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2025-2026 HiT Prize Winner

Winner of the 2025-26 Humanities in Translation Prize, The Book of Mating, showcases one of Indonesia’s most stunning literary voices

June 12, 2025

EVANSTON, IL— The Buffett Institute for Global Affairs, the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities, and Northwestern University Press (NUP) are proud to announce that Annie Tucker is the winner of the 2025-26 Humanities in Translation (HiT) Prize for The Book of Mating, her translation of Indonesian writer Laksmi Pamuntjak’s short story collection Kitab Kawin. Tucker will receive a total cash prize of $5,000 as well as publication by Northwestern University Press.

“Laksmi Pamuntjak’s Kitab Kawin, translated by Annie Tucker as The Book of Mating, is a vibrant collection of twelve short stories that together offer a nuanced exploration of the multiplicity of women’s lives in contemporary Indonesia,” says Laura Brueck, Director of the Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities and Professor of South Asian and Comparative Literature. “Tucker’s translations expertly lay bare the diversity of narrative styles Pamuntjak employs to showcase women’s experiences shaped by lives lived from the high-rises of urban Jakarta to the palm forests of Buru Island. In a pool of really excellent submissions, Pamuntjak’s stories stood out for their lush attention to both character and place, which Tucker’s translations so beautifully celebrate.”

Deborah Cohen, Director of the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs agrees, noting, “The richness and craft of Pamuntjak’s collection is matched by the deftness of Tucker’s translation—a compliment to both texts. The strong links between Northwestern and Indonesian institutions, including through the Equality Development & Globalization Studies (EDGS) Program, made the jury’s selection a happy surprise.”

The Book of Mating will join other esteemed translations in the Northwestern University Press catalog, including Valor: Stories by Murathan Mungan and translated by Aron Aji and David Gramling, The Beast, and Other Tales by Jóusè d'Arbaud and translated by Joyce Zonana, and many more. “We are immensely proud to introduce NUP's diverse and discerning readers of underrepresented literatures from outside the Global North to Laksmi Pamuntjak's lustrous and deeply feminist stories,” states Acquisitions Manager and Senior Editor for Scholarly Titles Faith Wilson Stein. “Answering the call to look directly at our monstrous times, as well as the monstrousness within ourselves, Annie Tucker's masterful translation captures the vibrant mix of tones, registers, genres, and themes that make The Book of Mating a unique and urgent contribution to our catalog.”

The HiT Prize Committee also congratulates two Honorable Mentions for this year’s prize:

Next year’s HiT Prize competition will open for submissions in Fall 2025.

About the Translator

ANNIE TUCKER is an award-winning translator, best known for her translations of Sundanese writer Eka Kurniawan. Her translation for Kurniawan’s Beauty is a Wound was a New York Times Notable Book of 2015, was longlisted for the 2016 Best Translated Book Award, and was winner of the 2016 World Reader’s Award. Tucker is committed to bringing unique and notable stories from Indonesia to English language audiences, and her work is informed by her training in anthropology, curation, and education as well as her years spent living in Java and Bali.

About the Author

LAKSMI PAMUNTJAK is a bilingual Indonesian novelist, poet, journalist, food critic, and art curator. She has published numerous works of fiction and poetry, including Amba/The Question of Red, Aruna dan Lidahnya, and Kitab Kawin (The Book of Mating). The film adaptation of Aruna dan Lidahnya debuted at the 2019 Berlinale and is currently available on Netflix. Pamuntjak was born and raised in Jakarta and has subsequently lived in Perth, Melbourne, Singapore, and Berlin.