I am always pleasantly surprised when anyone asks my opinion. It’s also my practice, now that I’m all grown up and everything, not to give one unless asked.

So it comes as a pleasant surprise to be invited by the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) to serve with my estimable colleagues Will Morningstar and Jacob Rogers on the jury that will judge the 2026 Spain-USA Foundation Translation Award (SUFTA).

Our reading period has only just begun, but already I am touched by the tremendous amount of heart, time, talent, and sheer labor invested in all these books, both the source texts and the translations. And yes, I’ve set up a spreadsheet to keep me honest—do not laugh! (Actually, I got my husband to set it up, with weighted categories and everything!) At the end of the day, judging art is both subjective and objective. Spreadsheets seem to make the judge-o-meter bend a little toward the objective, the scientific. At least they seem to do so, and that comforts me.

Thank you to all those who submitted their books. Anyone who enters or submits their writing to anything is already a winner for expressing hope in a world that sometimes seems hopeless. You are all my heroes.