University of Richmond Professor Kurt Beals on International Book Prize Shortlist for Work in Translation

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND — Kurt Beals, a German studies professor and humanities fellow in literary translation at the University of Richmond, is on the shortlist for the James Tait Black Prize for his translation of Jenny Erpenbeck’s essay collection Things that Disappear: Reflections and Memories. 

Founded in 1919, the James Tait Black Prizes are the oldest literary awards in the UK, awarded annually to the best work of fiction and biography in English. Uniquely, they are judged by scholars and students. Historic prize winners have included authors such as Cormac McCarthy, Muriel Spark, Zadie Smith, and Peter Ackroyd.

Beals is on the shortlist with nine other international writers.

“Things That Disappear is not a conventional biography,” said Beals, “but the 31 short essays in the book, which were originally published as newspaper columns, offer glimpses of Erpenbeck’s life and of the changes she experienced after the fall of the Berlin Wall, when the East Germany where she grew up was reunited with West Germany.”

Things That Disappear has garnered international acclaim from The New York Times Book Review, The Guardian, and The Financial Times. It was also named one of the best books of 2025 by The New Statesman.

“It’s a true honor to have my translation on the shortlist,” said Beals. “I’m particularly grateful that the James Tait Black Prize, which recognized only works originally written in English for most of its history, began recognizing translations into English in 2021, encouraging English-language readers to explore more perspectives through literature from around the world.”

Beals’ recent work as a translator also includes acclaimed editions of All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque and The Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse. He is currently working on a translation of Ingeborg Bachmann’s Frankfurt Lectures.

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