TA First Translation Prize
The TA First Translation Prize was established by Daniel Hahn in 2017 and is awarded annually to for a debut literary translation, to be shared equally between the first-time translator and their editor.[1]
About the prize
The prize was established by Daniel Hahn in 2017, who donated half of his winnings from the International Dublin Literary Award - for his translation of José Eduardo Agualusa's A General Theory of Oblivion from Portuguese - to help establish a new prize for debut literary translation.
Hahn said: “I was very fortunate to have been named as one of the winners of the International Dublin Literary Award, alongside my friend José Eduardo Agualusa (the first writer I ever translated). Obviously, I’m as broke as the next translator, but the prize pot of the IDLA is so generous that even half of it is a sizeable amount to keep; so, I’m giving the other half to support the first few years of a new prize, which will be run by the Society of Authors."[2]
Winners and Shortlistees
2019
Judges: Daniel Hahn, Ellie Steel, and Shaun Whiteside.
Winner: Morgan Giles and Saba Ahmed (editor) for a translation of Tokyo Ueno Station by Yu Miri (Tilted Axis Press). Translated from Japanese.
Runner-up: Charlotte Whittle and Bella Bosworth (editor) for a translation of People in the Room by Norah Langé (And Other Stories). Translated from Spanish.
Shortlist:
- Sarah Booker and Lauren Rosemary Hook (editor) for a translation of The Iliac Crest by Cristina Rivera Garza (And Other Stories) Translated from Spanish.
- Natascha Bruce and Jeremy Tiang (editor) for a translation of Lonely Face by Yeng Pway Ngon (Balestier Press). Translated from Chinese.
- Ellen Jones, Fionn Petch (editor) and Carolina Orloff (editor) for a translation of Trout, Belly Up by Rodrigo Fuentes (Charco Press). Translated from Spanish.
- William Spence and Tomasz Hoskins (editor) for a translation of The Promise: Love and Loss in Modern China by XinRan Xue (I.B. Tauris). Translated from Mandarin.
2018
Judges: Philip Gwyn Jones, Daniel Hahn, and Margaret Jull Costa
Winner: The Impossible Fairytale by Han Yujoo, translated by Janet Hong, edited by Ethan Nosowsky (Titled Axis Press)
[3]
Shortlist:
- 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
[4]
Judges: Rosalind Harvey, Bill Swainson, and Daniel Hahn
Winner: Second-hand Time by Svetlana Alexievich, translated from the Russian by Bela Shayevich, edited by Jacques Testard (Fitzcarraldo Editions)[5]
Shortlist:
- Eve Out of Her Ruins by Ananda Devi, translated from the French by Jeffrey Zuckerman, edited by Cécile Menon and Angeline Rothermundt (Les Fugitives)
- Second-hand Time, by Svetlana Alexievich, translated from the Russian by Bela Shayevich, edited by Jacques Testard (Fitzcarraldo Editions)
- Swallowing Mercury by Wioletta Greg, translated from the Polish by Eliza Marciniak, edited by Max Porter and Ka Bradley (Portobello Books).
- The Sad Part Was, by Prabda Yoon, translated from the Thai by Mui Poopoksakul, edited by Deborah Smith (translator) (Tilted Axis Press)
- The Queue, by Basma Abdel Aziz, translated from the Arabic by Elisabeth Jaquette, edited by Sal Robinson, Taylor Sperry and Željka Marošević (Melville House)
- Notes on a Thesis by Tiphaine Rivière, translated from the French by Francesca Barrie, edited by Clare Bullock (Jonathan Cape)
References
- https://www.thebookseller.com/news/hahn-donates-idla-prize-pot-fund-ta-first-translation-prize-573991
- https://www.thebookseller.com/news/hahn-donates-idla-prize-pot-fund-ta-first-translation-prize-573991
- https://www.societyofauthors.org/Prizes/Translation-Prizes/TA-First-Translation-Prize/Past-winners
- https://www.thebookseller.com/news/ta-first-translation-prize-710126
- https://www.societyofauthors.org/Prizes/Translation-Prizes/TA-First-Translation-Prize/Past-winners