The PEN Translation Prize (formerly known as the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize through 2008) is an annual award given by PEN America (formerly PEN American Center) to outstanding translations into the English language. It has been presented annually by PEN America and the Book of the Month Club since 1963. It was the first award in the United States expressly for literary translators.[1] A 1999 New York Times article called it "the Academy Award of Translation", stating that the award is thus usually not given to younger translators.[2]

The distinction comes with a cash prize of USD $3,000. Any book-length English translation published in the United States during the year in question is eligible, irrespective of the residence or nationality of either the translator or the original author.[3]

The award is separate from the similar PEN Award for Poetry in Translation.

The PEN Translation Prize was called one of "the most prominent translation awards."[4] The award is one of many PEN awards sponsored by International PEN affiliates in over 145 PEN centres around the world. The PEN American Center awards have been characterized as being among the "major" American literary prizes.[5]

Winners

PEN Translation Prize winners[6]
YearTranslatorAuthorTitleOriginal titleLanguageRef.
1963The ViceroysI ViceréItalian
1964The Tin DrumDie BlechtrommelGerman
1965The Story of a LifeПовесть о жизниRussian
1966and Adrian MitchellMarat/SadeGerman
1967Sagarana: The DuelSagarana, o DueloPortuguese
1968and Merrill Sparks (eds.)Modern Russian PoetryRussian
1969Selected Translations 1948-1968Various[7][8]
1970The History of ItalyStoria d'ItaliaItalian
1971Hope Against HopeВоспоминанияRussian
1972and Clara WinstonLetters of Thomas MannGerman
1973The Poems of Sextus PropertiusLatin
1974and Leonard MadesThe Obscene Bird of NightEl obsceno pájaro de la nocheSpanish
1975Count JulianReivindicación del conde don JuliánSpanish
1976A Short History of DecayPrécis de décompositionFrench
1977The Autumn of the PatriarchEl otoño del patriarcaSpanish
1979One Way or AnotherTodo modoItalian
1979The Storm and Other PoemsLa bufera e altroItalian
1980Homage to the Lame WolfSerbian
1981Evening Edged in GoldAbend mit GoldrandGerman
1982and Burton WatsonFrom the Country of Eight Islands: An Anthology of Japanese PoetryJapanese
1983MolièreFour Comedies: The Misanthrope, Tartuffe, The Learned Ladies, The School for WivesLe Misanthrope, Tartuffe, Les Femmes savantes, L'école des femmesFrench
1984The Name of the RoseIl nome della rosaItalian
1985 (prose)The War of the End of the WorldLa guerra del fin del mundoSpanish
1985 (verse)Sweeney AstrayBuile ShuibhneIrish
1986 (prose)The LoverL'AmantFrench
1986 (verse)Dennis TedlockPopol Vuh: The Mayan Book of the Dawn of LifePopol vohQuiché
1987Perfume: The Story of a MurdererDas Parfum: Die Geschichte eines MördersGerman
1988and Francine ProseA Scrap of TimeSkrawek czasuPolish[9]
1989The StrangerL'ÉtrangerFrench
1990Foucault's PendulumIl pendolo di FoucaultItalian
1991and Larissa VolokhonskyThe Brothers KaramazovБратья КарамазовыRussian
1992A Poet's BibleHebrew
1993The Adventures of Mr. Nicholas WisdomMikołaja Doświadczyńskiego przypadkiPolish
1994and Zack RogowEarthlightClair de terreFrench
1995Selected Poems of Su Tung-p'oChinese
1996and Clare CavanaghView With a Grain of SandWidok z ziarnkiem piaskuPolish
1997The Letters of Vincent van GoghDutch
1998Six Early StoriesGerman
1999The Tale of the 1002nd NightDie Geschichte von der 1002. NachtGerman[10]
2000Selected WritingsFrench
2001The CrossKorsetNorwegian[11]
2002and Larissa VolokhonskyAnna KareninaАнна КаренинаRussian
2003The Moon and the BonfiresLa Luna e i falòItalian
2004SepharadSefaradSpanish
2005FatelessnessSorstalanságHungarian
2006Kafka on the Shore海辺のカフカJapanese
2007Suite françaiseFrench
2008The MaiasOs Maias: Episódios da Vida RomânticaPortuguese[12]
20092666Spanish[13]
2010WonderDe verwonderingDutch[14][15]
2011Journal of an Ordinary Griefيوميات الحزن العاديArabic[16]
2012Stone Upon StoneKamień na kamieniuPolish[17]
2013The Island of Second SightDie Insel des zweiten GesichtsGerman[18][19][20]
2014and Nikolai FormozovAutobiography of a CorpseАвтобиография трупаRussian[21][22][23]
2015BaboonBavianDanish[24][25][26]
2016The Complete StoriesTodas as CrónicasPortuguese[27][28][29][30]
2017Angel of OblivionEngel des VergessensGerman[31][32]
2018Katalin StreetKatalin utcaHungarian[33][34][35][36]
2019LoveKjærlighetNorwegian[37][38]
2020The Ten Loves of Nishinoニシノユキヒコの恋と冒険Japanese[39][40]
2021A Country for DyingUn pays pour mourirFrench[41][42][43][44]
2022Migratory BirdsAves migratoriasSpanish[45][46]
2023People from BloomingtonOrang-orang BloomingtonIndonesian[47]
2025VerdigrisVerderameItalian[48]

