Last year the translations of 82 works by Latvian authors were released in 33 countries, and 53 of these were published with the support of grants awarded by Latvian Literature.

Last year the translations of 82 works by Latvian authors were released in 33 countries, and 53 of these were published with the support of grants awarded by Latvian Literature.

The greatest number of works in translation published last year – nine – was into the Lithuanian language; there were also seven into German, six into Estonian, and five each into Armenian, English and Portuguese. For the first time it will be possible to read Latvian literature in Urdu, Bosnian, Icelandic and also Tamil – a language in which three translations were published in 2025.

“We were especially pleased about the Dutch translation of the novel Gulta ar zelta kāju by Zigmunda Skujiņš (translator Brenda Lelie) which was reprinted four times and also made it into several lists of the most read books in The Netherlands. It is proof that a classic work of our literature – a family saga – can be of interest to a foreign reader,” commented Inga Bodnarjuka-Mrazauskas, Executive Manager of the Latvian Literature platform.

In 2025, a total of 230,063 euros in grants were awarded to 101 foreign publishers and translators. In addition, 58 Latvian authors took part in 127 events held all over the world. During the course of the year, 257 articles relating to Latvian literature were published in foreign country media. There were also three visits organised by Latvian Literature for foreign publishers, media representatives and festival organisers, with the participation of 36 branch specialists from abroad.

In 2025, translations were either awarded or nominated for eight foreign prizes. The children’s book Skelets skapī by Lilija Berzinska has been nominated for the Italian prize Premio Letteratura Ragazzi di Cento, though the prizewinner will only be announced in May. The same book was also nominated for the Premio Rodari 2025 and was translated into Italian by Margarita Carbonaro and Rita Tura. The book Maskačkas stāsts translated by the same pair of translators was nominated for the Premio Strega Ragazze e Ragazzi 2025. The novel Jaukumiņš by Inga Gaile, translated by Daniel Łubiński, was nominated for the Angelus Award (Nagroda Literacka Europy Środkowej Angelus) which is given to the best Central European work of prose which has been either written in Polish or translated into Polish. The translator Kaija Straumanis has been nominated for the PEN America Literary Awards 2026 for her translation into English of Laura Vinogradova’s novel Upe. Translator Lina Melnyk received the Ukrainian Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky literature prize in the category “Artistic literary translation”. Melnyk has translated several Latvian works into Ukrainian: the novels Mātes piens by Nora Ikstena, Pieci pirksti by Māra Zālīte, Kalendārs mani sauc by Andris Kalnozols and others. The translator Kontra was awarded the Latvian-Estonian language prize for a long-standing and significant contribution to the translation of Latvian literature into Estonian, while Louise de Brisson received the Pierre-François Caillé prize for emerging literary translators for her rendering into French of the novel Upe by Laura Vinogradova.