Date: 28 January 2025  Author: Zuzanna Wasiluk

Found in Translation Awards

English translations of foreign literature drive commercial success, amass international attention from literary communities, and serve as the launching off point for an author’s career.  The Polish Book Institute’s Found in Translation Award recognizes translators that built a bridge between Polish writers and English-speaking audiences to increase the international value of the Polish literary language. With nominations open until the end of January, this is a promising awards season for translations published during the 2024 year.

Polish Book Institute

The Polish Book Institute seeks to promote Polish literature abroad, so translators feel emboldened to translate classic and contemporary works from Polish authors. In tandem with this objective, the institute works to shift the publishing perspective that foreign books are costly and do not provide as much of a return on their investment than authors from the English-speaking world. While the institute provides grants that cover significant financial costs embedded in publishing, they also finance sample translations to increase the frequency with which publishers are brought translations of Polish literature. The Polish Book Institute estimates that their financial support has made 3000 translations of Polish books available abroad to amplify these stories and humbly grow acclaim for Polish authors.

When the publishing process is said and done, the institute hosts the Found in Translation Awards to honor the best translation of Polish literature into English for the past calendar year. Founded in 2008, these awards provide recognition for the translator’s work in bringing Polish literature to a larger English-speaking audience as well as mentorship and financial support for future endeavors. This kind of support is vital for translators if they are to continue addressing the need for translations of Polish literature to increase its presence on best-seller lists. Though the award is not limited to classic or contemporary literature, many of the recipients won for translations of older source material.

Twice a Winner

Bill Johnston received the Found in Translation Award twice, once in 2008 and another in 2016 for his translation of poems by Tadeusz Różewicz and Twelve Stations by Tomasz Różycki respectively. Interestingly, Różewicz and Różycki did not lack literary translations of their work. By taking on the challenge of translating two beloved and immensely popular works, Johnston is aptly rewarded with both the Found in Translation Award and international recognition for his contributions to expanding the reach Polish literature has. With this observation, it becomes clear that the Found in Translation Award rewards translators based on new and innovative contributions to Polish literature, regardless of the existing translations of the original material. Johnston’s career highlights one of the many nuances that comes with translating, marketing, and publishing Polish literature to English-speaking audiences. Though Różewicz and Różycki have already been translated, translations are not static. Each subsequent translation injects new life and passion to the original, demonstrating the importance of exposure and endurance of these classics to global audiences. While the focal point of these two titles attracts American publishers due to its World War II subject matter, the British market favors Polish prose. In translating Różewicz’s poems and Różycki’s Twelve Stations, Johnston captured the interest of two distinct markets that rarely intersect in their publishing interests.

Haven’t I Seen You Before?

The decision-makers behind the Found in Translation Awards do not shy away from recognizing previous winners for future awards. Bill Johnston, Antonia Lloyd-Jones, Jennifer Croft, and Anna Zaranko have received the award twice for different titles. 2024’s recipient is a new face to the Found in Translation Award; Alissa Valles is a Dutch translator London-educated in Slavonic and East European Studies. Her translation of Firebird by Zuzanna Ginczanka combines uncollected poems and the entire contents of her book, On Centaurs. Similarly, the subject matter is oriented in the Holocaust and World War II yet its prose intentionally challenges audiences to confront their biases, a timely translation to captivate new audiences.

The nominations are open for the Found in Translation Awards until the end of January where candidates are nominated by a natural or legal Polish person. While the awards have recognized new translators, this year’s recipient could be a face from the circle of previous winners. While the awards promote new translations of Polish literature, many of the awarded translations are works from celebrated Polish writers, not new contemporary writers trying to breakthrough into the literary scene. Regardless, the Polish Book Institute celebrates translators at every stage of their career which makes its championship for translation of Polish literature even more enduring. The Polish Book Institute’s Found in Translation Award highlights the importance of publishing translations of classic and contemporary literature to increase the international value of the Polish language. This incentive and other Polish Book Institute programs make it possible for Polish books to reach global audiences and best-seller lists.

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References

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The „Dumni z Polski/Proud of Poland/Stolz auf Polen” project was funded by the National Institute of Freedom – Centre for Civil Society Development as part of the Government’s Youth Fund Programme 2022-2033.

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