Nine literary translators and one editor will be named winners at the event at the British Library, with more than £32,000 in prize money shared among the winners and runners-up. The prizes celebrate outstanding translations of prose, poetry and non-fiction, from languages from around the globe and across a range of genres.
Fiona Sze-Lorrain, the host for the evening and judge for one of the prizes, said:
“I never cease to marvel at how works of translation, like dripping water hollowing out a rock, transform cultural/literary boundaries and our receptivity to the ‘other’ on the most human level.
“And for these reasons among others, I’m so pleased to be able to contribute to this collective effort in highlighting the vital import of translated literature, celebrating their oft invisible yet frontline creators—the translators.”
This year sees the John Calder Translation Prize awarded for the very first time, for translations of full-length literary works from any language.
The prize was won by Alexandra Roesch, for a translation from German of Boy With a Black Rooster by Stefanie vor Schulte. Roesch’s translation of the novel was also runner-up for the Schlegel-Tieck Prize.
Helen Oyeyemi, one of the judges for the John Calder Translation Prize, said:
“Alexandra Roesch’s translation is masterful in its clarity and focus; her skill renders sentences airborne so that they cross the story’s rough and delicate terrain to land like invisibly piloted paper planes.”
Other winners include Richard Gwyn for an “assured and deft” translation from Spanish of Invisible Dog by Fabio Morábito, and Ruth Diver for a translation from French of The Convoy by Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse, which was described as “a work of profound empathy and craftsmanship”.
The Winners
John Calder Translation Prize
The John Calder Translation Prize is an annual award for translations into English of full-length ambitious, groundbreaking works of literary merit and general interest, generously supported by Alma Books and Sheila Colvin-Calder. The winner is awarded £3,000 and the runner-up is awarded £1,000. Submissions can be from any language into English. This year’s judges were Fiona Sze-Lorrain, Jon McGregor, and Helen Oyeyemi.
Winner: Alexandra Roesch for a translation from German of Boy With a Black Rooster by Stefanie vor Schulte (The Indigo Press)
Judge Helen Oyeyemi said:
“Stefanie vor Schulte’s Boy With A Black Rooster pairs the mundane and the archetypal as dance partners – to mesmerising, bittersweet effect. Alexandra Roesch’s translation is masterful in its clarity and focus; her skill renders sentences airborne so that they cross the story’s rough and delicate terrain to land like invisibly piloted paper planes.”
Runner-up: Tess Lewis for a translation from French of Nevermore by Cécile Wajsbrot (Seagull Books)
TA First Translation Prize
An annual prize for a debut literary translation into English published in the UK and Ireland. Submissions can be from any language into English. The winner is awarded £3,000 and the runner-up is awarded £1,000. The prize is shared between the translator and their editor(s). It was established in 2017 and generously endowed by Daniel Hahn and Jo Heinrich, with support from the British Council. This year’s judges were Anam Zafar, Anthony McGowan and Stella Sabin.
Winners: Antonella Lettieri and editor Richard Village for a translation from Italian of Your Little Matter by Maria Grazia Calandrone (Foundry Editions)
Judge Stella Sabin said:
“[Antonella Lettieri’s] thoughtful word choices capture the ambiguity and weight of Calandrone’s poetic choices, and she navigates the tonal shifts between investigative journalism and personal revelation with the fluidity and confidence of an experienced translator. We are grateful to her, and to her editor Richard Village, for bringing this remarkable work to English-language readers.”
Runners-up: Gwendolyn Harper and editors John Siciliano and Rory Williamson for a translation from Spanish of A Last Supper of Queer Apostles by Pedro Lemebel (Pushkin Press)
Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize
An annual award, established by Banipal Magazine and the Banipal Trust for Arab Literature, for published translations from Arabic of full-length works of imaginative and creative writing of literary merit and general interest. The prize is generously sponsored by the Saif Ghobash family in memory of their husband and father, the late Saif Ghobash, who was a passionate bibliophile. The winner is awarded £3,000 and the runner-up receives £1,000. This year’s judges were Professor Tina Phillips (Chair), Nashwa Nasreldin, Dr Susan Frenk and Boyd Tonkin Hon. FRSL.
Winner: Marilyn Booth for a translation of Honey Hunger: A Novel by Zahran Alqasmi (Hoopoe, American University in Cairo Press)
The judging panel said:
“Marilyn Booth’s translation of Honey Hunger is a masterclass in poetic translation which remains remarkably true to the original. The judges were greatly impressed by Booth’s precision and sensitive handling of difficult language and local material and by the way in which the translation succeeds in bringing the remote landscapes and hidden worlds of the novel and its characters intimately close for the Anglophone reader.”
Runner-up: Kay Heikkinen for a translation of Granada: The Complete Trilogy by Radwa Ashour (Hoopoe, American University in Cairo Press)
Scott Moncrieff Prize
An annual award for translations into English of full-length French works of literary merit and general interest. The winner is awarded £3,000 and the runner-up is awarded £1,000. Established in 1965, and named after the celebrated translator of Proust’s À la recherche du temps perdu, the prize is generously sponsored by the Institut Français du Royaume-Uni. This year’s judges were Clare Finburgh Delijani, Shumona Sinha and Adam Hamdy.
