Okay, it's not always about the money, and the big dollar signs shouldn't blind us ... but I still say: lets us all pay proper homage and acknowledge that this is an awesome thing: in Mexico they've inaugurated a new literary prize, the Premio de Traducción Literaria Tomás Segovia.
A translation prize. Alternating every year between translators who translate into Spanish, and those translating from Spanish.
And the prize money is ... US $100,000.
Yes, a translation prize that pays out $100,000.
A translation prize that merits inclusion in the Wikipedia List of the world's richest literary prizes.
Sure, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award pays out €25,000 to the translator (into English) -- if the winning book is a translation. The American Best Translated Book Award pays out $5,000. But $100,000 ? That is real money, and pretty much unheard of for an annual translation award.
(Of course, in the US the 'major' literary prizes -- Pulitzer, National Book Award, National Book Critics Circle -- can get away with paying out between nothing and $10,000 (it's apparently all about the prestige ...).)
Yeah, I'm impressed. And jealous of the Spanish-speaking world, where even in these economically supposedly so troubled times money can be found (with government involvement !) for a prize like this.
See also, for example, the EFE report (at Fox !) Mexico creates prize to honor literary translators, or the Conaculta (Spanish) press release (Conaculta being the Mexican National Council for Culture and the Arts).
A translation prize. Alternating every year between translators who translate into Spanish, and those translating from Spanish.
And the prize money is ... US $100,000.
Yes, a translation prize that pays out $100,000.
A translation prize that merits inclusion in the Wikipedia List of the world's richest literary prizes.
Sure, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award pays out €25,000 to the translator (into English) -- if the winning book is a translation. The American Best Translated Book Award pays out $5,000. But $100,000 ? That is real money, and pretty much unheard of for an annual translation award.
(Of course, in the US the 'major' literary prizes -- Pulitzer, National Book Award, National Book Critics Circle -- can get away with paying out between nothing and $10,000 (it's apparently all about the prestige ...).)
Yeah, I'm impressed. And jealous of the Spanish-speaking world, where even in these economically supposedly so troubled times money can be found (with government involvement !) for a prize like this.
See also, for example, the EFE report (at Fox !) Mexico creates prize to honor literary translators, or the Conaculta (Spanish) press release (Conaculta being the Mexican National Council for Culture and the Arts).