The TA First Translation Prize is an annual prize for a debut literary translation into English published in the UK and Ireland. The winner is awarded £3,000 and a runner-up is awarded £1,000. The Prize is shared between the translator and their editor.
It was established in 2017 and generously endowed by Daniel Hahn and Jo Heinrich, with support from the British Council.
The TA First Translation Prize is currently closed for submissions.
The prize will re-open for submissions in 2026.
‘So, it’s recognising new talent in the translation profession, but also those editors who take a chance on a debut and then work with them to make them better – a role we all depend on, but don’t acknowledge often enough.’
Daniel Hahn
The 2024 TA First Translation Prize winner
Deanna Cachoian-Schanz and editor Tatiana Ryckman for a translation from Eastern Armenian of A Book, Untitled by Shushan Avagyan (Tilted Axis Press)
Photography © Natalie Thorpe
‘Translating your first full-length book is a daunting task, and many others would have tiptoed in at the shallow end for their first. Not Cachoian-Schanz, whose choice to translate this novel-cum-prose poem-cum-philosophical treatise can only be admired. She deserves credit for having dared to take on the challenge, for the sheer hard brainwork it must have taken, and the elegance of her execution. May this be the first of many more translations from Armenian to reach our linguistic shores.’
Gesche Ipsen, 2024 TA First Prize judge
The 2024 TA First Translation Prize runner-up
James Young and editor Stella Sabin for a translation from Portuguese of The Love of Singular Men by Victor Heringer (Peirene Press)
Photography © Natalie Thorpe
‘Victor Heringer was a true master, and fitting of the writer, James Young’s translation is exactly that: masterful. James Young flawlessly renders Heringer’s remarkable novel into English with poise, razor-sharp wit, and electricity, crafting a truly singular voice that the reader still cannot escape from long after reaching the final page. It is a work of art; one that is hard to believe belongs to a debut translator.’
Clare Richards, 2024 TA First Prize judge
The 2024 TA First Translation Prize shortlist
Dias Novita Wuri and editor Marika Webb-Pullman for a translation from Indonesian of Birth Canal by Dias Novita Wuri (Scribe Publications)
Mirgul Kali and editor Deborah Smith for a translation from Kazakh of To Hell with Poets by Baqytgul Sarmekova (Tilted Axis Press)
Joshua L. Freeman and editors Bea Hemming and Jenny Dean for a translation from Uyghur of Waiting to be Arrested at Night by Tahir Hamut Izgil (Jonathan Cape, Vintage, PRH)
‘I was heartened both by the sheer number of entries – it’s great to know that despite the challenges so many people are managing to get a foothold in literary translation – and by their high quality. As a judge for the 2024 prize I am honoured to have chosen a shortlist with such a broad selection of languages, many of which are hugely underrepresented in Anglo-American publishing, and works of such literary accomplishment, with translations to match.’
Rahul Bery, 2024 TA First Prize judge
If you are interested in any of the books here please visit Bookshop.org.
2022 (presented in 2023)
Winner: Sophie Collins and editor Marigold Atkey for a translation of The Opposite of a Person by Lieke Marsman (Daunt Books)
Runner-up: Nguyễn An Lý and editor Deborah Smith for a translation of Chinatown by Thuận (Tilted Axis Press)
Shortlisted:
Tash Aw and editor Ellie Steel for a translation of A Woman’s Battles and Transformations by Édouard Louis (Penguin Random House)
Katharina Hall and editor Abigail Scruby for a translation of Punishment by Ferdinand von Schirach (Baskerville, John Murray)
Victor Meadowcroft and editors Juliet Mabey and Polly Hatfield for a translation of This World Does Not Belong to Us by Natalia García Freire (Oneworld Publications)
Johanne Sorgenfri Ottosen and editor Tom Conaghan for a translation of Awake by Harald Voetmann (Lolli Editions)
Claire Wadie and editor Gesche Ipsen for a translation of Of Saints and Miracles by Manuel Astur (Peirene Press)
2022 (presented in 2023)
Winner: Marta Dziurosz and editors Zeljka Marosevic and Sophie Missing for a translation of The Things I Didn’t Throw Out by Marcin Wicha (Daunt Books Publishing) Translated from Polish.
