For many years, the field of Arabic-English translation was dominated by a very few. Denys Johnson-Davies, who Edward Said called “the leading Arabic-English translator of our times,” was the first professional Arabic-English translator. For several decades, he was virtually the only literary-minded author who turned Arabic books into English.
“I was a sort of dictator of the field,” Johnson-Davies said in a recent interview with AUC Press. “Which I enjoyed, actually.”
Now, there are many more at work translating between the two languages. Even more are studying the two literatures as well as the art and theory of translation. This year's Harvill Secker Young Translators' Prize aims to celebrate the best of this next generation.
With the help of Banipal magazine, Egyptian author Mansoura Ezz Eldin was selected to represent the prize. Entrants must translate a four-page story entitled Layl Qouti by the award-winning young author. Ezz Eldin was shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2010 (for her novel Beyond Paradise) and was also chosen as one of the Beirut39, a contest that recognized 39 up-and-coming Arab authors under 40.
The translation prize is open to translators who will be between 18 and 34 on the July 29 submission deadline. Prize judges will select a winner, and one or more runners-up, depending on the quality of submissions.
This is just the second year of the Harvill Secker Young Translators' Prize. Last year, the prize focused on the Spanish language, and entrants translated El hachazo by young Argentine author Matías Néspolo.
The prize administrators received 230 versions of the story El hachazo in 2010. This year, Harvill Secker editor and prize judge Briony Everroad doesn’t know how many to expect. She said it's still too early to say how many translations will be entered. "Typically they arrive in the last 2-3 weeks before the deadline. I have had a few already, though."
The other three prize judges are author Penelope Lively, critic Maya Jaggi, and translator Anthony Calderbank.
According to Everroad, the winning translation will be published on the website youngtranslatorsprize.com and "possibly by Granta." The winner also will receive £1,000, a selection of Harvill Secker titles, and book tokens that can be used at the bookstore Foyles.
Unfortunately, Everroad said, "The runners up won’t have their translations published as they are necessarily close to the winning translation."
Aspiring translators can download both “Layl Qouti” and an entry form at youngtranslatorsprize.com.
