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.
The aim of the John Calder Translation Prize is to celebrate new and ambitious translations into English of full-length works (fiction, non-fiction and poetry) which are distinguished by the highly personal and imaginative approach of the authors to their subject. Submissions can be from any language into English.
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 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.
The John Calder Prize is now open for submissions. Please apply below.
Deadline for entries: 31 March 2025.
The judges will be announced in Autumn 2025.
Sheila Colvin-Calder
Sheila Colvin has spent most of her working life in the arts. She worked at the Edinburgh International Festival for ten years, ultimately becoming its first Associate Director. She acted as General Manager of Aldeburgh Foundation (now Britten Pears Arts) and was a founder member of the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh.
Alma Books
Alma Books was set up in October 2005 by Alessandro Gallenzi and Elisabetta Minervini, the founders of Hesperus Press. Following its takeover of the Oneworld Classics list in February 2012, it now publishes around forty new titles a year, mainly in the field of classics. Alma takes around forty per cent of its titles from English-language originals, while the rest are translations from French, Spanish, Italian, Russian and other languages. Alma Books includes the following imprints: Alma Books, Alma Classics, Overture (music imprint) and Calder Publications (founded 1950). The backlist comprises over 800 titles. Alma counts a dozen Nobel-Prize winners in its list and many more British and international award-winning authors and translators.