The Premio Valle-Inclán is a literary

translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...

prize. It is awarded by 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. Membership of the society is open to "anyon ...

for the best English translation of a work of

Spanish literature Spanish literature is literature ( Spanish poetry, prose, and drama) written in the Spanish language within the territory that presently constitutes the Kingdom of Spain. Its development coincides and frequently intersects with that of other ...

. It is named after

Ramón del Valle-Inclán Ramón María del Valle-Inclán y de la Peña (born in Vilanova de Arousa, Galicia, Spain, on October 28, 1866, and died in Santiago de Compostela on January 5, 1936) was a Spanish dramatist, novelist, and member of the Spanish Generation o ...

. The prize money is GBP £3,000 and a runner-up is awarded £1,000.

Past winners

Source:

2023

* Winner: William Rowe and Helen Dimos for a translation of ''Trilce. Translations and Glosses'' by

César Vallejo César Abraham Vallejo Mendoza (March 16, 1892 – April 15, 1938) was a Peruvian poet, writer, playwright, and journalist. Although he published only two books of poetry during his lifetime, he is considered one of the great poetic innovators ...

(Veer Books, Crater Press) * Rosalind Harvey for a translation of ''Still Born'' by Guadalupe Nettel (Fitzcarraldo Editions) Shortlist: *Jennifer Croft for a translation of ''Two Sherpas'' by Sebastián Martínez Daniell (Charco Press) *Simon Deefholts and Kathryn Phillips-Miles for a translation of ''Take Six: Six Spanish Women Writers'' by various authors (Dedalus Limited) *Forrest Gander for a translation of ''It Must Be a Misunderstanding'' by Coral Bracho (Carcanet Press) *Victor Meadowcroft for a translation of ''This World Does Not Belong to Us'' by Natalia García Freire (Oneworld Publications)

2022

* Winner: Annie McDermott for a translation of ''Wars of the Interior'' by Joseph Zárate (Granta) * Runner-up: Julia Sanches for a translation of ''Slash and Burn'' by

Claudia Hernández González Claudia Hernández González is a Salvadoran short story writer. She was born in El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest ...

(And Other Stories) Shortlist: *Chris Andrews for a translation of ''The Divorce'' by

César Aira César Aira (Argentine Spanish: ; born 23 February 1949 in Coronel Pringles, Buenos Aires Province) is an Argentine writer and translator, and an exponent of contemporary Argentine literature. Aira has published over a hundred short books of st ...

(And Other Stories) *Annie McDermott for a translation of ''Brickmakers'' by Selva Almada (Charco Press) *Hannah Kauders for a translation of ''Las Biuty Queens'' by Iván Monalisa Ojeda (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Orion) *

Megan McDowell Megan McDowell is an American literary translator. She principally translates Spanish-language works into English. Originally from Kentucky, she studied English at DePaul University in Chicago. Upon graduation, she worked at the Dalkey Archive Pres ...

for a translation of ''

The Dangers of Smoking in Bed ''The Dangers of Smoking in Bed'' (originally ''Los peligros de fumar en la cama'') is a psychological horror short story collection written by Mariana Enriquez. The collection was first published in Argentina in November 2009. The book was transl ...

'' by

Mariana Enríquez Mariana Enríquez (born 1973) is an Argentine journalist, novelist, and short story writer. She is a part of the group of writers known as "new Argentine narrative". Her short stories fall within the horror and gothic genres and have been publis ...

(Granta)

2021

* Winner: Fionn Petch for a translation of ''A Musical Offering'' by Luis Sagasti (

Charco Press Charco Press is an independent publisher based in Edinburgh that specialises in translating contemporary Latin American fiction into English. It was launched in 2016 by Carolina Orloff and Samuel McDowell and has since enjoyed considerable succe ...

) * Runner-up: Lisa Dillman for a translation of ''A Luminous Republic'' by

Andrés Barba Andrés Barba (Madrid, 1975) is a Spanish writer and translator graduated in Hispanic Philology from the Complutense University of Madrid, with a degree in Philosophy. He has taught at Bowdoin College, the Complutense University of Madrid and Pri ...

(Granta) Shortlist: * Annie McDermott for a translation of ''Dead Girls'' by Selva Almada (Charco Press) *

Sophie Hughes Sophie Hughes (born 1986) is a British literary translator who works chiefly from Spanish to English. She is known for her translations of contemporary writers such as Laia Jufresa, Rodrigo Hasbún, Alia Trabucco Zerán and Fernanda Melchor. ...

for a translation of ''Hurricane Season'' by

Fernanda Melchor Fernanda Melchor (born 1982, Veracruz (city), Veracruz, Mexico) is a Mexicans, Mexican writer best known for her novel ''Hurricane Season (novel), Hurricane Season'' for which she won the 2019 Anna Seghers Prize and a place on the shortlist for t ...

