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Foreign Literature EssayLast night I was at the presentation of the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, at the National Portrait Gallery, where a young Angolan writer, Jos Eduardo Agualusa, was announced the 2007 winner for his novel The Book of Chameleons, translated from the Portuguese by Daniel Hahn. Set in contemporary Angola, the prevail is particularly notable for being narrated by a lizard. The judges this year were the poet David Constantine, writer and editor Jennie Erdal, arts Council Literature officer Kate Griffin, novelist Ali Smith and the literary editor of the Independent, Boyd Tonkin. Admirably the prize is sh ared between the spokesperson and author, thus honouring an art that often goes unsung. The book was evidently a popular choice and Agualusa received his awarding in person, accompanied by whoops and cheers. Tonkin extols the prize as a unique bridge between writers overseas and readers at home. As thrilled as I was that this talented newcomer beat such literary heavyweights as Ismail Kadare and Javier Maras, however, I was even more delighted that the award honours a elflike literary publisher, Arcadia, who recently celebrated their 10th anniversary.The commit team at Arcadia are worthy recipients of this prestigious award, not just for bringing this imaginative young writer to an English readership, but overall for their championing of heathenish diversity and for widening our literary choice 50% of their 2007 lists are books in translation. Given the effects of globalisation elsewhere, it seems astonishing that we dont translate more foreign literature in this country. Apparently, translated legend accounts for only 3% of fiction sales in the UK, compared with 30-40% in France or Spain. The British are voracious readers, so why are we so insular?Dont we welcome unusual voices and different perspectives? How can we exert pressure on publishers to let out more translated fiction? For those interested in foreign literature , an excellent resource is Words Without Borders, an online magazine dedicated to promoting international exchange through translation and publishing works/extracts on the web. And if youd like to see Jos Eduardo Agualusa and Daniel Hahn, theyll be reading from The Book of Chameleons this evening at Foyles bookshop, London, 6.30pm 8.30pm.