Daniel Hahn (born 26 November 1973) is a British writer, editor and translator. He is the author of a number of works of non-fiction, including the history book ''The Tower Menagerie'', and one of the editors of The Ultimate Book Guide, a series of reading guides for children and teenagers, the first volume of which won the

Blue Peter Book Award The Blue Peter Book Awards were a set of literary awards for children's books conferred by the BBC television programme '' Blue Peter''. They were inaugurated in 2000 for books published in 1999. The Awards have been managed by reading charity, ...

. Other titles include ''Happiness Is a Watermelon on Your Head'' (a picture-book for children), ''The Oxford Guide to Literary Britain and Ireland'' (a reference book), brief biographies of the poets

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake ...

and

Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his achie ...

, and a new edition of ''

The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature ''The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature'' is a reference work first published in 1984, with its most recent edition in 2015. The Oxford Companions is a book series providing general knowledge within a specific area, in this case, children ...

''. His translation of ''The Book of Chameleons'' by

José Eduardo Agualusa José Eduardo Agualusa Alves da Cunha (born December 13, 1960) is an Angolan journalist and writer of Portuguese and Brazilian descent. He studied agronomy and silviculture in Lisbon, Portugal. Currently he resides in the Island of Mozambiqu ...

won the

Independent Foreign Fiction Prize The ''Independent'' Foreign Fiction Prize (1990–2015) was a British literary award. It was inaugurated by British newspaper ''The Independent'' to honour contemporary fiction in translation in the United Kingdom. The award was first launched i ...

in 2007. His translation of ''

A General Theory of Oblivion ''A General Theory of Oblivion'' ( pt, Teoria Geral do Esquecimento) is a 2012 novel by Angolan author José Eduardo Agualusa. The novel recounts the story of a Portuguese woman who locks herself into her apartment in Angola on the brink of in ...

'', also by

, won the 2017

International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award ( ga, Duais Liteartha Idirnáisiúnta Bhaile Átha Chliath), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. ...

, with Hahn receiving 25% of the €100,000 prize. His other translations include Pelé's autobiography and work by novelists

José Luís Peixoto José Luís Marques Peixoto (; born September 4, 1974) is a Portuguese author, poet and playwright. A professional writer since 2001, his works have been translated into more than 30 languages. Biography José Luis Peixoto was born in the villa ...

Philippe Claudel Philippe Claudel (born 2 February 1962) is a French writer and film director. Claudel was born in Dombasle-sur-Meurthe, Meurthe-et-Moselle. In addition to his writing, Claudel is a Professor of Literature at the University of Nancy. He direct ...

, María Dueñas,

José Saramago José de Sousa Saramago, GColSE ComSE GColCa (; 16 November 1922 – 18 June 2010), was a Portuguese writer and recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature for his "parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony ith which hec ...

Eduardo Halfon Eduardo Halfon (born 1971) is a Guatemalan writer. Career Eduardo Halfon was born in Guatemala City, moved to the United States at the age of ten, went to school in South Florida, studied industrial engineering at North Carolina State University, ...

Gonçalo M. Tavares Gonçalo Manuel de Albuquerque Tavares, known professionally as Gonçalo M. Tavares, was born in August, 1970 in Luanda, Angola and is a Portuguese writer and professor of Theory of Science in Lisbon. He published his first work in 2001 and sinc ...

, and others. A former chair of the Translators Association and the

Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. , it represents over 12,000 members and as ...

, as well as national programme director of the British Centre for Literary Translation, he currently serves on the board of trustees of the

and a number of other organisations working with literature, literacy and free expression, including

English PEN Founded in 1921, English PEN is one of the world's first non-governmental organisations and among the first international bodies advocating for human rights. English PEN was the founding centre of PEN International, a worldwide writers' associat ...

The Children's Bookshow The Children's Bookshow is an annual children's literary festival, literature roadshow which visits theatres and schools across the United Kingdom in the autumn. Established in 2003, The Children's Bookshow is directed by Siân Williams, and inclu ...

and

Modern Poetry in Translation ''Modern Poetry in Translation'' is a literary magazine and publisher based in the United Kingdom. The magazine was started by Ted Hughes and Daniel Weissbort in 1965. It was relaunched by King's College London in 1992. The College published it ...

. In 2017, Hahn donated half his winnings from the

to help establish a new prize for debut literary translation – the TA First Translation Prize. Hahn was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

2020 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2020 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

for services to literature.

References

External links

Daniel Hahn
s website
Daniel Hahn
s profile on Worldcat.org
Daniel Hahn
s profile in ''The Guardian'' * 1973 births British non-fiction writers British translators Literary translators Living people Officers of the Order of the British Empire Place of birth missing (living people) {{UK-writer-stub