Gdańskie Spotkania Literackie

Call for nominations for the Translation Work Award is open now!

Enrolment on the Tadeusz Boy‑Żeleński Translation Work Award will be launched till 30 November 2016. The award will be given in two categories: for a literary work’s translation and lifetime achievement in translation. Who is going to win the award and PLN 30,000 zł and PLN 50,000, respectively? We shall learn the name of the winner in the period of 6-8 April 2017, during the Gdańsk Meetings of Literary Translators “Found in Translation”.

The Tadeusz Boy‑Żeleński Translation Work Award is given in recognition of remarkable achievements and artistry of literary translators. Ensuring transfer between national literature systems, literary translation enriches culture, enhances the development of the humanities, and contributes to our understanding of the world and other people. Translation gives rise to new styles and extends Polish literature, revealing new paths, as yet undiscovered.

Linked with the Gdańsk Meetings of Literary Translators “Found in Translation”, the Award is held in Gdańsk since 2013. For the first time, the lifetime achievement award was given during the second edition of the festival (in 2015): it went to Maryna Ochab, a literary translator from French.

Candidates to run for both prizes should be registered until 30 November: for the award for an individual literary work’s translation (a book or cycle) published in the period from 1 September 2014 to 30 November 2016, as well as for lifetime achievement (no time limit as to the date of publication).

Written nominations with justifications – with no limit as to number – can be submitted by both legal and natural persons, especially publishing houses, cultural institutions, universities, the literary media, associations and artists’ unions, writers, literary scholars and critics, translators, and members of the Jury. We will be proud to announce the names of the Award 2017 nominees in February, and the laureates will receive PLN 30,000 for a literary work’s translation and PLN 50,000 for lifetime achievement.

The Tadeusz Boy–Żeleński Translation Work Award is given every two years to literary translators into Polish.

“The Award complements the idea of the festival,” says Aleksandra Szymańska, Director of the City Culture Institute. “It is a token of honour for the craft of translation and the translators’ profession in general, which should be duly appreciated, in terms of both prestige and income. The event will be accompanied with meetings with those special guests translators who will be shortlisted for the finals. Our wish is to enhance an open discussion between the translators and the Gdańsk public.”

The award is funded by the City of Gdańsk, whereas the City Culture Institute is a partner and organiser of the Gdańsk Meetings of Literary Translators “Found in Translation”.

The Award’s patron, Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński, was a literary translator form French, as well as a physician, historian, theatre and literary critic, social issues columnist, and a writer. His unique craft earned him a nickname, “the Shakespeare of translation”, as put by Jan Błoński, a well‑known translator and literary critic.

Information on applications procedure:
Applications are to be sent to the following address:
Instytut Kultury Miejskiej (The City Culture Institute), 80‑830 Gdańsk, Długi Targ 39/40, with the note, “Translation Work Award”.
For further information, please contact the Secretary’s Office of the City Culture Institute at our telephone number: 58 760 72 16 or e‑mail address:
nagrodadlatlumacza@ikm.gda.pl.

Deadlines:
1. Applications are to be sent no later than 30 November 2016.
2. The list of nominations in the category “Individual Literary Work’s Translation” will be made public in February 2017.
3. The laureates shall be announced during the Gdańsk Meetings of Literary Translators “Found in Translation”, which will take place 6-8 April 2017.