The 2024 Society of Authors’ Translation Prizes

Join us in person this February as we celebrate another year of literature in translation at The British Library.

A winning translation from Dutch into English will be celebrated with the Vondel Translation Prize this year, a triennial prize last awarded in 2022. Our judges described the five shortlisted translations – each with ‘an unforgettable first-person narrator’ – as demonstrating ‘exceptional skill, unflinching integrity, and above all, flair.’ The biennial John Florio Prize also returns after a year out, celebrating translations from Italian. The shortlisted translations cover ‘themes of family, identity, conflict and confidence,’ and were described by the judges as ‘dynamic as they are ambitious in their literary prowess’.

Translations from 12 languages will be celebrated, including first translations from Eastern Armenian, Kazakh and Uyghur for our TA First Translation Prize. Joining our long-running prizes for European languages, The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation Translation Prize returns for a second year, celebrating translations from Japanese into English.

Announcing the Translation Prizes 2024 shortlists

Thank you to our sponsors: The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, the Dutch Foundation for Literature, the Italian Cultural Institute, the Banipal Trust for Arab Literature, the late Saif Ghobash, Institut français du Royaume-Uni, Daniel Hahn and Jo Heinrich, Hawthorden Foundation, Amazon Literary Partnerships and The British Library.

Programme

• 6.15pm – Guest arrivals
• 6.45pm – Translation Prizes ceremony (60 mins)
• 7.45pm – Drinks reception
• 8.45pm – Event finishes

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.

French Week

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.

The Scott Moncrieff Prize, 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

Booking

You can purchase your ticket for this event via the booking form below.

SoA Members – £15 

Non-Members – £20 

Tickets are on sale until 9am on Tuesday 4 February. We can only issue refunds up to 7 days prior to the event date, any after that will be invalid.