The National Book Award Interviews: Intan Paramaditha, Stephen Epstein, and Tiffany Tsao

In an interview featured on Words Without Borders, author Intan Paramaditha and co-translators Stephen Epstein and Tiffany Tsao discuss the creation and translation of Night of a Thousand Hells, a novel shortlisted for the 2026 National Book Award for Translated Literature. Inspired by a 2018 coordinated family bombing in Indonesia and Paramaditha’s passion for Gothic fiction, the story explores domestic violence, Islamic practice, Southeast Asian folklore, and ghost mythology. The conversation highlights the collaborative translation process between Epstein and Tsao—who navigated nuances such as multi-layered narrative voices, untranslated cultural expressions, word choices like "kuali" over "cauldron," and title revisions—as well as Paramaditha’s role in balancing narrative fidelity with artistic freedom in English.