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SoA announces 50 works shortlisted for translation prizes
The Society of Authors (SoA) has announced the 50 works shortlisted across eight prizes for translation, with a shared £28,000 prize fund.
The winners will be will be celebrated at a ceremony on Wednesday 7th February 2024, at the British Library’s Knowledge Centre.
The shortlist for the inaugural Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation Translation Prize, which is awarded for translations into English of full-length Japanese-language works, will be awarded alongside seven others, including the Bernard Shaw Prize and Goethe–Institut Award, which are both awarded biennially.
Ten languages are represented across the prizes, with English translations from Vietnamese and Danish featured on the TA First Translation Prize shortlist.
The shortlist for the Bernard Shaw Prize features Jennifer Hayashida, for a translation of Euphoria by Elin Cullhed (Canongate Books), and Kira Josefsson, for translating The Trio by Johanna Hedman (Hamish Hamilton). The biennial award is for translations into English of full-length Swedish language works of literary merit and general interest. The winner is awarded £3,000 and a runner-up is awarded £1,000.
John Litell is also on the list for his translation of Andrea Lundgren’s Nordic Fauna (Peirene Press), while Alice Menzies is in the running for her translation of We Know You Remember by Tove Alsterdal (Faber). Alice E Olsson is also on the shortlist for the Bernard Shaw Prize, for a translation of The Herd by Johan Anderberg (Scribe UK), alongside Saskia Vogel, for a translation of Strega by Johanne Lykke Holm (Lolli Editions).
This year’s judges are Alison Flood, Nichola Smalley and Amanda Svensson, who said: "From the lyrical to the matter-of-fact, these translators have captured the essence of each of their authors tone, ambition, quirks and strengths with accuracy and verve. This shortlist is a testament not only to the power of great literature, but also the power of great translation."
Meanwhile, the winners of the Premio Valle Inclán award – an annual prize for translations into English of full-length Spanish language works of literary merit and general interest – will be awarded £3,000, while a runner-up will get £1,000. Jennifer Croft in vying for the award, for a translation of Two Sherpas by Sebastián Martínez Daniell (Charco Press), alongside Simon Deefholts and Kathryn Phillips-Miles, who translated Take Six: Six Spanish Women Writers by various authors (Dedalus Limited).
Forrest Gander is also on this year’s list, for a translation of It Must Be a Misunderstanding by Coral Bracho (Carcanet Press), as are Rosalind Harvey, for a translation of Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel (Fitzcarraldo Editions), and Victor Meadowcroft, for a translation of This World Does Not Belong to Us by Natalia García Freire (Oneworld Publications). William Rowe and Helen Dimos are shortlisted as well, for their translation of Trilce by César Vallejo (Veer Books).
Moreover, the annual Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize, established by Banipal Magazine and the Banipal Trust for Arab Literature, is for published translations from Arabic of full-length works of imaginative and creative writing of literary merit and general interest. The winner is awarded £3,000.
The shortlist features Bruce Fudge for a translation of The Turban and the Hat by Sonallah Ibrahim (Seagull Books) and Paula Haydar for a translation of The King of India by Jabbour Douaihy (Interlink Books). Paula Haydar and Nadine Sinno are also on the list, for a translation of Firefly by Jabbour Douaihy (Seagull Books), as are Sawad Hussain, for a translation of What Have You Left Behind? by Bushra al–Maqtari (Fitzcarraldo Editions), and Luke Leafgren, shortlisted for a translation of Mister N by Najwa Barakat (And Other Stories). M Lynx Qualey is on the list this year, for a translation of Thunderbird: Book One and Thunderbird: Book Two by Sonia Nimr (University of Texas Press).
The judges said of the shortlisted works: "Their protagonists struggle against circumstances and systems that are overwhelming. Moments of kindness, joy, and serenity stand out against the grim backdrop. At once poignant, haunting and beautiful, the works reflect the current issues and events that Arab authors are addressing."
The shortlist for the annual Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation Translation Prize has also been announced.
The winner is awarded £3,000 and a runner-up wins £1,000.