Winner: Ruth Diver for a translation of The Convoy by Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse (Open Borders Press)
Judge Adam Hamdy said:
“Diver’s translation captures both the musical cadence and moral weight of the original. In her hands, each sentence breathes with tension and grace, conveying not just the horror of displacement but also the tenderness that persists in its wake. The result is a work of profound empathy and craftsmanship: a convoy of voices transported faithfully by writer and translator.”
Runner-up: Frank Wynne for a translation of Sleeping Children by Anthony Passeron (Pan Macmillan, Picador)
Goethe-Institut Award for New Translation
For a translation of an extract from Der Beste Tag Seit Langem by Jana Volkmann provided for translation with kind permission of publisher Residenz Verlag.
The Goethe-Institut Award for New Translation was founded in 2010 and is presented by the Society of Authors and the Goethe-Institut London every two years. This translation prize is aimed at new and emerging translators whose literary translation work has not yet been published in print. The winner is awarded €1,000 and is invited to attend the Leipzig Book Fair (usually held in March each year), including a place at the International Translators’ meeting organised by the Literary Colloquium Berlin. This year’s judges were Monique Charlesworth and Jamie Lee Searle.
Winner: Nick Browne
The judging panel said:
“Among many excellent renderings, the winning translation stood out for its elegance and accuracy. It dealt creatively with the text’s challenges, and contained just the right touches of wit and the vernacular, keeping it both modern and crisp. A most engaging piece of work.”
Runner-up: Sarah Escritt
Schlegel-Tieck Prize
An annual award for translations into English of full-length German works of literary merit and general interest. The winner is awarded £3,000 and the runner-up is awarded £1,000. The prize was first awarded in 1965 and is named for two poets of the Romantic period, August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767-1845) and Ludwig Tieck (1773-1853). This year’s judges were Shaun Whiteside, Anju Okhandiar and Kerri Andrews.
Winner: Jon Cho-Polizzi for a translation of Djinns by Fatma Aydemir (Peirene Press)
Judge Kerri Andrews said:
“Djinns, dexterously translated by Jon Cho-Polizzi, compels its reader to confront the possibility that we exist in a world of multiple truths, all of which are contingent and contestable. The story is superficially simple, the execution dazzling in its sophistication. Cho-Polizzi’s superb yet playful handling of the novel’s polyphony was one of the reasons why this had to be this year’s winner.”
Runner-up: Alexandra Roesch for a translation of Boy With a Black Rooster by Stefanie vor Schulte (The Indigo Press)
Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation Translation Prize
An annual award for translations into English of full-length Japanese-language works of literary merit and general interest. The winner is awarded £3,000 and the runner-up is awarded £1,000. The prize is generously supported by the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation. This year’s judges were Lila Matsumoto, Asa Yoneda and Dr Victoria Young.
Winner: Ginny Tapley Takemori for a translation of Mornings With My Cat Mii by Mayumi Inaba (Harvill Secker, Vintage, Penguin Random House)
Judge Dr Victoria Young said:
“In Mornings With My Cat Mii, the surprise lay in how the translation appeared to mirror the melancholic beauty of the original Japanese so effortlessly, presenting in the guise of a personal memoir a poignant reflection upon the nature of relationships, loss, and care amid the changing landscape of Tokyo’s suburbs since the late 1970s.”
Runner-up: Bryan Karetnyk for a translation of The Little Sparrow Murders by Seishi Yokomizo (Pushkin Press)
Premio Valle Inclán
An annual prize for translations into English of full-length Spanish language works of literary merit and general interest. The prize was established in 1997. The winner is awarded £3,000 and the runner-up is awarded £1,000. This year’s judges were Gaby Sambuccetti, Luiza Sauma and Lawrence Schimel.
Winner: Richard Gwyn for a translation of Invisible Dog by Fabio Morábito (Carcanet Press)
Judge Lawrence Schimel said:
“Richard Gwyn’s translations of Fabio Morábito’s verse, often musing on his status as an immigrant not just to another country but also to a language other than his mother tongue, beautifully recreate the poet’s voice and vision with an assured and deft choice of both vocabulary and syntax that make these versions sing in English as sweetly as in the originals.”
Runner-up: Frank Wynne for a translation of The Last Dream by Pedro Almodóvar (Harvill Secker, Vintage, Penguin Random House)
Bernard Shaw Prize
A biennial award for translations into English of full-length Swedish language works of literary merit and general interest. The winner is awarded £3,000 and the runner-up is awarded £1,000. The prize was established in 1991 and is generously sponsored by the Anglo-Swedish Literary Foundation and the Embassy of Sweden in London. This year’s judges were Kate Lambert, Tom Geddes and Dea Birkett.
Winner: Agnes Broomé for a translation of Collected Works: A Novel by Lydia Sandgren (Pushkin Press)
Judge Dea Birkett said:
“As a first time judge, I was in awe of the role of the translator in this incredible work. Translating is the strangest of jobs, as the more the reader notices you, the less good your work is. Invisibility is your aim. I quickly forgot this was a translated work, and skipped through different voices, eras and perspectives all conveyed with ease and authenticity. I hope this award makes the translator visible again.”
Runner-up: Saskia Vogel for a translation of Caesaria by Hanna Nordenhök (Héloïse Press)
All the shortlisted books from the 2025 Translation Prizes are available to purchase via Bookshop.org here. A percentage of all book sales will be donated to the SoA Access Fund.
