The $3,000 PEN Award for Poetry in Translation is conferred every spring in New York. The award recognizes book-length translations of poetry from any language into English published during the current calendar year, and is judged by a single translator of poetry appointed by the PEN Translation Committee. The award was made possible originally by a bequest from the late translator and PEN member Rae Dalven, and has received current support from The Kaplen Foundation.

The PEN Award for Poetry in Translation complements the PEN Translation Prize, which was founded in 1963 through the efforts of the PEN Translation Committee, and was the first American award to honor the art of the literary translator.

Past winners include: Richard Zenith for his translation of Fernando Pessoa & Co.; Peter Cole for his translation of  J'Accuse by Aharon Shabtai; James Brasfield and Oleh Lysheha for their co-translation of The Selected Poems of Oleh Lysheha; Chana Bloch and Chana Kronfeld for their co-translation of Open Closed Open by Yehuda Amichai; Anne Twitty for her translation of Maria Negroni's Islandia; Pierre Joris for his translation of Lightduress by Paul Celan; and Wilson Baldridge for his translation of Michel Deguy’s Recumbents; David Hinton for his translations of The Selected Poems of Wang Wei, Rosmarie Waldrop for Lingos I-IX

Who is eligible:
Although all eligible books must have been published in the United States, translators may be of any nationality; U.S. residency or citizenship is not required. 

Deadline:
Nominations must be received between September 1, 2009 and December 14, 2009. Early submissions are strongly recommended.

How to submit:
Three copies of book-length translations published between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2009, may be submitted by publishers, agents, or the translators themselves. Self-published books are not eligible. Books with more than two translators are not eligible.

1) Pay the $50 entry fee online and proceed to checkout. If paying by check, skip to step 2.

2) Fill out the online submission form and click "submit."

3) Mail three copies of the candidate's book, your printed submission form, and proof of online payment or a check to:

Poetry in Translation Award
PEN American Center
588 Broadway, Suite 303
New York, NY 10012

Submission fees will be waived for publishers whose annual net sales do not exceed $4 million.

For more information, please contact Nick Burd, Literary Awards Program Manager, at awards@pen.org or (212) 334-1660 ext. 108.