Sam Bett is represented twice on the list, once for a translation of The Flowers of Buffoonery by Osamu Dazai (New Directions) and a second time for his joint translation with David Boyd, of All The Lovers In The Night by Mieko Kawakami (Picador). Boyd himself is shortlisted a second time, for his translation of Weasels in the Attic by Hiroko Oyamada (Granta). Margaret Mitsutani is in the running for a translation of Scattered All Over the Earth by Yoko Tawada (Granta), and Alison Watts is shortlisted twice, for a translation of Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight by Riku Onda (Bitter Lemon Press) and for a translation of The Boy and the Dog by Seishu Hase (Scribner).
The shortlist for the Schlegel-Tieck Prize features Jamie Bulloch, for a translation of Hinterland by Arno Geiger (Picador), and Katy Derbyshire, for a translation of While We Were Dreaming by Clemens Meyer (Fitzcarraldo Editions). The prize is awarded annually, for translations into English of full-length German works of literary merit and general interest. The winner is awarded £3,000 and a runner–up wins £1,000.
Katharina Hall is on the list, for a translation of Punishment by Ferdinand von Schirach (Baskerville), as is Lucy Jones, for a translation of Siblings by Brigitte Reimann (Penguin Modern Classics). Tess Lewis is shortlisted for a translation of Epic Annette: A Heroine’s Tale by Anne Weber (The Indigo Press), while Rachel Ward is competing with a translation of Tasting Sunlight by Ewald Arenz (Orenda Books).
Clíona Ní Ríordáin in shortlisted for the Scott Moncrieff Prize this year, for a translation of Yell, Sam, If You Still Can by Maylis Besserie (Lilliput Press), alongside Lucy Raitz, for a translation of Swann in Love by Marcel Proust (Pushkin Press).
The annual award is for translations into English of full-length French works of literary merit and general interest, and the winner is awarded £3,000, while a runner-up is given a £1,000 prize.
Adriana Hunter is in the running, for a translation of The Anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier (Michael Joseph), and Teresa Lavender Fagan is on the list for a translation of Marina Tsvetaeva: To Die in Yelabuga by Vénus Khoury-Ghata (Seagull Books). Shaun Whiteside is shortlisted for a translation of What You Need From The Night by Laurent Petitmangin (Picador), while Frank Wynne is in the running for a translation of Standing Heavy by Gauz (MacLehose Press).
The shortlist for the TA First Translation Prize features debut literary English translations published in the UK and Ireland. The winner is awarded £3,000 and a runner-up £1,000, while the prize is shared between the translator and their editor.
Tash Aw and editor Ellie Steel are on the shortlist, for a translation of A Woman’s Battles and Transformations by Édouard Louis (Penguin Random House), while Sophie Collins and editor Marigold Atkey are featured for a translation of The Opposite of a Person by Lieke Marsman (Daunt Books). Katharina Hall and editor Abigail Scruby are also on the shortlist this year, for a translation of Punishment by Ferdinand von Schirach (Baskerville), as are Victor Meadowcroft and editors Juliet Mabey and Polly Hatfield, for a translation of This World Does Not Belong to Us by Natalia García Freire (Oneworld Publications). Nguyễn An Lý and editor Deborah Smith are on the list for a translation of Chinatown by Thuận (Tilted Axis Press), while Johanne Sorgenfri Ottosen and editor Tom Conaghan are shortlisted for a translation of Awake by Harald Voetmann (Lolli Editions). Claire Wadie and editor Gesche Ipsen are also on the shortlist, for a translation of Of Saints and Miracles by Manuel Astur (Peirene Press).
Finally, the shortlist for the biennial Goethe-Institut Award was announced, featuring new and emerging translators based in the UK and Ireland, whose literary translation work has not yet been published in print. The winner is awarded €1,000 (£863) and is invited to attend the Leipzig Book Fair, including being given a place at the International Translators’ meeting organised by the Literary Colloquium Berlin.
The prize will be awarded for the best translation of extracts from Hund, Wolf, Schakal by Behzad Karim Khani (Hanser Berlin). This year’s judges are Rebecca DeWald and Christophe Fricker, and the shortlist features translators Nick Browne, Fiona Graham and Rob Myatt, as well as Caroline Summers, Anne Thompson Melo and Stuart Vizard.
