Words Without Borders Wins the 2026 Aficionado Award

The 2026 Aficionado Award goes to the global translation project Words Without Borders, based in Brooklyn, New York. Founded in 2003 by W. W. Norton Executive Editor Alane Mason and Spanish-to-English translator Samantha Schnee, who has been WWB’s board chair for the past decade, the digital magazine publishes international literature in English translation. It helps make literary voices from around the world more accessible, with a particular focus on Indigenous, endangered and otherwise overlooked languages.

With this award, the international jury also recognises the central role that translators play in fostering international exchange and bringing literary voices from different linguistic communities to a wider audience.
In 2026, Elisabeth Jaquette, Executive Director of Words Without Borders and Arabic-to-English translator, will accept the award on behalf of the entire team.

The other nominees for the 2026 award were DC Books from India, a literary publisher with an extensive programme for the Indian market and a large bookshop chain in southern India, and Pogranicze from Poland.