David Broder Wins the 2025 Albertine Translation Prize
Villa Albertine is honored to name David Broder as the winner of the annual Albertine Translation Prize for his translation of Malika Rahal’s Algerie 1962. Une Histoire populaire.
Each year, the Albertine Translation Prize honors translators and American publishers of English translations of contemporary French works.
Supporting the dissemination of French and Francophone literature in the United States, the Albertine Translation Fund provides support to cover publishing and translation costs to U.S. publishers of works translated from French to English in fiction, non-fiction, children’s literature, and comics.
In 2025, the Albertine Translation committee selected 17 works, forming a diverse collection that reflects a vibrant vision of contemporary literature. See the full list of Fund grantees here.
Each year, the Albertine Translation Committee also chooses, among the recipients, one book to be awarded the Albertine Translation Prize. The winning book receives $5,000, to be allocated to the translator.
During a ceremony held at Villa Albertine’s New York headquarters on February 12, 2026, David Broder was awarded this prestigious honor for his translation of Malika Rahal’s Algerie 1962. Une Histoire populaire (La Decouverte, 2022 / Verso Books, forthcoming)
The ceremony also marked Villa Albertine’s partnership with the Colloquy Series at World Poetry Books, which brought translators and readers together for an evening of translation jousts. During the event, award-winning translators Emma Ramadan and Marcella Durand engaged in a lively discussion of their distinct renderings of the same French texts, moderated by translator and author Mark Polizzotti.
Learn more about the award-winning translator and work below.
About the Winner
David Broder is a Rome-based writer, translator, and historian. He earned his PhD in International History from the London School of Economics and specializes in modern European history. He is a contributing editor for Jacobin magazine and regularly writes on Italian politics for publications including Internazionale.
About the Book
In Algeria, the year 1962 marked both the end of a war and a difficult transition to peace. Bringing to a close a long era of French colonization marked by violence and alienation, it also saw the emergence of an Algerian state primarily concerned with ensuring its own stability and the survival of its population. While in many formerly colonized countries, 1962 has come to symbolize the year of independence for their peoples, in France it is known above all through the experiences of the pieds-noirs and the Harkis. In Algeria, historiography of the year 1962 has largely been reduced to the political crisis within the FLN (National Liberation Front), which was torn by internal conflicts, while little is known about the experiences of ordinary Algerians who remained in the country at the time.
This book makes an unprecedented and essential contribution to the history of Algeria and its independence, drawing on popular sources and personal accounts to offer a complex and vivid portrait of life in the country at the time.
About the Author
Malika Rahal is a historian specializing in contemporary Algerian history. She is the director of the Institut d’histoire du temps présent in Paris. With Fabrice Riceputi, she launched a research project entitled “Mille autres”, on forced disappearance during the battle of Algiers.
In partnership with
Albertine Foundation
Albertine Foundation is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting French American relations through innovative cultural and educational programs.
In close partnership with Villa Albertine, the French Institute for Culture and Education, Albertine Foundation administers grant programs across diverse creative disciplines including visual and performing arts; cinema; and literature, while also supporting exploratory residencies for creative professionals and thinkers across the United States. Albertine Foundation also contributes to promoting French language learning in the United States and funds new opportunities for students, professors, and researchers in the spheres of secondary and higher education.
Albertine Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation by Internal Revenue Service determination. Contributions from corporate, foundation, and individuals are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Florence Gould Foundation
The Florence Gould Foundation is devoted to French-American exchange and friendship. It has provided critical and longstanding support to enable the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and its partner FACE Foundation to foster French-American exchange across disciplines and make the very best of French and francophone culture accessible to diverse communities across the United States. The Florence Gould Writers’ Residency at Villa Albertine will create exceptional and enduring opportunities for literary creation for the most promising and innovative French and Francophone authors.
Van Cleef & Arpels
Founded at Paris’ 22 Place Vendôme in 1906, Van Cleef & Arpels came into being following Estelle Arpels’ marriage to Alfred Van Cleef in 1895. With a blend of inventiveness and poetry, Van Cleef & Arpels perpetuates a highly distinctive style. Its selection of exceptional gems that instill an emotion, and the savoir-faire of its craftsmen, have given birth to enchanting jewelry and watchmaking collections. Whether inspired by nature, couture, dance or imaginary worlds, the Maison opens the gate to a timeless universe of beauty and harmony. Van Cleef & Arpels’ constant commitment to creation also finds expression in its various activities as a partner and patron in the cultural field. Reflecting the Maison’s attachment to values of transmission and sharing, these initiatives take place in sectors that it holds dear: they include heritage protection, fine and decorative arts, design, dance and poetry.
Institut français
The Institut français is responsible for France’s international cultural program. Supervised by both the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and by the Ministry of Culture, it promotes French culture abroad through cultural exchange initiatives. Operating in a space where the arts, intellectual exchange, cultural and social innovation, and linguistic partnerships interact and intersect, it is also responsible for promoting the French language and the sharing of works, artists, and ideas all over the world. The Institut français is one of Villa Albertine’s main French partners.