The Peirene Stevns Translation Prize 2023

Submission Guidelines

The Peirene Stevns Translation Prize 2023 is open to emerging translators from German to English, and the selected text is Ein simpler Eingriff by Swiss writer Yael Inokai.

Please read these guidelines carefully and in their entirety before entering the prize. Any queries can be directed to submissions@peirenepress.com 

By January 31st, 2023 (12 noon GMT) please submit:

  • A full translation of the stipulated sample in English
  • A translator’s note of up to 500 words
  • A CV including your translation work/studies to date

A £15 entry fee is required to be paid unless otherwise agreed. Entrants who are Peirene subscribers for our 2023 novella series will be exempt from this fee; this includes entrants who subscribe before the closing date of the prize. Entrants from outside the UK may wish to note that international postage costs apply to the Peirene subscription.

The fee is in place in order to cover the administrative costs of running the prize, but this requirement may be waived in cases where the cost will be a barrier to entry. We will not ask for proof of low income but reserve the right to exercise this waiver at our discretion.

Please send the required files to submissions@peirenepress.com. Any submission missing one of the required elements will be deemed incomplete and therefore ineligible. 

Once we have received your submission, you will receive an automated reply including a link to pay the entry fee. We will then email within three working days to confirm your entry has been received and processed.

The prize is judged anonymously: do not include your name on any part of the sample translation or translator’s note. Do include your name on your CV which will not be viewed in the judging process.

Formatting

  • Translations must be in English
  • Please use UK spellings 
  • 12-point Times New Roman font
  • 1.5 line spacing
  • Left aligned
  • Page numbers included
  • All paragraphs should be indented rather than preceded by a blank line, except the first paragraph in the novel/chapter, or those that follow a section break
  • Please submit all documents as PDF documents
  • Please submit your translation sample and translator’s note together in one document and your CV as a separate document.

The Translator’s note

This should be a short text of no more than 500 words, describing your personal response to the text as a reader, your interpretation of its themes, your approach to the translation as a whole, any challenges you may have come across in the process, and, if applicable, any specific translation choices that you think are worth explaining.

Please include your translator’s note as the first page of your sample translation with the original author’s name and your translation of the novel’s title.

The CV

We ask entrants to submit a CV to determine their eligibility for the prize. Your CV should include the following:

  • Any professional or voluntary translation work you have undertaken to date
  • Any relevant studies
  • Any other relevant professional experience
  • Any relevant language experience

Please include your name on your CV; it will not be seen by the judges and does not form part of the judging process.

Even if you have not undertaken any translation work or studies, please submit a CV regardless. If you do not submit a CV alongside your translation sample, your submission will be deemed incomplete and you will not be considered for the prize.

Eligibility and Entry

  • Submission, including subscription to Peirene Press or payment of the entry fee, is due on or before midday GMT Monday January 31st 2023. Submissions after this date will not be considered.
  • Entrants of any nationality and any age over 18 are eligible to enter the prize.
  • By entering the prize, entrants confirm that they have never had a full work of fiction in translation published, nor are currently under contract to publish such a work in the future. The term ‘full work of fiction in translation’ covers the translation of any full-length work of fiction with an ISBN number where the entrant was paid for their translation. This would include, for example, a novel, novella or entire collection of short stories, but would not include an individual short story appearing in an anthology or a poetry collection. It covers co-translations of such works, and translations of such works from other language pairings than German to English. If you are unsure whether previous translation work you have undertaken falls within these eligibility guidelines, please email submissions@peirenepress.com.
  • If an entrant is found to have previously published a full work of fiction in translation for which they were paid, or to be working under contract to publish such a work at the time of entry to the prize, they will be automatically disqualified. 
  • Submissions of collective translations by up to two translators are allowed if the following criteria are met:
    • Each individual fulfils the entry criteria
    • One Peirene subscription or entry fee per collective translation is purchased/paid.
    • In the case that a collective translation is chosen as the winning entry, the prize money will be divided equally between the winning translators and the retreat time will be available for the same time period (either both translators can attend for this period, or they can divide the available time between them).
  • We reserve the right to disqualify or reject any entry that we determine, in our sole and absolute discretion, does not meet the above criteria. The entry fee is non-refundable. 
  • To enter the prize, you must be willing and able to complete the full translation by October 1st 2023.
  • The winner and a list of highly commended entrants will be announced in late February. This date is liable to change.
  • Unsuccessful applicants will be informed by email. Please note that we will not be able to provide individual feedback on unsuccessful entries, with the exception of those which are selected as highly commended.

The Prize

The Commission

The commission totals £3850 paid in two instalments:

  • £1925 on acceptance of the prize and translation contract
  • £1925 on completion of the translated novel

The fee of £3850 is based on a fee of £100/1000 words; the word count of the novel is 38,357. The observation of the Translators Association (Society of Authors) is that fee negotiations start in the region of £100/1000 words.

The translation will be published as part of Peirene’s 2024 series of translated fiction and will be sent out to all our subscribers, published in bookshops and made widely available.

The retreat:

  • The opportunity to stay at the retreat in the French Pyrenees, rent-free, for up to six weeks in May and June 2023; the amount of time and exact dates are to be agreed by the winner and the publisher in advance.
  • Travel to the retreat and expenses during the stay are the winner’s responsibility.
  • Translators with childcare responsibilities are welcome to bring children.
  • The retreat sleeps up to six people and translators are welcome to bring a guest or colleague as long as this time is still reserved for translation work.
  • The retreat is not mandatory. 
  • If the winner is unable to travel to the retreat at the proposed time due to travel restrictions, the publisher will endeavour to reschedule their stay for such a time as travel is possible, to be agreed with the translator and prize funder.

The mentorship

  • The winning translator will work closely with the translation mentor, Jamie Bulloch
  • The translation mentor will provide guidance and editorial feedback through the translation process

The translation

  • The winner will receive the standard Peirene translator contract, including royalties in addition to the fee stated above.
  • The deadline for the full translation to be delivered by the winner is October 1st 2023. This deadline may be extended in exceptional circumstances with the prior agreement of the publisher.
  • Upon accepting the prize, the winner commits to delivering the full translation within this timeframe. In the case that the winner should fail to deliver their full translation or where the translation is of an unacceptable standard, the translator may be obliged to repay the monies advanced to them.
  • The winner will grant Peirene Press the full and exclusive right to produce, publish and license their translation throughout the world for the full term of copyright.

These guidelines have been written under advice from the Translators Association, for which Peirene Press is deeply grateful.