Helen and Kurt Wolff Translator's Prize

へれんとかーとうぉるふほんやくしょう

An annual prize honoring an outstanding literary translation from German into English. The winner receives $5,000 and a fully funded trip to the Frankfurter Buchmesse.

Translation awardLiterature prizeGerman to English Translation

Established: 1996
Organizer: Goethe-Institut New York (administered); funded by Friends of Goethe New York
Category: Research, Translation, and Scholarship
Selection Method: Selection
Target: Professional
Frequency: 1 per year
Announcement Period: around June
Status: Active

Description

The Helen and Kurt Wolff Translator's Prize is an annual award recognizing outstanding literary translations from German to English (works published in the US in the previous year). Established in 1996, the winning translator receives $10,000 USD. Initially operated by Goethe-Institut Chicago, it has been managed by Goethe-Institut New York since 2015. Funding is provided by the Federal Government of Germany.

Prize

Main Prize: Cash prize for the winning translator
Cash Prize: 10,000 USD

Honor and recognition

Selection

Selection Process

Stage	Judges	Pass Rate	Announcement
Nomination / Submission	Submissions from publishers or related parties (details follow official guidelines)	—	—
Review (Selection Committee)	Selection committee appointed by Goethe-Institut	—	Winners are typically announced around May

Nomination / Submission

Judges Submissions from publishers or related parties (details follow official guidelines)

Review (Selection Committee)

Judges Selection committee appointed by Goethe-Institut

Announcement Winners are typically announced around May

Criteria

Must be a translation from German to English
Must be a work published in the United States in the previous year
Literary quality of the translation (style, readability, fidelity to the original)

Application Tips

Dos

Check eligibility requirements in advance (German to English, published in the US in the previous year)
Specify publisher and bibliographic details (ISBN, publication date, etc.)
Demonstrate the literary quality of the translation (style, nuance, translation notes, etc.)
Strictly adhere to the official submission format and deadline

Don''ts

Do not submit unpublished works or those that do not meet eligibility
Do not submit machine translations as is
Do not send in formats that do not meet submission requirements

From Judges

Emphasis on the balance between fidelity to the original and readability in English
Translation choices that recreate the work's overall tone and style are highly evaluated
It is advisable to explain important decisions in translator's notes when necessary