Runner Up: Jo Heinrich and editor Gesche Ipsen for a translation of Marzahn, Mon Amour by Katja Oskamp (Peirene Press) Translated from German.
Shortlisted:
Bethlehem Attfield and editor David Henningham for a translation of The Lost Spell by Yismake Worku (Henningham Family Press) Translated from Amharic.
Elena Pala and editor Federico Andornino for a translation of The Hummingbird by Sandro Veronesi (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, Orion) Translated from Italian.
Kat Storace and editor Jen Calleja for a translation of what will it take for me to leave by Loranne Vella (Praspar Press) Translated from Maltese.
Abigail Wender and editor Katy Derbyshire for a translation of The Bureau of Past Management by Iris Hanika (V&Q Books) Translated from German.
2021 (presented in 2022)
Winner: Jackie Smith and editor Bill Swainson for a translation of An Inventory of Losses by Judith Schalansky. (MacLehose Press)
Runner Up: Padma Viswanathan and editor Edwin Frank for a translation of São Bernardo by Graciliano Ramos. (New York Review Books)
Shortlisted: Jennifer Russell and editor Denise Rose Hansen for a translation of Marble by Amalie Smith. (Lolli Editions)
Lucy Rand and editor Sophie Orme for a translation of The Phone Box at the Edge of the World by Sophie Orme (Bonnier Books UK Ltd)
Rahul Bery and editor Federico Andornino for a translation of Rolling Fields by David Trueba. (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Orion Publishing Group)
Simon Leser and editor Andrew Hsiao for a translation of Tomorrow They Won’t Dare to Murder Us by Joseph Andras. (Verso Books)
2020 (presented in 2021)
Winner: Nicholas Glastonbury and editor Saba Ahmed for a translation of Every Fire You Tend by Sema Kaygusuz (Tilted Axis Press). Translated from Turkish.
Runner-up: Nicholas Royle and editor Tim Shearer for a translation of Pharricide by Vincent de Swarte (Confingo Publishing). Translated from French.
Shortlisted: Laura Francis and editor Ka Bradley for a translation of The Collection by Nina Leger (Granta Books). Translated from French.
Annie McDermott and editor Lizzie Davis for a translation of Empty Words by Mario Levrero (And Other Stories). Translated from Spanish.
Ruth Diver and editor Elise Williams for a translation of The Little Girl on the Ice Floe by Adélaïde Bon (MacLehose Press). Translated from French.
Owen Good and editor Bishan Samaddar for a translation of Pixel by Krisztina Tóth (Seagull Books). Translated from Hungarian.
