A Hero Born, the first volume in Chinese wuxia novelist Louis Cha's Legends of the Condor Heroes series, was first published in English last February. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"Reading fiction is one of the best ways we have of putting ourselves in other people's shoes. The rise in sales of translated fiction shows how hungry British readers are for terrific writing from other countries," said Fiammetta Rocco, administrator of the MBI prize.

"This is really exciting news, and welcome confirmation that publishers have responded to the proven popularity and marketability of translated literature," said Charlotte Collins, co-chair of the UK's Translators Association.