First awarded 1963 | ||
Category of PEN American Center Literary Awards People also search for PEN Award for Poetry in Translation Winners & Nominees Angel of ForgettingTess Lewis, Angel of Forgetting, Winner, JustineKerri A Pierce, Justine, Nominee, Between Life and DeathBarbara Harshav, Between Life and Death, Nominee, ConfessionsKareem James Abu-Zeid, Confessions, Nominee, The VegetarianDeborah Smith, The Vegetarian, Nominee, Complete StoriesKatrina Dodson, Complete Stories, Winner, The Physics of SorrowAngela Rodel, The Physics of Sorrow, Nominee, Crime and PunishmentOliver Ready, Crime and Punishment, Nominee, The Blizzard: A Novel, The Blizzard: A Novel, Nominee, Hollow HeartAntony Shugaar, Hollow Heart, Nominee, BaboonDenise Newman, Baboon, Winner, The Symmetry TeacherPolly Gannon, The Symmetry Teacher, Nominee, Self-Portrait in GreenJordan Stump, Self-Portrait in Green, Nominee, Texas: The Great TheftSamantha Schnee, Texas: The Great Theft, Nominee, The Gray NotebookPeter Bush, The Gray Notebook, Nominee, Autobiography of a CorpseJoanne Turnbull - Nikolai Formozov, Autobiography of a Corpse, Winner, An Armenian SketchbookRobert Chandler - Elizabeth Chandler, An Armenian Sketchbook, Nominee, Transit VisaMargot Dembo, Transit Visa, Nominee, The Emperor's TombMichael Hofmann, The Emperor's Tomb, Nominee, The African ShoreJeffrey Gray, The African Shore, Nominee, Ibrahim Muhawi, Ibrahim Muhawi, Winner | ||
The PEN Translation Prize (formerly known as the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize through 2008) is an annual award given by the PEN American Center to outstanding translations into the English language. It has been presented annually by PEN American Center and the Book of the Month Club since 1963. It was the first award in the United States expressly for literary translators. A 1999 New York Times article called it "the Academy Award of Translation" and that the award is thus usually not given to younger translators.
The distinction comes with a cash prize of USD $3,000. Any book-length English translation published in the United States during the year in question is eligible, irrespective of the residence or nationality of either the translator or the original author.
The award is separate from the similar PEN Award for Poetry in Translation.
The PEN Translation Prize was called one of "the most prominent translation awards." The award is one of many PEN awards sponsored by International PEN affiliates in over 145 PEN centres around the world. The PEN American Center awards have been characterized as being among the "major" American literary prizes.