See also

References

  1. ^ "PEN honors Norwegian translations". No. 1. Norway.com (Norway's official website in the USA). 2001. Archived February 19, 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  2. ^ Lewine, Edward (January 17, 1999). "MAKING IT WORK; The Man Who Tracked Down Chekhov". New York Times. Archived September 26, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  3. ^ "Pen Translation Prize". PEN America. Archived 2 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  4. ^ Wechsler, Robert (1998). "Performing Without a Stage". Performing Without a Stage: The Art of Literary Translation. Catbird Press. pp. 278–279.
  5. ^ Bendixen, Alfred (2005). "Literary Prizes and Awards". The Continuum Encyclopedia of American Literature. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 689. Archived 2023-02-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2016-10-19.
  6. ^ "PEN Translation Prize". PEN America. 2020-06-10. Archived 2023-02-25 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  7. ^ "Rediscover: W.S. Merwin". Shelf Awareness. March 19, 2019. Archived 2023-01-30 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  8. ^ "Obituary Note: W.S. Merwin". Shelf Awareness. March 18, 2019. Archived 2022-01-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  9. ^ "Rediscover: Blue Angel". Shelf Awareness. February 20, 2018. Archived 2022-07-19 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  10. ^ Rosen, Judith & Reid, Calvin (1999-04-26). "1999 PEN Book Prizes Presented in Boston and N.Y.". Publishers Weekly. Archived 2023-02-27 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  11. ^ "Rediscover: Kristin Lavransdatter". Shelf Awareness. August 23, 2019. Archived 2022-01-20 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  12. ^ "2008 PEN Translation Prize". PEN America. Archived September 24, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  13. ^ "2009 PEN Translation Prize". PEN America. Archived September 24, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  14. ^ "2010 PEN Translation Prize". PEN America. Archived September 24, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  15. ^ "Awards: PEN Literary Winners". Shelf Awareness. September 23, 2010. Archived 2021-05-06 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  16. ^ "2011 PEN Translation Prize". PEN America. Archived September 24, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  17. ^ "2012 PEN Translation Prize". PEN America. Archived June 7, 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  18. ^ Kellogg, Carolyn (August 14, 2013). "Jacket Copy: PEN announces winners of its 2013 awards". Los Angeles Times. Archived August 16, 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 14, 2013.
  19. ^ "2013 PEN Translation Prize". PEN America. Archived March 26, 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
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  22. ^ "2014 PEN Translation Prize". PEN America. Archived July 10, 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
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  25. ^ "2015 PEN Literary Award Winners". PEN America. Archived May 16, 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
  26. ^ "Awards: PEN Literary; New Children's Author". Shelf Awareness. May 14, 2015. Archived 2021-09-26 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  27. ^ Galehouse, Maggie (March 1, 2016). "PEN Literary Award winners announced". Chron. Archived March 2, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  28. ^ "2016 PEN Literary Award Winners". PEN America. March 1, 2016. Archived March 1, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  29. ^ Maher, John (2016-04-12). "Morrison, Coates, Redniss Win 2016 PEN Awards". Publishers Weekly. Archived 2022-08-18 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  30. ^ "Awards: Windham-Campbell; PEN Literary". Shelf Awareness. March 2, 2016. Archived 2022-08-19 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
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  33. ^ Maher, John (February 21, 2018). "Long Soldier, Zhang, Le Guin Win At 2018 PEN Literary Awards". Publishers Weekly. Archived February 22, 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  34. ^ "The 2018 PEN America Literary Awards Winners". PEN America. February 20, 2018. Archived February 21, 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  35. ^ Anderson, Porter (January 31, 2018). "Industry Notes: PEN America's Finalists". Publishing Perspectives. Archived February 22, 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
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  37. ^ Maher, John (2019-02-27). "'Daring Works' Fêted at 2019 PEN America Literary Awards". Publishers Weekly. Archived 2022-09-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  38. ^ "PEN America Literary Award Winners Honored". Shelf Awareness. February 27, 2019. Archived 2022-12-26 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  39. ^ Reid, Calvin (2020-03-04). "Writers Li, Lok, de Waal Win Big at PEN Lit Awards". Publishers Weekly. Archived 2022-12-06 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  40. ^ "PEN America Literary Award Winners Honored". Shelf Awareness. March 4, 2020. Archived 2022-08-19 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  41. ^ "2021 PEN America Literary Awards Given to Top Literary Stars of the Year, Lifelong Luminaries of Literary Excellence". PEN America. 2021-04-08. Archived 2021-04-27 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
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  43. ^ Anderson, Porter (2021-04-09). "PEN America's 2021 Winners Include Translators Emma Ramadan, Steve Bradbury". Publishing Perspectives. Archived 2022-09-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  44. ^ "Emma Ramadan's PEN Translation Win". Shelf Awareness. April 12, 2021. Archived 2023-02-24 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  45. ^ "Julia Sanches Wins PEN Translation Prize for Migratory Birds". Transit Books. 2022-03-01. Archived 2023-02-27 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  46. ^ Stewart, Sophia (2022-03-01). "Hernández, Choi, Renkl, Peters, and Miles Win 2022 PEN Lit Awards". Publishers Weekly. Archived 2022-11-30 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  47. ^ Mem: 10118712. "Tsao wins US PEN Translation Prize | Books+Publishing". Retrieved 2023-04-17.
  48. ^ "2025 PEN America Literary Awards Winners". Locus. 2025-05-12. Retrieved 2025-05-18.