By Andrew Richard Albanese, Editor-in-Chief
Words Without Borders has announced that Laurence Laluyaux, head of RCW International at the RCW Literary Agency, will receive the 2026 Ottaway Award for the Promotion of International Literature for her “extraordinary work as an advocate for international literature.”Named in honor of the first board chair of Words Without Borders, Jim Ottaway, Jr., The Ottaway Award recognizes an individual whose “work and activism have advanced WWB’s mission of promoting cultural understanding through the publication and promotion of international literature.”
Among her achievements, WWB Laluyaux has nurtured numerous award-winning global literary sensations for over her career. Among the writers Laluyaux represents: Han Kang, László Krasznahorkai, and Olga Tokarczuk, Jean-Baptiste Del Amo, Chris Kraus, Valeria Luiselli, Olga Ravn, Keith Ridgway, Sara Stridsberg, and Alia Trabucco Zerán.
Laluyaux joined RCW Literary Agency in 1996, developing an affinity for non-anglophone authors while running RCW’s foreign rights department, and eventually developing RCW International, which became a division of RCW in 2023.
“What a boon Laurence Laluyaux has been for anglophone readers,” said WWB’s board chair, Samantha Schnee, in a release. “Without her discerning eye and deep faith in literature that pushes boundaries, we might never have discovered the work of Naja Marie Aidt (Denmark), Rodrigo Hasbún (Bolivia), and Semezdin Mehmedinović (Bosnia). It is Words Without Borders’ great pleasure to recognize Laurence’s steadfast championing of these and so many other writers of world literature with this year’s Ottaway Award.”
“The fact is that Laurence Laluyaux is an angel,” said László Krasznahorkai, the winner of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature, in a statement. “The Ottaway Award could not find a more deserving recipient.”
Olga Tokarczuk, winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature, also praised Laluyaux’s selection. “Under Laurence’s watchful eye, writers know they are never alone, and that makes all the difference,” Tokarczuk said in a statement, adding that Laluyaux “not only represents writers professionally, but also creates a true sense of family around them—a warm, supportive atmosphere in which authors feel seen, valued, and understood.”
In a release, Laluyaux said Words Without Borders a “treasure chest” and thanked the selection committee for the honor.
“Having grown up in a country where one had access to many literatures from around the world without ever stopping to consider what a marvel that was, I found in WWB a sort of home away from home. I have long admired its passion, expertise, and inventiveness,” Laluyaux said. “It is a great honor to receive the 2026 Ottaway Award, and I would like to thank the selection committee as well as the extraordinary writers and the translators who make it possible for me to indulge in what I love the most on a daily basis.”
The award will be presented at a ceremony on Tuesday, June 30, in New York City. MacArthur Fellow and Words Without Borders contributor Valeria Luiselli will deliver the encomium.