Daniel Hahn (born 26 November 1973) is a British writer, editor and translator. He is the author of a number of works of non-fiction, including the history book ''The Tower Menagerie'', and one of the editors of

The Ultimate Book Guide The Ultimate Book Guides are an award-winning series of reading guides for children and teenagers. The guides are edited by Leonie Flynn, Daniel Hahn, and Susan Reuben and published in the U.K. by A&C Black. The reading guides comprise book recomme ...

, a series of reading guides for children and teenagers, the first volume of which won the Blue Peter Book Award. Other titles include ''Happiness Is a Watermelon on Your Head'' (a picture-book for children), ''The Oxford Guide to Literary Britain and Ireland'' (a reference book), brief biographies of the poets

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lak ...

and

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his ach ...

, and a new edition of '' The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature''. His translation of ''The Book of Chameleons'' by José Eduardo Agualusa won the

Independent Foreign Fiction Prize The ''Independent'' Foreign Fiction Prize (1990–2015) was a British literary award. It was inaugurated by British newspaper ''The Independent'' to honour contemporary fiction in translation in the United Kingdom. The award was first launched i ...

in 2007. His translation of '' A General Theory of Oblivion'', also by José Eduardo Agualusa, won the 2017

International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award ( ga, Duais Liteartha Idirnáisiúnta Bhaile Átha Chliath), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. ...

, with Hahn receiving 25% of the €100,000 prize. His other translations include

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FI ...

's autobiography and work by novelists José Luís Peixoto, Philippe Claudel,

María Dueñas ''For the musician of the same name, see María Dueñas (violinist)'' María Dueñas Vinuesa (1964) is a Spanish writer and professor. Life María Dueñas Vinuesa was born in Puertollano in 1964. She earned a licentiate degree in English Phi ...

José Saramago José de Sousa Saramago, GColSE ComSE GColCa (; 16 November 1922 – 18 June 2010), was a Portuguese writer and recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature for his "parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony ith which he ...

, Eduardo Halfon, Gonçalo M. Tavares, and others. A former chair of the Translators Association and the

Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. , it represents over 12,000 members and as ...

, as well as national programme director of the British Centre for Literary Translation, he currently serves on the board of trustees of the

and a number of other organisations working with literature, literacy and free expression, including

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' associati ...

, The Children's Bookshow and Modern Poetry in Translation. In 2017, Hahn donated half his winnings from the

to help establish a new prize for debut literary translation – the TA First Translation Prize. Hahn was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to literature.

References

External links

Daniel Hahn
s website
Daniel Hahn
s profile on Worldcat.org
Daniel Hahn
s profile in ''The Guardian'' * 1973 births British non-fiction writers British translators Literary translators Living people Officers of the Order of the British Empire Place of birth missing (living people) {{UK-writer-stub