From Haiti, Évelyne Trouillot’s Désirée Congo, translated by M.A. Salvodon and published by University of Virginia Press, is a powerful and profoundly original novel set during the final years of the Haitian Revolution. Trouillot, one of the leading voices in the Francophone literary world, weaves a richly textured narrative from the intertwined lives of freed people, maroons, enslaved Africans, Creoles, and French colonists in a world on the brink of transformation. Through her moving, lyrical prose, she illuminates the revolutionary fervour that led to the birth of the first Black republic in the western hemisphere.
From France, Maylis Besserie’s Francis Bacon’s Nanny (La Nourrice de Francis Bacon), translated by Clíona Ní Ríordáin and published by The Lilliput Press, offers a fresh and witty take on the “artist novel.” Centred on Jessie Lightfoot – the tender, sharp-witted nanny who shaped the young Francis Bacon’s life – Besserie’s work blends humour, empathy and insight, painting both a portrait of a complex artist and a vivid evocation of early twentieth-century Ireland. The novel concludes Besserie’s acclaimed Irish-French trilogy exploring artistic lives that bridge nations and sensibilities.
The 2025 Warwick Prize for Women in Translation, established by the University of Warwick in 2017 to address the gender imbalance in translated literature, highlights six shortlisted titles from around the world.
This year’s judges are Boyd Tonkin, Susan Bassnett and Véronique Tadjo.
The winner will be announced on 27 November 2025 at a ceremony in London.
Learn more about the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation