The Transatlantyk Prize – awarded annually by the Polish Book Institute for an eminent promoter of Polish literature abroad – doesn’t always go to a translator, though most of the recipients into recent years have been translators of Polish literature into various languages, including Chinese (Yi Lijun), Dutch (Karol Lesman), English (Bill Johnston), French (Laurence Dyèvre), Romanian (Constantin Geambaşu), and Hungarian (Lajos Pálfalvi). Last night this prize, which comes with a €10,000 purse and a statuette by Łukasz Kieferling, was awarded to the British translator of Polish literature Antonia Lloyd-Jones, known for her translations of Jacek Dehnel, Paweł Huelle, Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, Zygmunt Miłoszewski, Żanna Słoniowska, Olga Tokarczuk, and others, as well as for her tireless work in support of both Polish literature and the literary translation community.
She is the second translator of Olga Tokarczuk to receive major honors this year.
Congratulations, Antonia!