2019 (presented in 2020)
Winner: Morgan Giles for a translation of Tokyo Ueno Station edited by Saba Ahmed and originally written by Yu Miri in Japanese (Tilted Axis Press)
Runner-up: Charlotte Whittle for a translation of People in the Room edited by Bella Bosworth and originally written by Norah Langé in Spanish (And Other Stories)
Shortlisted: Sarah Booker for a translation of The Iliac Crest edited by Lauren Rosemary Hook and originally written by Cristina Rivera Garza in Spanish (And Other Stories)
Natascha Bruce for a translation of Lonely Face edited by Jeremy Tiang and originally written by Yeng Pway Ngon in Chinese (Balestier Press)
Ellen Jones for a translation of Trout, Belly Up edited by Fionn Petch and Carolina Orloff and originally written by Rodrigo Fuentes in Spanish (Charco Press)
William Spence for a translation of The Promise: Love and Loss in Modern China edited by Tomasz Hoskins and originally written by XinRan in Mandarin (I.B. Tauris)
2018 (presented in 2019)
Winner: Janet Hong for her translation of The Impossible Fairytale edited by Ethan Nosowsky and originally written by Han Yujoo in Korean (Tilted Axis Press)
Shortlistees:
Gini Alhadeff for her translation of I Am the Brother of XX edited by Barbara Epler and originally written by Fleur Jaeggy in Italian (And Other Stories)
Fionn Petch for his translation of Fireflies edited by Annie McDermott and originally written by Luis Sagasti in Spanish (Charco Press)
Alex Valente for his translation of Can You Hear Me? edited by Federico Andornino and originally written by Elena Varvello in Italian (Two Roads Books)
2017 (presented in 2018)
Winner: Bela Shayevich for her translation of Second-hand Time edited by Jacques Testard and originally written by Svetlana Alexievich in Russian (Fitzcarraldo Editions)
Shortlistees:
Jeffrey Zuckerman for his translation of Eve Out of Her Ruins, edited by Cécile Menon and Angeline Rothermundt and originally written by Ananda Devi in French (Les Fugitives)
Francesca Barrie for her translation of Notes on a Thesis, edited by Claire Bullock and originally written by Tiphanie Rivière in French (Jonathan Cape)
Eliza Marciniak for her translation of Swallowing Mercury, edited by Max Porter and Ka Bradley and originally written by Wioletta Greg in Polish (Portobello Books)
Mui Poopoksakul for her translation of The Sad Part Was, edited by Deborah Smith and originally written by Prabda Yoon in Thai (Tilted Axis Press)
Elisabeth Jaquette for her translation of The Queue, edited by Sal Robinson and Taylor Sperry and originally written by Basma Abdel Aziz in Arabic (Melville House)
Rahul Bery
Rahul Bery translates from Spanish & Portuguese to English, and is based in Cardiff. He has translated books by David Trueba, Afonso Cruz, Simone Campos and Vicente Luis Mora and his translations have also appeared in Granta, the TLS, the Stinging Fly, Words Without Borders, Freeman’s, the White Review and elsewhere. His most recent translation is What is Mine by José Henrique Bortoluci, published by Fitzcarraldo Editions. In 2018-2019 he was the translator in residence at the British Library. A former teacher, he does educational work in schools and universities with the Stephen Spender Trust and the Queen’s College Oxford Translation Exchange. His translation of David Trueba’s Rolling Fields was shortlisted for the 2021 TA First Translation Prize.
Gesche Ipsen
Gesche Ipsen has worked with books since 2009. She has occupied desks in the editorial department at Penguin, Pushkin Press and Duckworth, and now sits at her own, editing other people’s writing and translating books from German. She has a BA in English Literature and an MA & PhD in Comparative Literature from UCL, and has previously been a judge for the Peirene Stevns Translation Prize.
Clare Richards
Clare Richards is an award-winning translator of Korean literature. She has translated works by Kang Hwagil, Lim Solah, and Yeon Somin, amongst others. Clare is a mentor for the NCW Emerging Translators Mentorship programme and is a BCLT Summer School workshop leader. In her spare time, she’s often found crocheting, reading, or gardening in her countryside cottage.
Daniel Hahn
Daniel Hahn is a writer, editor and translator. He is on the boards of Modern Poetry in Translation, English PEN and The Children’s Bookshow (as chair), on the committee of the Translators Association (former chair) and the board of governors of his local primary school. He’s also on the Council of the Society of Authors and the Council of Shakespeare’s Globe, as well as a number of advisory groups (And Other Stories, Cheltenham Literature Festival, Public Lending Right, etc.).
Find out more about why Daniel sponsored the prize here.
Jo Heinrich
Jo Heinrich translates from French and German; her translation of Marzahn, Mon Amour by Katja Oskamp won the 2023 Dublin Literary Award and was runner-up for the 2022 Translators Association First Translation Prize. She lives just outside Bristol with her family. Find out more about Jo on her website here.