(Fitzcarraldo Editions) * Christina MacSweeney for a translation of ''Ramifications'' by

Daniel Saldaña París Daniel Saldaña París (born 1984) is a Mexican poet, essayist, and novelist. He gained acclaim for his debut novel ''En medio de extrañas víctimas'' and its follow-up ''El nervio principal'' (published in English by Charco Press and Coffee H ...

(Charco Press)

2020

* Winner: Katherine Silver for a translation of ''The Word of the Speechless'' by Julio Ramon Ribeyro (

New York Review Books New York Review Books (NYRB) is the publishing division of ''The New York Review of Books''. Its imprints are New York Review Books Classics, New York Review Books Collections, The New York Review Children's Collection, New York Review Comics, ...

) * Runner-up: Anne McLean for a translation of ''Lord of All the Dead'' by

Javier Cercas Javier Cercas Mena (born 1962) is a Spanish writer and professor of Spanish literature at the University of Girona, Spain. Awards he has won for his novels include the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize for '' Soldiers of Salamis'' (translated ...

(

MacLehose Press Quercus is a formerly independent publishing house, based in London, that was acquired by Hodder & Stoughton in 2014. It was founded in 2004 by Mark Smith and Wayne Davies. Quercus is known for its lists in crime (publishing such authors as El ...

) Shortlist: * Richard Gwyn for a translation of ''Impossible Loves'' by

Darío Jaramillo Dario is a masculine given name, etymologically related to Darius. Given name * Dario Allevi (born 1965), Italian politician *Dario Argento (born 1940), Italian film director * Dario Badinelli (born 1946), Italian triple jumper *Dario Bellezza (1 ...

(Carcanet Poetry) * Abigail Parry and Serafina Vick for a translation of ''A Little Body are Many Parts'' by

Legna Rodríguez Iglesias Legna Rodríguez Iglesias (born 1984) is a Cuban poet, playwright, and short story writer. Her work is often characterized by absurdist humor and playfully perverse observations of everyday life in contemporary Cuba and Miami, as well as cross-g ...

(

Bloodaxe Books Bloodaxe Books is a British publishing house specializing in poetry. History Bloodaxe Books was founded in 1978 in Newcastle upon Tyne by Neil Astley, who is still editor and managing director. Bloodaxe moved its editorial office to Northumbe ...

and the Poetry Translation Centre) * Margaret Jull Costa and Sophie Hughes for a translation of ''Mac and His Problem'' by

Enrique Vila-Matas Enrique Vila-Matas (born 31 March 1948 in Barcelona) is a Spanish writer. He has written several award-winning books that mix genres and has been branded as one of the most original and prominent writers in the Spanish language. He is a found ...

(Vintage, PRH) * Megan McDowell for a translation of ''Mouthful of Birds'' by

Samanta Schweblin Samanta Schweblin (born 1978) is an Argentine author currently based in Berlin, Germany. She has published three collections of short stories, a novella and a novel, besides stories that have appeared in anthologies and magazines such as ''The Ne ...

(

Oneworld Oneworld (Computer reservations system, CRS: *O, stylised as oneworld) is a global airline alliance consisting of 14 member airlines. It was founded on 1 February 1999. The alliance's stated objective is to be the first choice airline alliance f ...

)

2019

* Winner: Jessica Sequeira for a translation of ''Land of Smoke'' by Sara Gallardo (

Pushkin Press Pushkin Press is a British-based publishing house dedicated to publishing novels, essays, memoirs and children's books. The London-based company was founded in 1997 and is notable for publishing authors such as Stefan Zweig, Marcel Aymé, Antal ...

) * Runner-up:

for a translation of ''The Remainder'' by Alia Trabucco Zeran (

And Other Stories And Other Stories is an independent British book publisher founded in 2009, notable for being the first UK publisher of literary fiction to make direct, advance subscriptions a major part of its business model as well as for its use of foreign l ...

) Shortlisted: * Nick Caistor for a translation of ''Springtime in a Broken Mirror'' by

Mario Benedetti Mario Benedetti Farrugia (; 14 September 1920 – 17 May 2009), was a Uruguayan journalist, novelist, and poet and an integral member of the Generación del 45. Despite publishing more than 80 books and being published in twenty languages, he ...

