Batchelder Award for Temple Alley Summer; Criteria Revised

By Holly Thompson, Kamakura, SCBWI Japan Co-Regional Advisor

Mariko Nagai, Tokyo, SCBWI Japan Co-Regional Advisor

Naomi Kojima, Tokyo, SCBWI Japan Illustrator Coordinator

 

Among the ALA YMA Awards last month, the 2022 Mildred L. Batchelder Award for a book translated from another language into English went to to Temple Alley Summer written by Japanese author Sachiko Kashiwaba, illustrated by Miho Satake, and translated from the Japanese into English by SCBWI Japan Translator Coordinator/SCBWI Translator Coordinator Avery Fischer Udagawa!

This was thrilling news for many: for publisher Yonder, an imprint of independent publisher Restless Books; for Sachiko Kashiwaba, author of many beloved children’s books; for illustrator Miho Satake; and for Avery. Avery has been an advocate for young people’s literature in translation and a champion of children’s and YA translators of other languages into English, co-organizing our biennial SCBWI Japan Translation Days since 2010, overseeing this SCBWI Japan Translation Group blog, and managing Google Groups for both SCBWI Japan translators and for all interested SCBWI translators who translate into English. Avery has helped build communities of translators and created opportunities for both emerging and established translators, and she has long been advocating for crediting translators, lately via #NameTheTranslator and #TranslatorsOnTheCover.

In the SCBWI Translation community, we were also delighted when, just days after the Youth Media Awards announcements, we learned the great news that the ALSC board passed a motion to revise the Batchelder Award criteria, such that translators must be named on, or in, the books submitted. As explained in this World Kid Lit blog post by Paula Holmes of ALSC, “The translator(s) shall be named on all titles submitted for consideration. The translator(s) name(s) shall appear, at minimum, on the title page along with the author(s) name(s), and ideally the translator(s) name(s) shall appear on the cover along with the author(s) name(s) as well.”

So a special hurrah and thank you to Avery! And to translators of children’s and young adult literature from other languages into English, we applaud you all! Do persevere! English-language young readers deserve to read the world.