Sol Plaatje Prize for Translation

そる・ぷらーつぇほんやくしょう

A biennial prize for translation of prose or poetry into English from South Africa's other official languages, administered by the English Academy of South Africa.

Translation awardLiterary awardTranslation to EnglishSouth African

Established: 2007
Organizer: English Academy of South Africa
Category: Research, Translation, and Scholarship
Selection Method: Selection
Target: Professional
Frequency: Biennial
Status: Active

Description

The Sol Plaatje Prize for Translation was first awarded in 2007 and is administered by the English Academy of South Africa. It recognises excellence in translating prose or poetry into English from any of South Africa's other official languages. The award has been given intermittently (e.g. 2015 not awarded; 2009 award withdrawn; 2017 held over to 2018) and celebrates both fidelity to source texts and literary quality in English.

Prize

Main Prize: Prize awarded to translators for excellence in translating prose or poetry into English (monetary amount not specified in the source).

Selection

Selection Process

Stage	Judges	Pass Rate	Announcement
Nomination/Entry assessment	Panel appointed by the English Academy of South Africa	—	Winners announced by the English Academy of South Africa (official channels)
Final selection	Committee of the Academy (final adjudication)	—	Official announcement and listing on the Academy's awards page and other publicity

Nomination/Entry assessment

Judges Panel appointed by the English Academy of South Africa

Announcement Winners announced by the English Academy of South Africa (official channels)

Final selection

Judges Committee of the Academy (final adjudication)

Announcement Official announcement and listing on the Academy's awards page and other publicity

Criteria

Literary quality and readability of the English translation
Fidelity to the source text
Preservation of voice, tone and register
Contribution to South African literature and linguistic diversity

Application Tips

Dos

Provide clear source information (original author, original title, publisher, publication year).
Submit a translator's statement or supplementary notes (translation decisions and background).
Proofread the English text and enhance its literary quality.

Don''ts

Submitting machine translation as is.
Omitting original publication information or author attribution.
Submitting translations into languages other than English (this award is for translations into English).

From Judges

Prioritize literary quality in English while respecting the voice and tone of the original text.
Attention to vocabulary, syntax, and cultural context leads to high evaluations.