Sophie Hughes

Sophie Hughes (born 1986)^[1] is a British literary translator who works chiefly from Spanish to English.

Sophie Hughes
Born	Sophie Hughes
Nationality	British
Occupation	Translator

She is known for her translations of contemporary writers such as Laia Jufresa, Rodrigo Hasbún, Alia Trabucco Zerán^[2] and Fernanda Melchor. Her works have been shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award,^[3] International Booker Prize,^[4] Man Booker International Prize,^[5] along with other awards.

Personal life

Hughes was born in Chertsey, England in June 1986 and currently lives in Birmingham.^[1]

Education

Hughes received a master's degree in Comparative Literature from University College London in 2011.^[6]

Career

Following graduation from University College London, Hughes moved to Mexico City and began working as Asymptote's editor-at-large.^[6] During this time, she also served as a guest editor for Words Without Borders.^[6] She also translated journalistic work about Mexico for English PEN and the Guardian, as well as a section of the essay collection The Sorrows of Mexico.^[6] Hughes has also worked as a translation correspondent for Dazed & Confused.

Hughes' first published book was a translation of Iván Repila’s The Boy Who Stole Attila’s Horse, published in 2015.^[7]

She is interested in co-translation and has worked with Amanda Hopkinson, Margaret Jull Costa, and Juana Adcock.^[6]

Selected translated works

Books

• This Is Not Miami by Fernanda Melchor (2023)
• Paradais by Fernanda Melchor (2022)
• When Women Kill: Four Crimes Retold by Alia Trabucco Zeran (2022)
• Empty Houses by Brenda Navarro (2020)
• Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor (2020)
• The Sorrows of Mexico by Lydia Cacho et al. (contributor)(2020)
• Mac and His Problem by Enrique Vila-Matas (with Margaret Jull Costa) (2019)
• An Orphan World by Giuseppe Caputo (with Juana Adcock) (2019)
• The Hole by José Revueltas (with Amanda Hopkinson)(2018)
• The Remainder by Alia Trabucco Zerán (2018)
• Affections by Rodrigo Hasbún (2017)
• Still the Same Man by Jon Bilbao (2016)
• The Boy Who Stole Attila's Horse by Iván Repila (2015)
• Umami by Laia Jufresa (2015)

Essays

• "I Am Not Your Cholo" by Marco Avilés, in Words Without Borders (2017)^[8]
• "Señor Socket and the Señora from the Café" by Julio Villanueva Chang, in Words Without Borders (2017)^[9]

Short stories

• "The Cornerist" by Laia Jufresa, in Words Without Borders (2015)^[10]
• "Long Distance" by Rodrigo Hasbún, in Words Without Borders (2015)^[11]
• "Mexico Interrupted" with Thomas Bunstead, in Words Without Borders (2015)^[12]
• "An Orphan World" by Giuseppe Caputo, in Words Without Borders (2017)^[13]
• "A Bitter Pill" by Alia Trabucco Zerán, in Words Without Borders (2019)^[14]

Awards and honours

Year	Award	Work Translated	Result	Ref.
2021	International Dublin Literary Award	Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor	Shortlist	^[3]
2020	International Booker Prize		Shortlist	^[15]
	National Book Award for Translated Literature		Longlist	^[16]
	International Booker Prize	Mac and His Problem by Enrique Vila-Matas, with Margaret Jull Costa	Longlist	^[15]
	Premio Valle Inclán		Shortlist	^[17]
2019	Premio Valle Inclán	The Remainder by Alia Trabucco Zerán	Shortlist	^[18]
	Man Booker International Prize		Shortlist	^[5]
	English PEN Translation Award	Empty Houses by Brenda Navarro	Recipient	^[19]
2018	Arts Foundation Fellowship		Recipient	^[20]
	National Translation Award	Affections by Rodrigo Hasbún	Longlist	^[21]
	PEN Translates Award	Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor	Winner	^[22]
		To Leave with the Reindeer by Olivia Rosenthal	Winner	^[22]
		The Remainder by Alia Trabucco Zerán	Winner	^[22]
2017	PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant	The Remainder by Alia Trabucco Zerán	Recipient	^[23]
	Best Translated Book Award	Umami by Laia Jufresa	Shortlist	^[24]
2015	British Centre for Literary Translation Prose Mentorship		Recipient	^[25]
	ALTA National Translation Award		Longlist	^[6]

References

1. "Sophie Hughes". The Booker Prizes. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
2. "Translators". Charco Press. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
3. "Dublin City Council announces the 2021 DUBLIN Literary Award Shortlist –". DUBLIN Literary Award. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
4. "The International Booker Prize 2020 | The Booker Prizes". thebookerprizes.com. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
5. "The Man Booker International Prize 2019". The Booker Prizes. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
6. "Hughes, Sophie". Arts Foundation. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
7. Repila, Iván (2015). The boy who stole Attila's horse. Sophie Hughes. London. ISBN 978-1-78227-101-7. OCLC 908372742.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
8. Avilés, Marco (November 2017). "I Am Not Your Cholo". Words Without Borders. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
9. Chang, Julio Villanueva (August 2017). "Señor Socket and the Señora from the Café". Words Without Borders. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
10. Jufresa, Laia (March 2015). "The Cornerist". Words Without Borders. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
11. Hasbún, Rodrigo (March 2015). "Long Distance". Words Without Borders. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
12. Bunstead, Thomas; Hughes, Sophie (March 2015). "Mexico Interrupted". Words Without Borders. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
13. Caputo, Giuseppe (September 2017). "An Orphan World". Words Without Borders. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
14. Zerán, Alia Trabucco (April 2019). "A Bitter Pill". Words Without Borders. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
15. "The 2020 International Booker Prize". The Booker Prizes. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
16. "Sophie Hughes". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
17. "'Powerful evidence that the art of translation is alive and thriving' – the 2021 Translation Prizes shortlists". The Society of Authors. 16 November 2021. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
18. "Translation Prizes". The Society of Authors. 8 May 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
19. Mansfield, Katie (20 December 2019). "English PEN translation award winners revealed". The Bookseller. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
20. "Sophie Hughes". Words Without Borders. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
21. Anderson, Porter (18 July 2018). "The 20th-Anniversary National Translation Awards Longlists Announced". Publishing Perspectives. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
22. "Loretta Collins Klobah wins PEN Translates award!". Peepal Tree Press. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
23. "2017 PEN America Literary Awards Winners". PEN America. 27 March 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
24. "The 2017 Best Translated Book Award Shortlist". World Literature Today. 18 April 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
25. "Sophie Hughes". PEN America. 3 February 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2022.