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By Yao Lirong, June 17, '26
Jenny Lu, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia takes First Prize
Yaqi Xi, University of Warwick, UK joint runner-up
Alexis Wu, University of Michigan, US joint runner-up
Beijing/London June 18th 2026: At the 2026 Beijing International Book Fair, the international bestselling author, BIBF Reading Ambassador, Liu Zhenyun announced the winners of the Voices of Today Translation Prize. Jenny Lu, a doctorate student from University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia took first prize with runners-up Yaqi Xi, PhD researcher and associate tutor from Warwick University, UK and Alexis Wu, literary translator, historical linguist from University of Michigan, US.
Launched this year to encourage and discover new voices in Chinese-English literary translation, The Voices of Today Literary Translation Prize attracted over 100 entries from 14 countries with the participants invited to translate a substantial excerpt from international bestselling, Liu Zhenyun’s, new novel – Salty Jokes*.
The Judging Panel comprised prize-winning sinologists and academics: Chair, Nicky Harman (Paper Republic); Esther Tyldesley (University of Edinburgh); Amanda Ruiqing Flynn (writer and poet).
Remarking on the winners the judges said the following:
Of the Winner, Jenny Lu Amanda Ruiqing Flynn said:
‘It is said that much work goes into making something appear effortless, and this is true of the winning entry. It was a real pleasure for the judges to read this translation – the translator displayed a deftness in rendering the tone and emotional logic of Liu Zhenyun’s writing, maintaining its understated elegance with confidence. The translation skillfully balances layers of comedy and contemplation in the story, knowing when each takes the lead through intuitive adjustments in tone, rhythm and syntax.This tension holds the reader, allowing the story to flourish in English whilst simultaneously remaining true to its original.’
Jenny Lu comments:
‘It means a great deal to me to be the first recipient of this prize. Literary translation tends to work in the background, which is partly its nature, so to see it celebrated like this is something I'll carry with me. I'm especially glad the prize begins with Chinese fiction, and with a writer like Liu Zhenyun, whose work deserves a wide English readership. My thanks to the judges, to Singing Grass, and to Paper Republic for creating something that takes this work seriously.’
Of Runner-Up, Yaqi Xi Esther Tyldesley said:
‘All the judges agreed that this was a very strong contender indeed. We felt that it stood up very well to scrutiny when read side by side with the source text, but that it also read very well as a piece of English. We praised the flow and rhythms of the writing, which dealt equally well with classical poetry, casual dialogue and deep philosophical concepts. We also particularly appreciated the thoughtful word choices, especially in places where very Chinese concepts were transferred into accessible, idiomatic English. An excellent, polished, quietly sophisticated piece of work.’
Yaqi Xi comments:
‘I am very grateful to Singing Grass, Paper Republic, and the judges for this recognition, and for creating a prize that makes space for literary translators to be seen and for literary voices from China to travel further. I feel honoured to have spent time with Mr Liu Zhenyun’s new novel, Salty Jokes, through translation. I found myself moved by its humour and wisdom, and by the depth of feeling it draws out of ordinary life. I believe this story will find its way into many readers’ hearts in China and far beyond.’
Of Runner-Up, Alexis Wu Nicky Harman said:
‘The judges loved the voice of this translation: engaging, lively, slightly cheeky; perfectly in keeping with the original. The translator dealt successfully with the many linguistic challenges, including conveying culturally unfamiliar concepts, and the natural-sounding dialogue and confident tone of the translation made for a great read. We liked the subtle way the use of dialect was indicated, and enjoyed the imaginative word choices. Altogether, a very promising entry.’
Alexis Wu comments:
‘I am gladdened and honoured to be the runner-up of the inaugural Voices of Today Literary Translation Prize. I regret that I cannot personally attend the Beijing International Book Fair this year, but I do hope I may get to be back there someday soon. My gratitude to Singing Grass and Paper Republic for organising this contest and to the panel of judges for their recognition. Congratulations also to my two fellow prizewinners; may our passion for translation persist and continue to flourish’.
