Goethe-Institut Award

The Goethe-Institut Award is a biennial literary prize presented by the Society of Authors and the Goethe Institut, London, for the best translation of a text from German to English. Past winners include Kay McBurney, Katy Derbyshire, and Imogen Taylor.

About

The Goethe-Institut Award was established by the Society of Authors in partnership with the Geothe Institut's London branch. The Society of Authors is a British trade union of writers, illustrators, and translators,[1] which, among other activities, awards a number of literary prizes for writing and translation, including the Betty Trask Prize, TA First Translation Prize, Banipal Prize, and others.[2] The Goethe Institut is a non-profit German cultural association, aimed at promoting the German language outside Germany.[3]

The Goethe-Institut Award was established in 2010, and replaced the German Embassy Award for Translators, which was presented by the German Embassy in London. It is presented to British translators, and is awarded for translations from German to English. The prize consists of a cash award of €1,000, and includes attendance at the Leipzig Book Fair and the International Translators' Colloquium in Berlin. It is awarded once every two years.[4] It is focused on early-career translators,[5] and has been described as a "top award for new translators" by the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford.[6]

Recipients

Year Winner Runner-up Jury Source
2022 Sharon Howe for a translation of an extract from Schwitters by Ulrike Draesner George Robarts and Robert Sargant Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp and Steph Morris [7]
2020 Kay McBurney for a translation of an extract from Die Fahrt by Sibylle Berg Oliver Kamm, Karen Leeder, and Charlotte Ryland. [8]
2018 Mandy Wight for a translation of an extract from Unterleuten by Juli Zeh. Annemarie Goodridge, Eva Hoffman and Oliver Kamm [9][10]
2016 Imogen Taylor for a translation of an extract from Momente der Klarheit by Jackie Thomae (Hanser Berlin) Anthea Bell, Jens Boyer and Paula Johnson [9][6]
2014 Caroline Waight for a translation of an extract from Fliehkräfte by Stephan Thome (Suhrkamp). [9]
2012 Katy Derbyshire for a translation of an extract from the novel Das Geschenk by Wolf Wondratschek (Hanser 2011). Helen MacCormac. [9]
2010 Samuel Pakucs Willcocks for a translation of an extract from the novel Du bist zu schnell by Zoran Drvenkar (Klett-Cotta, 2003). Jamie Lee Searle. [9]

References

  1. ^ "About | The Society of Authors". www.societyofauthors.org. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Prizes | The Society of Authors". www.societyofauthors.org. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  3. ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Goethe-Institut looks back on 60 years of cultural exchange | DW | 29.07.2011". DW.COM. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  4. ^ "Translation Prizes | The Society of Authors". societyofauthors.org. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Awards - Goethe-Institut Vereinigtes Königreich". www.goethe.de. Archived from the original on 11 February 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Oxford Alumna wins top award for new translators | Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages". www.mod-langs.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Awards - Goethe-Institut Vereinigtes Königreich". www.goethe.de. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  8. ^ "UK Society of Authors Names 2019 Translation Prize Winners". Publishing Perspectives. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Translation Prizes | The Society of Authors". societyofauthors.org. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Translation Prizes 2018 | The Society of Authors". societyofauthors.org. Retrieved 11 February 2022.