(

Penguin Classics Penguin Classics is an imprint (trade name), imprint of Penguin Books under which classic works of literature are published in English language, English, Spanish language, Spanish, Portuguese language, Portuguese, and Korean language, Korean amon ...

) *

Charlotte Coombe Charlotte Coombe is a British literary translator working from French, Spanish and Catalan into English. She graduated with a degree in Modern Languages & European Studies from the University of Bath in 2007. She has translated over a dozen work ...

for a translation of ''Fish Soup'' by

Margarita García Robayo Margarita García Robayo (born 1980) is a Colombian novelist and writer. She was born in Cartagena on the Caribbean coast. She has written several novels and short story collections as well as a book of autobiographical essays. Her book ''Cosas ...

(Charco Press) * William Gregory for a translation of ''The Oberon Anthology of Contemporary Spanish Plays'' by Borja Ortiz de Gondra, Blanca Doménech, Victor Sánches Rodríguez, Vanessa Montford, and Julio Escalada (

Oberon Books Oberon Books is a London-based publisher of drama texts and books on theatre. The company publishes around 100 titles per year, many of them plays by new writers. In addition, the list contains a range of titles on theatre studies, acting, writin ...

)

2018

* Winner:

for ''Seeing Red'' by Lina Meruane (

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

) * Runner-up:

Daniel Hahn 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 ser ...

for ''In the Land of Giants'' by

Gabi Martínez Gabi Martínez (born 1971) is a Spanish writer, screenwriter and journalist. He is considered one of the Spanish representatives of travel literature The genre of travel literature or travelogue encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nat ...

(

Scribe A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of Printing press, automatic printing. The work of scribes can involve copying manuscripts and other texts as well as ...

) Shortlisted: * Simon Deefholts and Kathryn Phillips-Miles for ''Inventing Love'' by

José Ovejero José Ovejero (born 1958) is a Spanish writer. He was born in Madrid but has lived outside Spain for the greater part of his life. He has worked in a variety of genres, including poetry, drama, essays, short stories and novels. He won the 2013 Pre ...

(

Peter Owen Publishers Peter Owen Publishers was founded in 1951 as a family-run independent publisher based in London, England.John Self"Peter Owen: Sixty years of innovation" Books Blog, ''The Guardian'', 4 July 2011. The company was acquired by Pushkin Press in 20 ...

); * Sarah Moses and Carolina Orloff for ''Die, My Love'' by Ariana Harwicz (Charco Press)

2017

* Winner:

Margaret Jull Costa Margaret Elisabeth Jull Costa OBE, OIH (born 2 May 1949) is a British translator of Portuguese- and Spanish-language fiction and poetry, including the works of Nobel Prize winner José Saramago, ith which ..., Eça de Queiroz">ith which .. ...

for ''On the Edge'' by Rafael Chirbes (Harvill Secker) * Commendation: Rosalind Harvey for ''I'll Sell You a Dog'' by Juan Pablo Villalobos (And Other Stories)

2016

* Winner: Christina MacSweeney for ''The Story of My Teeth'' by

Valeria Luiselli Valeria Luiselli (born August 16, 1983) is a Mexican-American author. She is the author of the book of essays ''Sidewalks'' and the novel '' Faces in the Crowd'', which won the ''Los Angeles Times'' Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction. Luisel ...

(Granta)

2015

* Winner: Anne McLean for Outlaws by

(Bloomsbury) * Commendation: Margaret Jull Costa for her translation of Tristana by

Benito Pérez Galdós Benito María de los Dolores Pérez Galdós (; 10 May 1843 – 4 January 1920) was a Spanish Spanish Realist literature, realist novelist. He was a leading literary figure in 19th-century Spain, and some scholars consider him second only to Mi ...

(New York Review Books)

2014

* Winner: Nick Caistor for ''An Englishman in Madrid'', by Eduardo Mendoza (MacLehose Press) *Commendation: Margaret Jull Costa for her translation of The Infatuations by

Javier Marías Javier Marías Franco (20 September 1951 – 11 September 2022) was a Spanish author, translator, and columnist. Marías published fifteen novels, including '' A Heart So White'' (''Corazón tan blanco,'' 1992'')'', '' Tomorrow in the Battle Th ...

