Padma Viswanathan in Int’l Booker Prize Shortlist

New Delhi: Padma Viswanathan, a Canadian-American writer of Indian origin, has been shortlisted for the 2026 International Booker Prize as the English translator of a Portuguese-language novella. Her translation of ‘On Earth As It Is Beneath’ by Brazilian author Ana Paula Maia is among six works shortlisted for the award. The judges described the book as a “brutal, haunting and hypnotic novella set in a remote Brazilian penal colony, where the boundaries between justice and cruelty collapse”.

The prize, worth £50,000 and shared equally between author and translator, was awarded last year to Kannada writer Banu Mushtaq and translator Deepa Bhasthi for ‘Heart Lamp’. Each shortlisted entry receives £5,000, also split between the author and translator.

The judging panel, which includes Indian novelist Nilanjana S. Roy, said of Viswanathan’s work: “What struck us most is how spare, unflinching, uncompromising and relentless it is. Maia builds an entire moral universe out of very little: a remote prison, a handful of men, and the rituals of punishment that govern their lives. The novel reads almost like a dark fable about power, where brutality is ordinary and civilisation feels frighteningly thin.”

The shortlist, announced earlier this week, features authors and translators from eight countries, with women accounting for most of the nominees. Jury chair Natasha Brown said, “With narratives that capture moments from across the past century, these books reverberate with history. While there's heartbreak, brutality and isolation among these stories, their lasting effect is energising.”

Other shortlisted titles include works by Shida Bazyar, Rene Karabash, Daniel Kehlmann, Yang Shuang-zi and Marie Ndiaye, along with their respective translators.

The winner will be announced on May 19 at a ceremony in London.