About the Award

By ensuring circulation between literatures, translation initiates new styles, weaves a dense network of inspirations and references, and broadens our understanding of the world and people. The Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński Translation Award of the Mayor of Gdańsk recognizes the mastery of literary translators. Their work develops our language, literature and culture in a way that enables us to remain in an open and enthusiastic dialogue with the world.

The Award is given every two years to living translators of foreign literature into Polish. Founded in 2013 by the Mayor of Gdańsk Paweł Adamowicz, it was first presented in 2015. In 2017, it was divided into two categories: lifetime translation achievement and the translation of a specific work. Apart from the statuette, winners receive PLN 50,000 (lifetime achievement) and PLN 30,000 (single translation).

Previous winners:
2015 – Maryna Ochab (French)
2017 (lifetime achievement) – Danuta Cirlić-Straszyńska (Serbo-Croatian)
2017 (single work) – Piotr Paziński for translating The Tale of the Scribe and Other Stories by Shmuel Yosef Agnon from Hebrew into Polish (Nisza publishing house)
2019 (lifetime achievement) – Małgorzata Łukasiewicz (German)
2019 (single work) – Marcin Szuster for translating Djuna Barnes’ Nightwood from English into Polish (Ossolineum publishing house)
2021 (lifetime achievement) – Anna Przedpełska-Trzeciakowska (English)
2021 (single work) – Teresa Tyszowiecka blasK! for translating The African Origins of UFOs by Trinidadian poet and writer Anthony Joseph from English into Polish (published by Fundacja Korporacji Ha!art)

2023 (lifetime achievement) – Ireneusz Kania (different languages)
2023 (single work) – René Koelblen and Stanisław Waszak for translation of Georges Perec’s A Void (Lokator, 2022)
2025 (lifetime achievement) – Carlos Marrodán Casas (Spanish)
2025 (single work) – Mateusz Kwaterko for his translation of Théophile Gautier’s Caprices et zigzags (PIW 2023)

 

Every two years, the Award Committee selects winners from among candidates put forward by entitled entities, including publishing houses, cultural institutions, literary media, creative associations and unions, universities, writers, literary experts, critics, and translators themselves. The call for entries for the Award usually takes place in even-numbered years: it is announced several months in advance, and the deadline usually falls in late September.

Awards in both categories are given during the Found in Translation Gdańsk Literary Meetings. The festival’s audience also has the opportunity to take part in conversations with the winners.

The 2025 Award Committee is composed of Wojciech Charchalis, Anna Korzeniowska-Bihun, Piotr Paziński, Zofia Szachnowska-Olesiejuk, Anna Wasilewska (chair).

The Award is funded by the City of Gdańsk and organized by the Urban Culture Institute.