Switch on the radar for translation competitions

Your work on translation does not have to go unnoticed. It does not have to be limited by the time frame of a course or MA either. You can work to satisfy a requirement for assessment at the same time that you choose a text that could be sent to a translation competition. Both are compatible and can save you some time besides giving you an extra layer of motivation and interest.

Some prizes are just for women translators that address the gender imbalance in translated literature. This is the case for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation. You can read about the 13 titles long-listed this year. You can start preparing your submission in time for next year's June deadline.

Other competitions are open to anyone. For example the Dryden Translation Competition main criterion is that the text presented are unpublished literary translations from any language into English. The deadline for submissions is usually February, so you are still in time for next year's round.

The Harvill Secker Young Translator's Prize could be of interest for anyone between the ages of 18 and 34. Each year the competition focuses on one particular language. So it is worth being on the lookout for when the time comes for your target language. This year’s chosen language was French and entrants were asked to translate an excerpt from the novel De purs hommes by Senegalese author Mohamed Mbougar Sarr.