Polly Barton (author)

Polly Barton is a writer and translator. She has written two non-fiction books, Fifty Sounds and Porn: An Oral History, and translated numerous titles of Japanese literature and non-fiction. ^[1] Her translations have been featured in Granta , Catapult, and The White Review, and in 2019 she won the Fitzcarraldo Editions Essay Prize for her non-fiction debut, Fifty Sounds. ^{[2] [3]}

Life and career

Barton grew up in west London and studied philosophy at the University of Cambridge. She traveled to Japan to teach English as part of the JET Program. ^[4]

Bibliography

• Fifty Sounds (2021)
• Porn: An Oral History (2023)

As translator:

• Spring Garden, Tomoka Shibasaki
• There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job, Kikuko Tsumura
• So We Look to the Sky, Misumi Kubo
• Where the Wild Ladies Are, Aoko Matsuda
• Friendship for Grown-Ups, Naocola Yamazaki
• Mikumari, Misumi Kubo
• Butter, Asako Yuzuki
• Mild Vertigo , Mieko Kanai
• Hunchback, Saou Ichikawa

Awards and honors

• Winner of English PEN Translates award 2020, for translating There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job. ^[5]
• Longlisted for the 2022 Ondaatje prize for Fifty Sounds. ^[6]
• Shortlisted for the 2022 Edward Stanford Travel Writing Prize for Fifty Sounds. ^[7]
• Longlisted for the 2025 International Booker Prize for translating Hunchback ^[8]

References

1. "Polly Barton". www.torch.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
2. "Falling Straight Into Sound: An Interview with Polly Barton". CJLC. 2022-04-04. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
3. "Polly Barton". Fitzcarraldo Editions. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
4. "Polly Barton author information". BookBrowse.com. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
5. "Nineteen PEN Translates awards go to titles from fifteen countries and thirteen languages". English Pen. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
6. Mill, Chris (2022-04-06). "RSL Ondaatje Prize 2022 Longlist Announced". Royal Society of Literature. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
7. "Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2022". Travel Writing World. 2022-02-01. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
8. Marshall, Alex (25 February 2025). "To the Point: Short Novels Dominate International Booker Prize Nominees". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 February 2025.