Commenting overall on the the high standard of entries, and on behalf of the judging panel Nicky Harman said, ’The judges would like to congratulate the organisers of the inaugural Voices of Today Translation Prize; we translators have waited a long time to see an international Chinese-to-English translation prize commensurate with the quality of translations coming out of the Sinophone world, and Voices of Today did not disappoint.’
During the presentation at BIBF, Liu Zhenyun celebrated the art of literary translation, acknowledging the different voices that can inform a text, through the presentation of the 7 different descriptive names attributed to the ‘liquor’ referred to in the text translated by the Voices of Today shortlisted participants: Daily Grain Liquor - Alex Woodend (USA), Ration Liquor - Alexis Wu (USA/UK), Daily Rations - Andrew Rule (US), Liquid Rations - Christopher MacDonald (UK), Ration Spirit - Jenny Lu (Australia), Daily Drop - Yaqi Xi (UK), Daily Booze - Yee Heng Yeh (Malaysia).
Created and administered by Singing Grass UK and China, the Voices of Today Literary Translation Prize aims to connect contemporary literary output from China with the rest of the world while showcasing the wealth of a new generation of literary translators from Chinese to English.
*Salty Jokes - Working title
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By Yao Lirong, June 2, '26
London, Beijing June 1st 2026: Launched this year to encourage and discover new voices in Chinese-English literary translation, The Voices of Today Literary Translation Prize attracted over 100 entries from 14 countries with the participants invited to translate a substantial excerpt from international bestselling, Liu Zhenyun’s, new novel – Salty Jokes*.
The Judging Panel comprised prize-winning sinologists and academics: Chair, Nicky Harman(Paper Republic); Esther Tyldesley (University of Edinburgh); Amanda Ruiquing Flynn (writer and poet).
Delighted with the high standard of entries, Nicky Harman commented on behalf of the judging panel, ’The judges would like to congratulate the organisers of the inaugural Voices of Today Translation Prize; we translators have waited a long time to see an international Chinese-to-English translation prize commensurate with the quality of translations coming out of the Sinophone world, and Voices of Today did not disappoint.’
The shortlist for the 2026 VOICES OF TODAY LITERARY TRANSLATION PRIZE is:
-Alex Woodend (USA)
-Alexis Wu (USA / UK)
-Andrew Rule (USA)
-Christopher MacDonald (UK)
-Jenny Lu(Australia)
-Yaqi Xi (UK)
-Yee Heng Yeh (Malaysia)
With entries from across the globe, the prize attracted truly international participation whose entries allowed the chosen excerpt to flourish in English while remaining true to the style and voice of the original text.
Nicky Harman adds: ‘We would like to offer our congratulations to all who took part, whether shortlisted or not. The text chosen, taken from a novel by one of China’s best loved authors, Liu Zhenyun was challenging, with its highly individual authorial voice, its sprightly rhythm and use of dialect, and its lines of classical poetry. But this year’s entrants rose to the challenge: the standard of entries was gratifyingly high and it was clear to us judges how much care had been taken to deliver texts that not only reflected the multi-layered content but recreated the voice of the author in English. In short, the Voices of Today Prize has succeeded in showcasing some remarkable new talent.’
Created and administered by Singing Grass UK and China, the Voices of Today Literary Translation Prize aims to connect contemporary literary output from China with the rest of the world while showcasing the wealth of a new generation of literary translators from Chinese to English.
Alicia Liu, CEO & Founder Singing Grass says, ‘The response to this literary translation initiative exceeded all expectations and demonstrates the thirst for cross-cultural collaboration and the need for us to connect through each other’s literature. We are so grateful that Liu Zhenyun, as ever, was generous enough to make his work available to encourage new voices in this field. Huge thanks and congratulations to all those who participated and to those who are shortlisted.’
More information can be found here and the winner will be announced by BIBF Global Reading Ambassador on June 18th at a special ceremony.
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By Yao Lirong, May 20, '26
Taiwan Travelogue is the first book translated from Mandarin Chinese to win the International Booker Prize. The novel, which takes the form of a fictional translation of a rediscovered Japanese travel memoir, explores history, power, class, colonialism and love through the lens of two women’s culinary tour across Japan-controlled Taiwan in the 1930s.
