Today was the the day for international authors and the talented individuals who translated their works into English to get their well-deserved recognition. Let me say that as part of the panel who had to narrow the list down from twenty-five titles in poetry and fiction to ten titles in each proved painstakingly difficult. There are so many wonderful books out there that are good books in their own vain, but also when accentuated by the work of a skilled translator, it is awe-inspiring the diversity and quality that is available to the American reading public. And this also leads to the reason that my own personal posts at Salonica have slowed over the past few months. Let me say that I found it near impossible to choose only ten. Once the list for each panelist were submitted and then the results were calculated, we finally had our list of finalists. But then came remorse for some of the titles that didn't make it and some of the titles that did. Personally, I am mourning the loss of Amanda Michalopoulou's I'd Like(see here and here), a book of interconnected short stories that I have been pulling for all year. The surprise for me that did make it was Bonsai by Alejandro Zambra, a novella about two people who were once in a relationship and how their paths connect through news and friends. Although stylistically it is impressive, the weight of the novella was not as substantial as the other works on the list or that could have been on the list. (Disclaimer: This is just my armchair critics two cents worth) Also, a note about Bolano - of course we can't ignore his work, but I was surprised that both of his works of fiction made it onto the fiction list. Personally, 2666 is much stronger than Nazi Literature in Americas and it seems superfluous to put both of them on there. But such are the slow creaking cogs of the democratic wheel. Perhaps that slot could have been used for a lesser known author. Bolano already has a solid following in the United States and this year 2666 was on every top ten list, so why not open the door for another writer that Americans haven't heard about. (I realize that my personal agenda is showing)...

And before I leave you, darlings, let's tip our literary hats to the outstanding publishers on this list. If it weren't for them, we would have never been to read or enjoy this stellar list of works. New Directions, a huge fave of mine, is present in both fiction and poetry which signifies their impeccable taste. Also, as for the fiction, the beautiful work of Archipelago has two titles on the list as well as New York Review of Books. And Seven Stories Press makes a strong showing with Voice Over which I will review later as an add-on to my current theme. And Melville House is a fantastic publisher bringing back the art of the novella. As for poetry, I can't impress upon how much I admire Black Widow Press, not only because of the Desnos, but also because of their translations of much of French Surrealists works. My favorite little newcomer is Burning Deck which brings us You Are the Business by Caroline DuBois which I will review in the future for Three Percent.

Well, friends, take a look and see how much you have read, what you might read, and what you could give others to read. And now...

The top ten fiction finalists are(in alphabetical order):

Tranquility by Attila Bartis, translated from the Hungarian by Imre Goldstein (Archipelago)

2666 by Roberto Bolaño, translated from the Spanish by Natasha Wimmer (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)

Nazi Literature in the Americas by Roberto Bolaño, translated from the Spanish by Chris Andrews (New Directions)

Voice Over by Céline Curiol, translated from the French by Sam Richard (Seven Stories)

The Darkroom of Damocles by Willem Frederik Hermans, translated from the Dutch by Ina Rilke (Overlook)

Yalo by Elias Khoury, translated from the Arabic by Peter Theroux (Archipelago)

Senselessness by Horacio Castellanos Moya, translated from the Spanish by Katherine Silver (New Directions)

Unforgiving Years by Victor Serge, translated from the French by Richard Greeman (New York Review Books)

Bonsai by Alejandro Zambra, translated from the Spanish by Carolina De Robertis (Melville House)

The Post-Office Girl by Stefan Zweig, translated from the German by Joel Rotenberg (New York Review Books)

Essential Poems and Writings by Robert Desnos, translated from the French by Mary Ann Caws, Terry Hale, Bill Zavatsky, Martin Sorrell, Jonathan Eburne, Katherine Connelly, Patricia Terry, and Paul Auster (Black Widow)

You Are the Business by Caroline Dubois, translated from the French by Cole Swensen (Burning Deck)

As It Turned Out by Dmitry Golynko, translated from the Russian by Eugene Ostashevsky, Rebecca Bella, and Simona Schneider (Ugly Duckling)

For the Fighting Spirit of the Walnut by Takashi Hiraide, translated from the Japanese by Sawako Nakayasu (New Directions)

Poems of A.O. Barnabooth by Valery Larbaud, translated from the French by Ron Padgett and Bill Zavatsky (Black Widow)

Night Wraps the Sky by Vladimir Mayakovsky, translated from the Russian by Katya Apekina, Val Vinokur, and Matvei Yankelevich, and edited by Michael Almereyda (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)

A Different Practice by Fredrik Nyberg, translated from the Swedish by Jennifer Hayashida (Ugly Duckling)

EyeSeas by Raymond Queneau, translated from the French by Daniela Hurezanu and Stephen Kessler (Black Widow)

Peregrinary by Eugeniusz Tkaczyszyn-Dycki, translated from the Polish by Bill Johnston (Zephyr)

Eternal Enemies by Adam Zagajewski, translated from the Polish by Clare Cavanagh (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)

Information about these titles, and all of the books on the fiction longlist, can be found online at Three Percent (www.rochester.edu/threepercent). The announcement of the winners will be posted immediately on the evening of February 19.

This year’s panelists included Monica Carter, bookseller at Skylight Books and editor of Salonica (salonicaworldlit. com); Steve Dolph, editor of CALQUE (calquezine.blogspot.com); Scott Esposito, editor of Conversational Reading (conversationalreading.com) and The Quarterly Conversation (quarterlyconversation.com); Brandon Kennedy, bookseller at Spoonbill & Sugartown (spoonbillbooks.com); Michael Orthofer, editor of the Literary Saloon and Complete Review (complete-review.com); Chad W. Post, director of Open Letter Books (openletterbooks.org) and Three Percent (rochester.edu/threepercent); E.J. Van Lanen, senior editor of Open Letter Books and Three Percent; and Jeff Waxman, bookseller at the Seminary Co-op Bookstores (semcoop.com) and editor of The Front Table (blog.semcoop.com).