Two Malaysians shortlisted for inaugural PEN translation prize

Pauline Fan (left) and YZ Chin have been shortlisted for the inaugural PEN Presents x International Booker Prize, a grant programme to support translators from the global majority. Photos: Pauline Fan and Joanna Eldredge Morrissey

Pauline Fan, a Kuala Lumpur-based translator-writer, and YZ Chin, a Malaysian-born writer residing in New York, have been shortlisted for the inaugural edition of the PEN Presents x International Booker Prize - a grant programme established in 2024 to support literary translators from the global majority.

The selected works, which will be translated into English from their original languages, are The Last Days Of Jesselton by Ruhaini Matdarin, to be translated from Bahasa Malaysia by Fan, and Storied Ruins by Teng Kuan Kiat, to be translated from Chinese by Chin.