Read the news here.
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By Yao Lirong, February 14, '26
Singing Grass and Paper Republic are delighted to announce a new prize for translated fiction from Chinese to English designed to showcase literary translators of contemporary voices.
This exciting initiative will invite participants to translate a short extract from the acclaimed Mao Dun prize-winning author, Liu Zhenyun whose new novel: Salty Jokes has just taken China by storm.
The winning translator will receive £1500 and 2 runners-up £500 each.
The submissions will be judged by an international Jury of translation experts.
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By Yao Lirong, February 9, '26
We’ve been busy! In the last two months, we released two new Read Paper Republic collections. Highlights include 'Four Nanjing Poets' (a collaboration with Manchester City of Literature) and a special showcase of Taiwanese poets curated by Nero Huang. Explore the full series here.
As the Chinese New Year draws to a close, it’s a perfect time to look back at our 2025 Roll Calls for Chinese literature in English translation. A special thanks to Andrew Rule—thanks to his hard work, this year’s lists are more vibrant and visually engaging than ever.
In the meantime, we are making a final push for our community survey! We’ll be wrapping things up in mid-February, so please take a moment to share your thoughts. Your input is essential as we work to enhance Paper Republic in 2026.
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By Yao Lirong, December 10, '25
While we’re counting down to Christmas, we’re also celebrating a number of wonderful updates from our community over the past two months!
We’re delighted to share that Shuang Xuetao's The Hunter, translated by Jeremy Tiang, and Jia Pingwa's Old Kiln, translated by James Trapp, Olivia Milburn, and Christopher Payne, have been included in The Irish Times' “Books of the Year” list. Congratulations to all involved!
We also extend our congratulations to Amadan Ruiqing Flynn for winning the 2025 Golden Point Award for her translation of Liew Kwee Lan’s (艾禺) The Boy Who Cried Bear (《有熊出没》).
And, the good news don't just stop here! Read on below.
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By Yao Lirong, November 19, '25
We want to hear from YOU! Help shape the future of Paper Republic by taking our first-ever Community Survey.
Your feedback will directly guide how we grow and improve. It only takes 10-15 minutes to complete.
As a thank you, all participants can join our exclusive WeChat group for a chance to receive red envelopes!
Take the survey now.
Thank you for being part of our community!
By Yao Lirong, October 5, '25
Welcome to our 23rd Paper Republic Newsletter, highlighting key developments from the past quarter. A notable highlight from August’s Women in Translation Month was our feature on translators Annelise Finegan and Nicky Harman and their work with women writers. Subsequently, September’s World Kid Lit Month brought celebratory news: Helen Wang’s translation of Cao Wenxuan’s Bronze and Sunflower has been selected for inclusion in Princeton University Press’s 2025 anthology, Worlds of Wonder: Celebrating the Great Classics of Children’s Literature (Princeton University Press, 2025).
You are invited to read on for more. We hope you enjoy this issue!
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By Yao Lirong, May 5, '21
Who We Are
Here at Paper Republic, our mission is to promote Chinese literature in English translation, focussing on new writing from contemporary Chinese writers, and in 2019, we registered as a charity in the UK, registration number 1182259. After a year of hard work, Paper Republic is now making plans for 2021 and beyond.
Opportunities for You
New year, new ambitions. After much exploration and discussion among ourselves last year, we're growing and evolving. We have many exciting new ideas and hope to find more people with expertise in some specific areas to help us realize them. We need more people to join our non-profit management team! Note: at this stage the whole team works as unpaid volunteers, although for specific substantial tasks, we may be able to pay a modest fee.
We are currently recruiting one or two more team members, with one or more of the following areas of expertise.
- Marketing, Communications, and Social Media
Do you know about (or are you willing to learn about) creating posts for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and our website? Have you got experience with social media campaigns? Are you familiar with advertising? And do you know worldwide literary platforms, bookstores, and other institutions which Paper Republic might partner with? Our marketing and social media profile is key to getting more people reading more Chinese literature in translation.
