The novel “Crossing” by Finnish writer Pajtim Statovci nominated for National Book Award

The National Book Foundation has announced its longlist for the National Book Awards for 2019.   The categories are Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Translated Literature and Young People’s Literature.  The novel Crossing by Finnish writer Pajtim Statovci is one of nine in the Translated Literature category.  The five finalists will be announced October 8th and the winners November 20th. 

Pajtim Statovci was born in Kosovo in 1990 and moved with his family to Finland when he was two years old. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Helsinki. His first book, My Cat Yugoslavia, won the Helsingin Sanomat Literature Prize for best debut novel and his second, Crossing, won the Toisinkoinen Literature Prize. He received the 2018 Helsinki Writer of the Year Award.

The novel is translated from Finnish by David Hackston.

David Hackston is a British translator of Finnish and Swedish literature and drama. Notable publications include Pajtim Statovci’s My Cat Yugoslavia, Maria Peura’s coming-of-age novel At the Edge of Light, The Dedalus Book of Finnish Fantasy edited by Johanna Sinisalo, Sinisalo’s eco-thriller Birdbrain, two crime novels by Matti Joensuu, and Kati Hiekkapelto’s Anna Fekete series.

https://www.nationalbook.org/books/crossing