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The Adventures of Shola winner of the Marsh Award
2015-02-04 ¦ Prizes
Several weeks ago we wrote that The Adventures of Shola (Pushkin, 2013), the English translation of Las aventuras de Xola, had been selected as a finalist for the Marsh Award, and yesterday we received the news that the 2015 winner is indeed the book written by Bernardo Atxaga and translated by Margaret Jull Costa.
The Marsh Award is given to the best foreign fiction for children and young readers translated into English.
"The Adventures of Shola", originally published in Basque and later in Spanish, is a compilation of four stories: Xolak badu lehoien berri (1995, Erein), Xola eta basurdeak (1996, Erein), Xola ehizan (2000, Gara), eta Xola eta Angelito (2004, Erein)]. All four were illustrated by Mikel Valverde.
The Adventures of Shola (Pushkin, 2013) has received praise from various quarters since its publication in the United Kingdom, including being shortlisted as one of the best works of 2013 by The Independent and being warmly reviewed last week in The Irish Times "Seek out a copy of The Adventures of Shola by the Basque writer Bernardo Atxaga. Mikel Valverde's illustrations are most expressive and the English translation comes courtesy of the great Margaret Jull Costa. Shola is one of the most impressive heroines of the modern world".