Tuesday 18 September 2012

Calling All Aspiring American Translators

The delightful people at the GBO are hosting a competition! And they sent me an email! Which I have copied and pasted below! With added links so it looks like I've done some work! Dig those groovy bullet points.


The German Book Office, in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut, is inviting all aspiring translators of German to participate in a competition and to attend a panel discussion at which the winner will be chosen.

Similar to the already established Gutekunst Prize of the Goethe-Institut, we are particularly interested in identifying and encouraging outstanding students of translation and of the German language and assisting them in establishing contact with the translation and publishing communities.

Concept
o   The GBO has chosen a short excerpt (705 words) from Nora Bossong’s new novel Gesellschaft mit beschraenkter Haftung that participants will have to translate by October 15.
o   Submitted entries will be sent to a jury consisting of the GBO as well as of up-and-coming American editors. Editors will comment on the different sample translations and will come up with a shortlist.
o   A jury of accomplished translators will add their opinions by comparing the English version with the German original to come up with three finalists.
o   The three chosen translations will be presented and discussed at an evening panel, where the winner will be announced. We invite all translators to participate in person, but can only offer a small stipend to the finalists which can be used for travel/lodging costs.
o   The winning translator will be paid $600 to translate the first 15 pages of the novel.

This is a great chance for all participating translators to establish a relationship with U.S. editors. The three finalists will receive important feedback from editors and experienced translators, which will help them to improve their work.

Timeline:
Deadline for submission is October 15.
Award ceremony/panel discussion on December 12th from 6–8 pm.

Translator requirements:
Translators need to be U.S.-based and should not have more than one translated book published in English. No age restrictions apply.

Application:

In order to participate, please email Grace Moss at moss@newyork.gbo.org for the German excerpt, and return your sample translation to Grace Moss at the same email address.
Deadline is October 15. In addition to the sample, please provide us with your name and address and, in case you have already published a translation, the title of that book.
 

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