(Hamish Hamilton)

2013

* Winner:

Frank Wynne Frank Wynne (born 1962) is an Irish literary translator and writer. Biography Born in County Sligo in the west of Ireland, Frank Wynne worked as a comics editor at Fleetway and later at comic magazine '' Deadline''. He worked for a time at ...

for ''The Blue Hour'' by

Alonso Cueto Alonso Cueto Caballero (born 1954 in Lima, Peru) is a Peruvian author, university professor and newspaper columnist. His writing career has spanned nearly four decades, during which he has produced dozens of works of fiction, articles and essay ...

(Heinemann) * Runner-up: Nick Caistor and Lorenza García for ''Traveller of the Century'' by

Andrés Neuman Andrés Neuman (born 28 January 1977) is an Argentine writer, poet, translator, columnist and blogger. Early life and education The son of Argentine émigré musicians, he was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to a mother of French and Spanish ...

(Pushkin Press) * Runner-up: Anne McLean for ''

The Sound of Things Falling ''The Sound of Things Falling'' () is the third novel of Colombian author Juan Gabriel Vásquez. Originally published in Spanish in 2011, the book explores the corrosive effects of the Colombian drug trade on private lives, civil society, and gov ...

'' by

Juan Gabriel Vásquez Juan Gabriel Vásquez (born 1973) is a Colombian writer, journalist and translator. He has written many novels, short stories, literary essays, and numerous articles of political commentary. His novel ''The Sound of Things Falling'', publishe ...

(Bloomsbury)

2012

* Winner: Peter Bush for ''Exiled from Almost Everywhere'' by

Juan Goytisolo Juan Goytisolo Gay (6 January 1931 – 4 June 2017) was a Spanish poet, essayist, and novelist. He lived in Marrakesh from 1997 until his death in 2017. He was considered Spain's greatest living writer at the beginning of the 21st century, yet ...

(Dalkey Archive Press) * Runner-up:

for ''Seven Houses in France'' by

Bernardo Atxaga Bernardo Atxaga (born 27 July 1951), pseudonym of Joseba Irazu Garmendia, is a Spanish Basque writer and self-translator. He is a full member of the Royal Academy of the Basque Language since 2006, in November 2010, he was also named a member ...

(Harvill Secker)

2011

* Winner:

for ''Kamchatka'' by Marcelo Figueras (Atlantic) * Runner-up:

for ''The Sickness'' by

Alberto Barrera Tyszka Alberto José Barrera Tyszka (born 18 February 1960) is a Venezuelan writer. In 2006, he received the Herralde Prize for his novel ''La enfermedad'' ("The Sickness"). Life and career Barrera Tyszka was born in Caracas, and grew up in Venezuela. ...

(Maclehose Press)

2010

for ''Your Face Tomorrow 3: Poison, Shadow and Farewell'' by

(Chatto) * Christopher Johnson for the ''Selected Poetry'' of

Francisco de Quevedo Francisco Gómez de Quevedo y Santibáñez Villegas, Order of Santiago, Knight of the Order of Santiago (; 14 September 1580 – 8 September 1645) was a Spanish nobleman, politician and writer of the Baroque era. Along with his lifelong rival, ...

(University of Chicago Press).

2009

* Winner:

for ''The Accordionist's Son'' by

(Harvill Secker) * Runner-up:

Edith Grossman Edith Marion Grossman (née Dorph; March 22, 1936 – September 4, 2023) was an American literary translator. Known for her work translating Latin American literature, Latin American and Spanish literature to English, she translated the works o ...

for ''Happy Families'' by

Carlos Fuentes Carlos Fuentes Macías (; ; November 11, 1928 – May 15, 2012) was a Mexican novelist and essayist. Among his works are ''The Death of Artemio Cruz'' (1962), '' Aura'' (1962), '' Terra Nostra'' (1975), '' The Old Gringo'' (1985) and '' Christop ...

(Bloomsbury)

2008

* Winner: Nick Caistor for ''The Past'' by

Alan Pauls Alan Pauls (born 1959) is an Argentine writer, literary critic and screenwriter. Early life Pauls was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1959. He studied literature at the University of Buenos Aires. Career An early essay by Pauls on ''Betraye ...

(Harvill Secker) * John Dent-Young for ''Selected Poems'' by

Luis de Góngora Luis de Góngora y Argote (born Luis de Argote y Góngora; ; 11 July 1561 – 24 May 1627) was a Spanish Baroque lyric poet and a Catholic prebendary for the Church of Córdoba. Góngora and his lifelong rival, Francisco de Quevedo, are widel ...

(The University of Chicago Press)

2007

* Winner: Nick Caistor for ''The Sleeping Voice'' by

Dulce Chacón Dulce Chacón (3 June 1954 – 3 December 2003) was a Spanish poet, novelist and playwright. Biography Born into a traditional family in the Extremadura region of Spain, her family moved to Madrid upon her father's death, when she was 12 years ...

