Death wins for third time at 2022 SoA Translation Prizes

Literary translator Sarah Death has won the Society of Authors (SoA) Bernard Shaw Prize for the third time with her translation of Moomins creator Tove Jansson’s book leading her to victory.

Eight literary translators shared a total prize fund worth almost £19,000 at the 2022 Translation Prizes. Prizes were awarded for translations from Swedish, Spanish, Arabic, German, French, Dutch, as well as for a debut literary translation from any language, with the winners announced in an online ceremony sponsored by the Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS).  

Death’s translation from Swedish of Letters from Tove by Tove Jansson and edited by Boel Westin and Helen Svensson (Sort of Books) scooped the Bernard Shaw Prize. She had previously won the award in 2003 and 2006. Joint runners-up were Amanda Doxtater for a translation of Crisis by Karin Boye (Norvik Press), and Death again for a translation of Chitambo by Hagar Olsson (Norvik Press)  

Fionn Petch won the Premio Valle Inclán for translation from Spanish for her work on A Musical Offering by Luis Sagasti (Charco Press). Runner-up was Lisa Dillman for a translation of A Luminous Republic by Andrés Barba (Granta).  

Sarah Enany’s work on The Girl with Braided Hair by Rasha Adly (Hoopoe) scooped the Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for translation from Arabic.   

The Schlegel-Tieck Prize for translation from German went to Karen Leeder for a translation of Porcelain: Poem on the Downfall of My City by Durs Grünbein (Seagull Books). Runner-up was Simon Pare for a translation of Cox and The Course of Time by Christoph Ransmayr (Seagull Books).  

The Scott Moncrieff Prize for translation from French went to Sam Taylor for a translation of The Invisible Land by Hubert Mingarelli (Granta) while Emily Boyce took the runner-up place with A Long Way Off by Pascal Garnier (Gallic Books)  

The TA First Translation Prize for debut translation from any language, shared between the translator and their editor, was awarded to newcomer Jackie Smith and editor Bill Swainson for a translation of An Inventory of Losses by Judith Schalansky (MacLehose Press). Runners-up were Padma Viswanathan and editor Edwin Frank for a translation of São Bernardo by Graciliano Ramos (New York Review Books).  

David Doherty won the Vondel Translation Prize for translation from Dutch or Flemish for his work on Summer Brother by Jaap Robben (World Editions) while runner-up was David McKay for a translation of Adrift in the Middle Kingdom by J J Slauerhoff (Handheld Press).  

Finally, The Goethe-Institut Award for new translation went to Sharon Howe, with George Robarts and Robert Sargant named runners up.