Graphic Design
From brand image, event banners, ebook designs and even website UI design, all require a good Graphic Designer. If you have experience in this area and are interested in helping us, please submit a portfolio along with your application.
Video/Podcast Production
After our first Zoominar with Julia Lovell, we are hoping to generate more video/podcast content. In addition to that, we are also hoping you can help us with publicity materials. If you have video/podcast production experience, please submit a portfolio along with your application.
We're looking for web developers to help maintain and expand the Paper
Republic website: bug fixes, new features, even a test suite might be
nice! We could use help both on the front-end, doing page design or some
JS functionality, and the back-end -- Paper Republic is written in
Python/Django.
Once in a while, we need editors to write author bios, book descriptions, blurbs for different projects, and even reviews for the site. If you are interested in content curation and have a strong writing/editing skills, please submit a portfolio along with your application.
If you have experience as a fundraiser, we’d be happy to talk to you.
How We Work
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Are you willing to volunteer your services (3 to 8 hours a week) for us? Our management team consists of six volunteers. You would be the seventh or eighth member of our team. The management work is mostly unpaid, although we always aim to pay translators and editors.
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Are you interested in managing a project? Apart from maintenance of the website, Paper Republic is a project-based organization. Everyone on the management team is responsible for taking the lead on a project at some point.
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We’d also hope you are comfortable with technology. As we exist mostly online, and are located around the world, most of what we do is done through internet communications. It doesn’t matter where you live, so long as your time zone means you can join our Slack meetings.
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Our management meetings take place via Slack. These can be at ungodly hours (our other team members are scattered in China, the west coast of America and the UK). Meetings are every two to three weeks for about an hour. Other business gets discussed by email.
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All team members are expected to share in the basic administration. Everyone does a bit of website data entry, as well!
Why Join Us
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You’ll be giving something back, to Chinese literature and the wider Chinese translation community.
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You’ll be working on a website that has an international reputation (the London Book Fair judges in 2016 called us the go-to place for Chinese translations and translators).
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For more than ten years, Paper Republic has shaped people’s views of Chinese literature in translation all over the word.
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You’ll be joining a community of translators, and you’ll learn professional skills (and we hope we’ll learn from you).
How to Apply
Please send a CV explaining why you’d like to join our team, with "APPLICATION:" and the position(s) you’re applying for in the subject line to info@paper-republic.org before 1st of June. And the interviews for potential applicants will be conducted in late July as we will be busy with a series of exciting events earlier that month. Please note that we expect a minimum commitment of 6 months.
Part-time Volunteer
If you'd rather spend 1 to 2 hours a week to help us, you are also welcomed to email us via info@paper-republic.org together with your CV. We will send you a volunteer info-sheet and see how you can help.
Here at Paper Republic, we are committed to diversity and inclusion and welcome applications from everyone. We particularly encourage applications from people from Chinese/Chinese heritage backgrounds who are currently unrepresented in the translation community. If you’re interested, please send in your application. Looking forward to hearing from you!
By Yao Lirong, February 26, '21
As you may have seen, for 2021, we’ve already started a new series of Sunday Sentences and biweekly news posts, which we hope will add some fun and dynamism to the world of Chinese literature in translation. Meanwhile, we would like to draw your attention to our new video program, Interview with Julia Lovell on her new translation of Journey to the West. Some interesting questions are discussed, from which you can see how Julia ‘created’ the new Monkey King. Finally, a lot is happening behind the scenes at Paper Republic. For example, we are working on a series of educational events to help emerging and established translators. Please watch this space for more!
Today is the fifteenth day of the Year of the Ox, the Lantern Festival! People will be celebrating the day with families or friends, eating Glutinous Rice Balls and solving lantern riddles.
Today is also the final day of the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations, when people leave their families and go back to work in the cities, carrying with them bags of homemade specialties and high hopes for the new year.
No matter where you are and what you are working on, we wish you and your family a safe, healthy, productive, and happy new year.
From all of us at Paper Republic
