messy and ugly, but also beautiful and rewarding.
The winner of this year’s National Book Award for Translated Literature was “We Are Green and Trembling,” written by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara and translated from the Spanish by Robin Myers. It was selected among five finalists, out of a total of 139 submissions. The finalists, as well as the 10 candidates on the long list, can be found on the National Book Foundation website.
You can hear Joseph-Gabriel's describing her experience in the video below.
