The 2025 Society of Authors’ Translation Prizes
10 February 2026 @ 18:15 - 20:45 GMT
£25.00 – £30.00
Join us in person as we celebrate another year of literature in translation at the British Library.
More than £32,000 in prize money will be shared among the winners and runners-up, celebrating outstanding translations of prose, poetry and non-fiction, across a range of genres.
This year will see the John Calder Translation Prize awarded for the first time, for translations of full-length ambitious and groundbreaking literary works from any language. We will also host a week of online #SoAatHome and in person wrap-around events celebrating the John Calder Translation Prize.
Fiona Sze-Lorrain, one of the judges for this award and the host of the Awards Ceremony, said: “Translation creates a new republic of books that transcends boundaries and translators are often the unsung heroines/heroes. Our inaugural John Calder Prize shortlist honours the art of translation and world literature.”
Announcing the Translation Prizes 2025 shortlists
Thank you to our sponsors: Alma Books, Sheila Colvin-Calder, The Great British Sasakawa Foundation, Banipal Magazine, the Banipal Trust for Literature, the Saif Ghobash family, Institut Français du Royaume-Uni, the Goethe-Institut London, the Swedish Embassy, Hawthornden Foundation, Amazon Literary Partnerships and The British Library.
Register up here if you prefer to join us online.
Programme
- 6.15pm – Guests arrive
- 6.45pm – Translation Prizes ceremony hosted by Fiona Sze-Lorrain (60 mins)
- 7.45pm – Drinks reception
- 8.45pm – Event finishes
Translation Prizes 2025 – Online Fundraising Bookshop
Browse our virtual Bookshop.org store, featuring shortlisted titles for our 2025 Translation Prizes, including this year’s judges. When you make a purchase using our affiliate links, a will go to the Society of Authors Access Fund, giving authors support for travel, subsistence, childcare or access needs for events, residencies, and retreats.
John Calder – a week of online #SoAatHome and in person events
From , we are running a week of events to celebrate the SoA’s new John Calder Translation Prize which was launched in November 2024. The week includes:
- 28 Jan | Industry Insider – Editing translation
- 29 Jan | How I write – in conversation with Katharine Halls
- 30 Jan | SoA in Person: London Literary Tour
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. The winner is awarded £3,000 and a runner-up is awarded £1,000.
Throughout the second half of the twentieth century, John Calder was known as one of the pre-eminent English-language publishers of exciting, avant-garde literature, and was a trailblazing proponent of fiction in translation, as well as a champion of the free word and a staunch promoter of authors who were suppressed or discriminated against for political or other reasons. Under his stewardship, his publishing house brought out novels, plays and poetry by such literary luminaries as Samuel Beckett, Henry Miller, William Burroughs, Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Raymond Queneau, Alain Robbe-Grillet, Marguerite Duras, Nathalie Sarraute, Claude Simon, Robert Pinget and many others.
Bookings for this week of events will open soon via the SoA’s events page.
https://societyofauthors.org/events/
Feeling unwell?
We recommend the following:
- Staying home if you’re feeling unwell or have flu-like symptoms
- Washing your hands when coming in from the outdoors and / or before touching your face
- Applying alcohol hand sanitiser (we will have these on site)
- We advise attendees to wear a face mask if they feel comfortable doing so
Tickets
£25 for SoA Members
£30 for Non-Members
Booking
Book your place using the booking from below. Places are limited.
Please read our event booking Terms and Conditions: https://societyofauthors.org/legal-privacy/event-terms/
Accordion Content
Access 20% off your first year of membership of the SoA with discount code SOAATHOME20
The Society of Authors is the UK’s biggest trade union for authors – representing more than 12,000 writers, illustrators, translators and other creative practitioners.
Our subscription rate is just £137 per year (£97 concessionary) which equates to just under £12 per month (or £8 per month concessionary).
As an SoA member, you’ll get:
- Access to all our #SoAatHome events for free including the Professional Development sessions usually charged at £35 from Feb 2025
- Access to all our Feel Good Friday and Industry Insider events which are usually charged £5 from Feb 2025
- Access all #SoAatHome Vimeo professional development recordings so you can catch up in your own time
- Access Unlimited one-to-one professional advice
- Membership of our online and real-world professional networks and special interest groups
- A range of member-only discounts, including books, insurance and travel
- And much more
‘It was a surprisingly lovely way to meet fellow writers in a friendly, warm surrounding perfectly hosted by the SoA staff. Thank you for all the introductions, the welcome and the nourishment!’ – attendee from SoA in Person: Autumn New Members’ Party 2024
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