(Harvill Secker/Alfaguara) * Runner-up: John Cullen for ''Lies'' by Enrique de Hériz (Weidenfeld/Edhasa)

2006

* Winner:

for ''Your Face Tomorrow 1: Fever and Spear'' by

(Chatto & Windus) * Runner-up:

Sonia Soto Sonia Soto is a translator of Spanish literature into English. She is a past winner (2000) and runner-up (2006) for the Premio Valle-Inclan for Spanish translation. Books * '' The Oxford Murders'' by Guillermo Martinez * ''Winter in Lisbon'' b ...

for ''The Oxford Murders'' by Guillermo Martinez (Abacus)

2005

* Winner: Chris Andrews for ''Distant Star'' by

Roberto Bolaño Roberto is an Italian, Portuguese and Spanish variation of the male given name Robert. Notable people named Roberto include: * Roberto (footballer, born 1912) * Roberto (footballer, born 1977) * Roberto (footballer, born 1978) * Roberto (footb ...

(Harvill) * Runner-up:

for ''The Man of Feeling'' by

(Harvill)

2004

* Winner: Anne McLean for ''Soldiers of Salamis'' by

(Bloomsbury)

2003

* Winner: Sam Richard for ''Not Only Fire'' by

Benjamin Prado Benjamín Prado (born 13 July 1961) is a Spanish novelist, essayist and poet. He was born in Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabi ...

(Faber and Faber)

2002

* Winner:

John D. Rutherford John David Rutherford is a British literary critic who is Emeritus Fellow (2008) of The Queen's College, Oxford, a Hispanist and an award-winning novelist

for ''Don Quixote'' by

Miguel de Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelist ...

(Penguin) * Runner-up:

Margaret Sayers Peden Margaret ("Petch") Sayers Peden (May 10, 1927 – July 5, 2020) was an American translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English languag ...

for ''Portrait in Sepia'' by

Isabel Allende Isabel Angélica Allende Llona (; born 2 August 1942) is a Chilean-American writer. Allende, whose works sometimes contain aspects of the magical realism genre, is known for novels such as '' The House of the Spirits'' (''La casa de los espír ...

(Flamingo)

2001

* Winner:

Timothy Adès Timothy Adès (born 1941) is an English poet and translator. Biography Adès was born in Esher, Surrey. He is of Syrian Jewish origin. He was educated as a King's Scholar at Eton College, where he won the Newcastle Scholarship in 1959, at B ...

for ''Homer in Cuernavaca'' by

Alfonso Reyes Alfonso Reyes Ochoa (17 May 1889 in Monterrey, Nuevo León – 27 December 1959 in Mexico City) was a Mexican writer, philosopher and diplomat. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times and has been acclaimed as one of the ...

(Edinburgh University Press) * Runner-up:

for ''The Messenger'' by

Mayra Montero Mayra Montero (born 1952) is a well-known Cuban-Puerto Rican writer. Biography Montero was born in Havana, Cuba in 1952. She is the daughter of Manuel Montero, a Cuban comedic writer and actor who made his career in both Cuba and Puerto Rico, wh ...

(Harvill)

2000

* Winner:

for ''Winter in Lisbon'' by

Antonio Muñoz Molina Antonio Muñoz Molina (born 10 January 1956) is a Spanish writer and, since 8 June 1995, a full member of the Royal Spanish Academy. He received the 1991 Premio Planeta, the 2013 Jerusalem Prize, and the 2013 Prince of Asturias Award for lite ...

(Granta) * Runner-up:

for ''Daughter of Fortune'' by

(Flamingo)

1999

* Winner:

Don Share Don Share is an American poet. He is the former chief editor of ''Poetry'' magazine in Chicago. He grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. Career Share, who was named the editor-in-chief of ''Poetry'' in 2013, previously served there as Senior Editor. ...

for ''I Have Lots of Heart'' by

Miguel Hernández Miguel Hernández Gilabert (30 October 1910 – 28 March 1942 ) was a 20th-century Spanish-language poet and playwright associated with the Generation of '27 and the Generation of '36 movements. Born and raised in a family of low resources, he ...

(Bloodaxe)

1997

* Winner: Peter Bush for ''The Marx Family Saga'' by

(Faber)

References

External links

Premio Valle-Inclán Past Winners
{{DEFAULTSORT:Premio Valle-Inclan Translation awards