French Week 2025 | Industry Insider – 60 Years of the Scott Moncrieff: Celebrating Francophone African Writing

Join us for a panel discussion with Sarah Ardizzone (Chair); Allison M. Charette; Edwige Renée Dro, Ruth Bush and Ray Ndebi celebrating francophone African writing

A lot has changed in the world since the Scott Moncrieff Prize was first awarded in 1965 to recognise the best of French translation into English. English-language readers can now access a richer and more diverse variety of Francophone literature. This event focuses on the translators and writers who have brought Francophone African writing to a new audience. As well as celebrating the present we will challenge ourselves about the future. Who chooses the books which are published and the translators who translate them? What might a truly inclusive Francophone African literature in English look like and how can we make this happen?

French Week 2025

From 27 – 31 January 2025, we are running a week of events to mark the 60^th anniversary of the Scott Moncrieff Prize for translations of books from French into English. This series of events kicks off our 2025 events programme.

Scott Moncrieff, is an annual £2,000 literary prize for French to English translation, awarded to one or more translators every year for a full-length work. Following the success of our Japan Week to celebrate our Translation Prizes, this year we shine a spotlight on French.

The week includes:

• 28 Jan | Industry Insider – 60 Years of the Scott Moncrieff: Celebrating Francophone African Writing
• 29 Jan | SoA in Person: Tour of The Institut français du Royaume-Uni (French Institute of the United Kingdom)
• 30 Jan | Afternoon Tea with Vineet Lal
• 14 Feb | Feel Good Friday – Draw along with Sandrine Kao

Programme

• Welcome, introductions and housekeeping from Sarah Ardizzone (3 mins)
• Panel discussion chaired by Sarah Ardizzone with Allison Charette, Edwige Dro, Ruth Bush and Ray Ndebi (60 mins)
• Comfort break (5 mins)
• Q&A with audience (20 mins)
• Summary and closing comments (2 mins)
• This event will be moderated by Catherine Fuller – Senior Publishing Contracts Advisor, SoA

The Line-up

Sarah Ardizzone

Sarah Ardizzone is a translator of voices from across the French-speaking world. Her work spans literary fiction for all ages, as well as memoir, hip-hop lyrics, graphic novels and picture books. Her time in Marseille led to a special interest in sharp dialogue and multi-heritage slang. She is a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and twice recipient of the Scott Moncrieff prize.

Instagram: @sarahtranslatorardizzone

Allison M. Charette

Allison M. Charette translates literature from French into English with a current focus on Malagasy authors, including Michèle Rakotoson, Johary Ravaloson, and Naivo. She founded ELTNA.org, a networking and support group for early-career translators, and has received both an NEA Literary Translation Fellowship and a PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant. Most recently, her short work has appeared in The Offing, The Massachusetts Review, and Future Science Fiction Digest. Her next novel is “Return” by Raharimanana (Seagull Books, July 2025). Find her online at charettetranslations.com.

Website: charettetranslations.com | Instagram: @sunshine.abroad | Bluesky: @sunshineabroad.bsky.social

Edwige Renée Dro

Edwige Renée Dro is a writer and a literary translator from Côte d’Ivoire. She has translated across many genres: short stories, graphic novels, children’s literature. Her short stories and essays have been widely anthologized. Edwige is a 2021 Writing Fellow of the Iowa International Writing Program.

Website

Website: www.edwigedro.wordpress.com | X: @DroEdwige | Facebook: Edwige Dro

Ruth Bush

Ruth Bush is Professor of Comparative Literatures and Cultures at the University of Bristol, UK. She currently convenes a collaborative project about representations and lived experiences of universities in Dakar, Abidjan, Abomey-Calavi and Yaoundé. She is author of Publishing Africa in French: Literary Institutions and Decolonization 1945-67 (LUP, 2016) and Translation Imperatives: African Literature and the Labour of Translators (CUP Elements, 2022).

Website: www.bristol.ac.uk/people/person/Ruth-Bush

Ray Ndebi

Ray Ndebi is a Cameroonian author, critique, literary translator, editor, proofreader, Quality Book promoter and Creative writing/reading/translation coach and mentor. He has contributed to translating several books from French to English and vice-versa and also into Camfranglais. He is also the cofounder of Acolitt, a literary agency based in Cameroon.

X: @rtndebi

Send us your questions

If you would like to send questions in advance, email CFuller@societyofauthors.org with ’60 years of Scott Moncrieff’ in the subject header. We will prioritise questions sent in advance and answer as many as we can from the audience on the day.

Translation Prizes 2024 – Online Fundraising Bookshop

Browse our virtual Bookshop.org store, featuring titles shortlisted for this year’s Translation Prizes. When you make a purchase using our affiliate links, a percentage will go to the Drusilla Harvey Access Fund, giving authors support for travel, subsistence, childcare or access needs for events, residencies, and retreats.

Need to know 

Accessibility

• Attendees will have the option to turn on the live transcript option
• If you require BSL interpretation for this event, please email events@societyofauthors.org

Before the event

• Once registered, you will be sent a confirmation email with the Zoom link
• If the confirmation email doesn’t arrive in your inbox, please check your junk/spam email folder
• Please add events@societyofauthors.org to your Safe Senders list so you receive our confirmation and reminder emails

During the event

• This online event will take place on Zoom Webinar; you will not be visible on screen but will be able ask questions via the Q&A function or interact via the chat box
• This event will be recorded but you won’t be on screen
• This event is 90 minutes

After the event

• Hashtags for this event: #SoAatHome & #TranslationPrizes
• You’ll be able to catch the recording on our Vimeo channel
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Booking

Book your place by using the registration below.

This #SoAatHome events is free but if you can afford to, please consider donating to Drusilla Harvey Access Fund. The fund is to help provide authors support for travel, subsistence, childcare or access needs for events, residencies, and retreats. DONATE HERE