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. Her stories have been published in The New Yorker, Guernica, A Public Space, and The Common.

Early life and education
Dantas Lobato was born in Natal, in the Northeast of Brazil. As a 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 was an avid reader from a young age and took her first creative writing class as a scholarship student at Phillips Exeter Academy. 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, where she is Visiting Faculty for Spring 2024.

Life and work
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 lives in St. Louis.

Awards

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

Fiction

 * Blue Light Hours (Grove Atlantic, 2024)
 * "Snowstorm" (The New Yorker, 2022)
 * "Reunion" (Guernica, 2022)
 * "Diversions" (A Public Space, 2018)
 * "Firsthand Account" (The Common, 2017)

Translations

 * Moldy Strawberries by Caio Fernando Abreu (Archipelago Books, 2022)
 * The Words that Remain by Stênio Gardel (New Vessel Press, 2023)
 * The Collector of Heads by Ana Matsusaki (Tapioca Stories, 2023)
 * The Dark Side of Skin by Jeferson Tenório (Charco Press, 2024)
 * Suite Tokyo by Giovana Madalosso (Europa Editions, 2024)
 * If I Were a Puta by Amara Moira (Feminist Press, 2025)
 * No Dragons in Paradise by Caio Fernando Abreu (Archipelago Books, 2025)