2016 Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation

The Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation, administered by the Society of Authors in the U.K., has been around since 2006 and honors a new translation of a recent (post-1967) work of Arabic-language literature. The goal of the prize is “to raise the profile of contemporary Arabic literature as well as honouring the important work of individual translators in bringing the work of established and emerging Arab writers to the attention of the wider world. It was established by Banipal, the magazine of modern Arab literature in English translation, and the Banipal Trust for Arab Literature.”

The 2016 Banipal Prize was awarded to Jonathan Wright for his translation of The Bamboo Stalk by Kuwaiti author Saud Alsanousi. See the Banipal Trust website for details about the book and the judges’s statement, as well as for an archive of past winners. Wright was already a joint winner of the prize in 2013 for his translation of Azazeel by Youssef Ziedan.

As of this past year, the Banipal Trust also sponsors an annual lecture on literary translation, the first of which was held on Oct. 14, 2016 by Palestinian author and translator (and University of Michigan professor) Anton Shammas at the British Library Conference Center in London (a summary of the lecture is available on the website).

The deadline for submitting entries for next year’s prize is March 31, 2017.

 

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