We are thrilled to announce that Sam Bett, a graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has won the 2025 Crime Writers’ Association Dagger Award for crime fiction in translation (London, July 3, 2025) for his translation of The Night of Baba Yaga by Akira Otani. This marks the first time a Japanese writer has received this award since its establishment in 2006. The Japan Times
About The Night of Baba Yaga
Set in Japan’s 1970s yakuza underworld, this bold, genre-bending novel follows two central characters:
- Shoko, the daughter of a powerful mob boss
- Yoriko Shindo, a ruthless martial arts fighter who becomes Shoko’s bodyguard
The story weaves themes of power, identity, loyalty, and mythic storytelling in a way that has been praised as both “unlike any book I’ve translated, but also eerily familiar, like a myth you overheard before you learned to talk.” The Japan Times
Significance
Sam’s translation not only brings this powerful work of Japanese literature to a wider Anglophone audience, but also helps mark a milestone: The Night of Baba Yaga is the first Japanese work to win the Translation Dagger Award. This underscores both the originality of Akira Otani’s writing and the skill of Sam Bett as a translator. The Japan Times
Words from Sam
Sam Bett reflected on his experience:
“In form and style and content, ‘The Night of Baba Yaga’ is unlike any book I’ve translated, but it’s also eerily familiar, like a myth you overheard before you learned to talk.” The Japan Times
Congratulations & Inspiration
We send our heartfelt congratulations to Sam Bett for this outstanding achievement. His success highlights the important role translation plays in cross-cultural literary exchange—and serves as an inspiration to students in our Japanese Program who may wish to pursue translation, literary studies, or work that bridges languages and cultures.