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.

Free to Read Online

Read Brendan O’kane’s translations of a Poem and an essay on snow

Book Reviews

In her latest review for Cha, Susan Blumberg-Kason spotlights Gigi L. Leung’s upcoming novel, Everyday Movement (translated by Jennifer Feeley, Feb 2026). 

Read Andrew Rule’s review of Ning Ken’s Tibetan Sky (translated by Thomas Moran), the first novel by this major Chinese author to appear in English.

Jonathan Han reviews Yau Ching’s debut bilingual collection of poems that reflect experiences of a life lived between New York, London, Michigan, Taiwan, and elsewhere.

In Tony Huang’s review of Zhang Zao’s Mirror, he presents the work as a monumental English debut, capturing the poet's unique fusion of classical Chinese aesthetics and European modernism, and praises the translator for making his complex, emotionally resonant work seamlessly accessible.

In her recent article on Wired, Afra Wand describes The Morning Star of Lingao as a monumental, untranslated Chinese sci-fi web novel that has become a cultural touchstone.

Meida

On 15 October 2025, the Trinity Centre for Literary and Cultural Translation hosted a dialogue between authors Yang Hao and Mark O’Connell, joined by translators Nicky Harman and Michael Day, to discuss preserving the lyrical ambiguity of Yang’s prose and the importance of literature transcending identity labels.

Call for Applications

Words Without Borders is accepting applications for its fourth annual Momentum Grant for Early-Career Translators, which provides a $3,000 award to an emerging translator without a book-length contract to help them complete a substantial prose sample; interested applicants should submit their work via the online portal by February 15, 2026.

Translators worldwide are now invited to apply for the “Songyang Translators’ Home” residency, immersing in a 500-year-old Chinese village to advance their translation projects amidst rich cultural heritage. This Program accepts applications all year-round, except on Chinese statutory holidays. Apply now.

The Shanghai Writing Program, hosted by the Shanghai Writers' Association from September 1 to October 31, invites acclaimed writers and translators to apply by late March for a two-month residency in China featuring cultural exchanges and a travel stipend; interested applicants should contact Mrs. Hu Peihua at huph111@163.com for further details.

Events

On Thursday, 26 February 2026 at 2:00 PM, the University of Bath will host "Bridging Worlds" in Bristol, featuring Martin Palmer and Yukteshwar Kumar for the launch of a new Penguin Classic translation of The Water Margin; please register via Eventbrite by the event date or contact the organizer through the ticketing page for further information.

More Lists from 2025

In the eleventh installment of the Cold Window Newsletter, Andrew Rule wraps up his year-long quest to read every new short fiction collection published in China in 2025, highlighting top picks like Li Tang, Zhao Song, and Ban Yu as the year's best voices; you can explore the full curated list and his literary analysis here.

In its year-end roundup, World Literature Today recognized 75 notable translations of 2025, a list that features a selective but impactful group of Chinese works including Can Xue’s Mother River (translated by Karen Gernant and Chen Zeping), Hon Lai-chu’s Mending Bodies (translated by Jacqueline Leung), and Wang Jiaxin’s At the Same Time(translated by John Balcom). You can view the full list and discover more international titles here

Translation News

Renowned translator Howard Goldblatt has authorized a new English edition of Alai’s Mao Dun Literature Prize-winning novel, Red Poppies (Dust Settles), which is to be released in 2026.

Milkweed Editions has released a special North American edition of Chi Zijian’s Mao Dun Literature Prize-winning novel, The Last Quarter of the Moon (translated by Bruce Humes), a lyrical epic told by the ninety-year-old matriarch of an Evenki reindeer-herding tribe as she reflects on a century of love, loss, and the encroaching forces of modernization in the mountains of northeastern China.

In her recent translation of Wong Yi’s short story "Overseas Bride" for Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, Jennifer Feeley brings to life a poignant exploration of the Hong Kong diaspora, capturing the emotional weight of a narrator contemplating a marriage proposal intended as a means of escape and the heartbreaking "tonguelessness" that accompanies leaving one’s mother tongue behind. You can read the full translation and the author's accompanying essay here.

Grants, Awards, Prizes

Yau Ching’s For now I am sitting here growing transparent, translated from the Chinese by Chenxin Jiang, has been named to the finalist for the 2026 PEN America Award for Poetry in Translation, as announced in the full list here.

The latest English PEN Translates Award winners include Xiao Hai’s The Girl in the Mirror (translated by Tony Hao) and Dorothy Tse’s The Book of Unrest (translated by Natascha Bruce), both recognized as outstanding works of international literature set for English-language publication. Read more here.

The shortlist for the 2025 Poetry in Translation Prize has been announced, featuring Dong Li’s translation of Liu Ligan’s The Dust Museum and Emily Lu’s translation of Maniniwei’s Help Me Change My Bandages among the finalists celebrating exceptional international poetry in English; more details on the shortlisted works can be found on the here.

The National Book Critics Circle has announced the longlist for the Barrios Book in Translation Prize, which includes Ye Hui’s poetry collection The Ruins, translated from the Chinese by Dong Li (Deep Vellum); you can view the full list of nominees here.