Polly Barton is a British writer and translator of Japanese to English. She is the author of two non-fiction books, ''Fifty Sounds'' and ''Porn: An Oral History'', and has translated numerous titles of Japanese literature and non-fiction. Her translations have been featured in ''

Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story's supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make ...

'', ''Catapult'', and ''

The White Review ''The White Review'' is a London-based magazine on literature and the visual arts. It is published in print and online. History Founding ''The White Review'' was founded by editors Benjamin Eastham and Jacques Testard, and released its firs ...

,'' and in 2019 she won the

Fitzcarraldo Editions Fitzcarraldo Editions is an independent British book publisher based in Deptford, London, specialising in literary fiction and long-form essays in both translation and English-language originals. It focuses on ambitious, imaginative, and innov ...

Essay Prize for her non-fiction debut, ''Fifty Sounds''.

Life and career

Born and raised in west

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, Barton studied philosophy at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. She travelled to Japan to teach English as part of the JET Program. She also holds an MA degree in the Theory and Practice of Translation from

SOAS University of London The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

Bibliography

* ''Fifty Sounds'' (2021) * ''Porn: An Oral History'' (2023) As translator: * ''Spring Garden'',

Tomoka Shibasaki is a Japanese writer from Osaka. She has won the Noma Literary New Face Prize and the Akutagawa Prize, and two of her works have been adapted for film. Career Shibasaki was born in Osaka. She graduated from Osaka Prefecture University and hel ...

* ''There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job'',

Kikuko Tsumura is a Japanese writer from Osaka. She has won numerous Japanese literary awards, including the Akutagawa Prize, the Noma Literary New Face Prize, the Dazai Osamu Prize, the Kawabata Yasunari Prize, and the Oda Sakunosuke Prize. Early life a ...

* ''So We Look to the Sky'',

Misumi Kubo is a Japanese writer. She has won the R-18 Literary Award, the Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize, the Yamada Fūtarō Prize, and the Naoki Prize. Her work has been adapted for film and television, including the 2012 film ''The Cowards Who Looked to the Sk ...

* ''Where the Wild Ladies Are,'' Aoko Matsuda * ''Friendship for Grown-Ups,'' Naocola Yamazaki * ''Mikumari'', Misumi Kubo * ''Butter'',

Asako Yuzuki is a Japanese writer. She has won the All Yomimono Prize for New Writers and the Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize, she has been nominated multiple times for the Naoki Prize, and her novels have been adapted for television, radio, and film. Early life a ...

* ''

Mild Vertigo is a novel by Mieko Kanai originally serialized in ''Katei gahō'' before getting published as a novel in 1997 by Kodansha. In 2023, an English translation by Polly Barton was published by New Directions. Synopsis The novel follows a housew ...

'',

Mieko Kanai is a Japanese writer, poet, and literary critic. Biography Mieko Kanai was born in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, November 3, 1947. Her father died when she was six years of age. She has a sister who is a painter and illustrator. Kanai graduated f ...

* ''

Hunchback Kyphosis () is an abnormally excessive convex curvature of the spine as it occurs in the thoracic and sacral regions. Abnormal inward concave ''lordotic'' curving of the cervical and lumbar regions of the spine is called lordosis. It can ...

'',

Saou Ichikawa is a Japanese writer. She is best known for her debut novel ''Hunchback'', for which she won the Akutagawa Prize in 2023. Biography Ichikawa was born in 1979. She has congenital myopathy and uses a wheelchair and a respirator, the latter which ...

Awards and honours

* Winner of English PEN Translates award 2020, for translating ''There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job''. * Longlisted for the 2022

Ondaatje Prize The Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize is an annual literary award given by the Royal Society of Literature. The £10,000 award is for a work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry that evokes the "spirit of a place", and is written by someo ...

for ''Fifty Sounds''. * Shortlisted for the 2022 Edward Stanford Travel Writing Award for ''Fifty Sounds''. * Longlisted for the 2025

International Booker Prize The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize, as the Boo ...

for translating ''Hunchback''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barton, Polly Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Alumni of SOAS University of London Alumni of the University of Cambridge British translators British women non-fiction writers Japanese–English translators Writers from London