Bruna Dantas Lobato

Bruna Dantas Lobato is a fiction writer and translator of Brazilian literature. Her translation of The Words That Remain by Stênio Gardel won the 2023 National Book Award for Translated Literature. Her translation of The Dark Side of Skin by Jeferson Tenório won an English PEN Translates Award, and her translation of Moldy Strawberries by Caio Fernando Abreu was longlisted for the PEN Translation Prize and the Republic of Consciousness Prize.
Her first novel, Blue Light Hours, was published in 2024 by Grove Atlantic in North America and will be translated into several languages. The novel was expanded from a story originally published in The New Yorker. The Portuguese-language edition was published by Brazilian publisher Companhia das Letras in her own translation with the title Horas azuis. Her stories have been published in The New Yorker, Guernica, A Public Space, and ''The Common.''

Early life and education

Dantas Lobato was born and raised in Natal, in the Northeast of Brazil. As a low-income high school student, she was selected to the United States Department of State and U.S. Embassy in Brazil exchange program Youth Ambassadors, which first brought her to the United States to study U.S. politics and youth leadership. As a Youth Ambassador to Brazil, Dantas Lobato visited the White House, where she met Michelle Obama.
She has an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University, an MFA in Literary Translation from the University of Iowa, and a BA in Literature from Bennington College.

In addition to translating Brazilian literature into English, Dantas Lobato an advocate for translators translating out of their heritage languages and has led panels on the topic.
Dantas Lobato currently serves on the board of directors of the American Literary Translators Association. She is an Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing at Grinnell College.

2024: Longlisted for International Dublin Literary Award for The Words That Remain by Stênio Gardel
2023: Winner of National Book Award for Translated Literature for The Words That Remain by Stênio Gardel
2023: Winner of English PEN Translates Award for The Dark Side of Skin by Jeferson Tenório
2023: Longlisted for PEN Translation Prize for Moldy Strawberries by Caio Fernando Abreu.
2022: Longlisted for Republic of Consciousness Prize for Moldy Strawberries by Caio Fernando Abreu
2019: Winner of PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant for Moldy Strawberries by Caio Fernando Abreu

Blue Light Hours

Moldy Strawberries by Caio Fernando Abreu The Words that Remain by Stênio Gardel The Collector of Heads by Ana Matsusaki The Dark Side of Skin by Jeferson Tenório The Tokyo Suite by Giovana Madalosso So What If I'm a Puta by Amara Moira There's No Point in Dying by Francisco Maciel No Dragons in Paradise by Caio Fernando Abreu Niterói Lights by Marcello Quintanilha