The jury for the Vondel Translation Prize 2011 has awarded the prize to Paul Vincent for My Little War, his English translation of Louis Paul Boon’s Mijn kleine oorlog. The jury consisted of critic Paul Binding (Times Literary Supplement) and translators Ina Rilke and Sam Garrett. The runner-up is David Colmer for The Portrait, his translation of Specht en zoon by Willem Jan Otten.
My Little War was published in the United States in 2010 by Dalkey Archive Press, and is the first English translation of Louis Paul Boon's 1947 novel. The translation was financially supported by the Flemish Literature Fund.
The other titles on the shortlist were: Marjolijn Februari - The Book Club (Paul Vincent); Leon de Winter - God's Gym (Jeannette Ringold); Anna Enquist - Counterpoint (Jeannette Ringold); Dimitri Verhulst, Madame Verona Comes Down the Hill (David Colmer); Douwe Draaisma, Disturbances of the Mind (Barbara Fasting); and Margriet de Moor, The Storm (Carol Brown Janeway).
The Vondel Translation Prize is a biennial award for the best book translation into British or American English of a Dutch-language work of literature or cultural history. The award was established by the Society of Authors and is funded by the Dutch Foundation for Literature and the Flemish Literature Fund. The winner receives a prize of € 5000.
The prize will be presented on 6 February 2012 at Kings Place in London, together with a number of other European translation awards.
For further information:
- Peter Bergsma, Vertalershuis Amsterdam, 020 - 4709740 or 06 22565689, p.bergsma@letterenfonds.nl
- Victor Schiferli, Dutch Foundation for Literature, tel. 020 - 5207300, v.schiferli@letterenfonds.nl
- A list of Paul Vincent's translations
