Celia Hawkesworth (born 1942) is an author, lecturer, and translator of

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian ( / ), also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is a pluricentric language with four mutually i ...

Biography

Celia Hawkesworth graduated from

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicen ...

in 1964 and was awarded a

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

scholarship to study in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

for 10 months, where she began her career as a translator. From 1971 to 2002, she was a senior lecturer of Serbian and Croatian in the

School of Slavonic and East European Studies The UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES ) is a University College London#Faculties and departments, school of University College London (UCL) specializing in Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and South-Easte ...

at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. Based in

Kirtlington Kirtlington is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Oxfordshire about west of Bicester. The parish includes the Hamlet (place), hamlet of Northbrook. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded the parish's popula ...

and an active part of the environmentalist movement, she has translated over 40 books by Slavic authors into English, including ''The Culture of Lies'' by

Dubravka Ugrešić Dubravka Ugrešić (; 27 March 1949 – 17 March 2023) was a Yugoslav- Croatian and Dutch writer. A graduate of University of Zagreb, she was based in Amsterdam from 1996 and continued to identify as a Yugoslav writer. Early life and education ...

, ''My Heart'' by

Semezdin Mehmedinović Semezdin Mehmedinović (born 1960 in Kiseljak is a Bosnian writer and magazine editor. After studying Librarianship and Comparative Literature in Sarajevo, he worked as an editor of "Lica" and "Valter" magazines, which served as a voice of opposi ...

, ''EEG'' by

Daša Drndić Daša Drndić (10 August 1946 – 5 June 2018) was a Croatian writer. She studied English language and literature at the University of Belgrade.Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

winner

Ivo Andrić Ivo Andrić ( sr-Cyrl, Иво Андрић, ; born Ivan Andrić; 9 October 1892 – 13 March 1975) was a Yugoslav novelist, poet and short story writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961 Nobel Prize in Literature, 1961. His writ ...

. She has also written several textbooks of colloquial Croatian,

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

, an anthology of Serbian and Bosnian women writers, a cultural history of

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, and a literary biography of

. In 1975, she was appointed to as a trustee to the British Trust Scholarship and has served as both secretary and chairperson. Her translation of

Daša Drndić Daša Drndić (10 August 1946 – 5 June 2018) was a Croatian writer. She studied English language and literature at the University of Belgrade.Istros Books Istros books is a London-based independent publisher of writers from South-East Europe and the Balkans, in English translation. It was set up in 2011 by Susan Curtis. Publications Notable publications include: *''Doppelgänger'' by Daša Drndić ...

) and Senka Marić's ''Body Kintsugi'' (

Peirene Press Peirene Press is an independent publishing house based in Bath. Established by the novelist and journalist Meike Ziervogel, Peirene publishes literary fiction in translation from all over the world. Their books are regularly listed for significa ...

) were awarded a PEN Translates grant by

English PEN Founded in 1921, English PEN is one of the world's first non-governmental organisations and among the first international bodies advocating for human rights. English PEN was the founding centre of PEN International, a worldwide writers' associa ...

Selected bibliography

Translator

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Accolades

*1998: Weidenfeld Prize for Literary Translation shortlist for The Museum of Unconditional Surrender by Dubravka Ugrešić *1999: Heldt Prize for Culture of Lies by Dubravka Ugrešić *2018: EBRD Literature Prize finalist for Belladonna by Daša Drndić *2018:

Warwick Prize for Women in Translation The Warwick Prize for Women in Translation is an annual award for work by a female author translated into English and published by a UK-based or Irish publisher during the previous calendar year. The prize was established in 2017 "to address the g ...

winner for Belladonna by Daša Drndić *2018:

Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize The Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize is an annual literary prize for any book-length translation into English from any other living European language. The first prize was awarded in 1999. The prize is funded by and named in honour of Lord Wei ...

shortlist for Belladonna by Daša Drndić *2019:

Republic of Consciousness Prize The Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses is an annual British literary prize founded by the author Neil Griffiths. It rewards fiction published by UK and Irish small presses, defined as those with fewer than five full-time employee ...

shortlist for Doppelgänger by Daša Drndić *2019:

winner for Omer Pasha Latas by Ivo Andrić *2020: American Association of Teachers for Slavic and Eastern European Languages' Best Literary Translation into English for EEG by Daša Drndić *2020: Best Translated Book Award for EEG by Daša Drndić

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkesworth, Celia Living people Translators to English Serbian–English translators Translators from Serbian 20th-century British translators 21st-century British translators Literary translators Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge 1942 births