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.

About the prize

The prize was established by Daniel Hahn in 2017, wh
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."

Winners and Shortlistees

2021

Judges: Daniel Hahn, Vineet Lal, and Annie McDermott.

Winner:Jackie Smith and editor Bill Swainson for a translation of ''An Inventory of Losses'' by Judith Schalansky (MacLehose Press). Translated from German.

Runner-up:Padma Viswanathan and editor Edwin Frank for a translation of ''São Bernardo'' by Graciliano Ramos (New York Review Books). Translated from Portuguese.

Shortlist:

* Jennifer Russell and editor Denise Rose Hansen for a translation of ''Marble'' by Amalie Smith (Lolli Editions). Translated from Danish.
* Lucy Rand and editor Sophie Orme for a translation of ''The Phone Box at the Edge of the World,'' by Laura Imai Messina (Bonnier Books UK Ltd). Translated from Italian.
* Rahul Bery and editor Federico Andornino for a translation of ''Rolling Fields'' by David Trueba (Weidenfeld & Nicolson – Orion Publishing Group). Translated from Spanish.
* Simon Leser and editor Andrew Hsiao for a translation of ''Tomorrow They Won't Dare to Murder Us'' by Joseph Andras (Verso Books). Translated from French.

2020

Judges: Daniel Hahn, Maureen Freely and Max Porter.

Winner: Nicholas Glastonbury and Saba Ahmed (editor) for a translation of ''Every Fire You Tend'' by Sema Kaygusuz (Tilted Axis Press). Translated from Turkish.

Runner-up: Nicholas Royle and Tim Shearer (editor) for a translation of ''Pharricide'' by Vincent de Swarte (Confingo Publishing). Translated from French.

Shortlist:

* 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

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)


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

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)

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)

External links

The TA First Translation Prize - on the Society of Authors website

References

{{Reflist

Translation awards
Society of Authors awards
Awards established in 2017