A.L. Becker Southeast Asian Literature in Translation Prize

The A.L. Becker Southeast Asian Literature in Translation Prize recognizes an outstanding English translation of a work of Southeast Asian literature from any country of the region (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, or Viet Nam).

Works translated from any Southeast Asian language are eligible. The Prize recognizes the importance of works of translation in teaching about the region. Any translation, published in any format, from a work that may be broadly defined as literature within the norms of the country of publication is eligible. The translator need not be a member of the AAS.

The Prize was established in 2011 and is awarded triennially.

2028 Prize

$1,000 award for the translator.

Guidelines for Submission

• Only books bearing a copyright date of 2024, 2025 or 2026 will be eligible for the 2028 awards.
• Books may only be nominated for one prize competition within each regional category; please see the main Book Prizes page for regional categories.
• Publishers must complete the book nomination form.
• Each press may nominate a maximum of six books for the Becker Prize.
• Only publishers may nominate books.
• Upon receipt of a completed nomination form, publishers will be provided with addresses for prize committee members. A copy of each entry, clearly labeled “A.L. Becker Book Prize,” must be sent to each member of the appropriate committee.

Books published by the Association for Asian Studies, Inc. are ineligible for consideration for prizes administered by the Association for Asian Studies. Employees of the Association are excluded from consideration for AAS book prizes, subventions, and grants. Publishers should check with authors to certify that they are not employed by the Association for Asian Studies, Inc. 

Nominations for the 2028 Becker Prize will open in spring 2027. Please check back then for more information.

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2025 Awards

Kong Rithdee, translator of Memories of the Memories of the Black Rose Cat, by Veeraporn Nitiprapha (River Books Press)

An epic saga, Veeraporn Nitiprapha’s novel Memories of the Memories of the Black Rose Cat invokes a Márquezian magical realist style to recount the immigrant life of a Sino-Thai family across three generations during a tumultuous century in Thailand. Kong Rithdee’s translation of the novel not only captures the influence of Latin American sensibilities on contemporary Thai literature but, more importantly, preserves the narrative’s fluid rhythm to accentuate the novel’s central motif of “water,” even at the risk of compromising its fluency in written English. As one committee member noted, “[Kong] occasionally stretches the limits of English to accommodate Veeraporn’s prose”—a risk worth taking and well executed.

Honorable Mention

Past Awards