Schlegel-Tieck Prize

The Schlegel-Tieck Prize was instituted by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1965 for the best translation in the United Kingdom of a “work of literary merit and general interest”. Nominations are submitted by publishers, and the judges read each entry in the original and in translation. The prize takes its name from two great poets of the romantic period, August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767-1845) and Ludwig Tieck (1773-1853). Both are well known for their translation of Shakespeare's works. The prize of £2,000 is awarded annually.

Three judges are appointed each year. They are chosen by the Translators Association of the Society of Authors which administers the prize, in collaboration with the prize’s sponsors. The judges in 2007 were: Stefan Berger, Patricia Duncker and Christine Lo.

The prize is presented on the occasion of the annual Sebald Lecture on literary translation given in London, organised by the British Centre for Literary Translation.

Entry Details:

The Schlegel-Tieck Prize is an annual prize for translations of full length German works of literary merit and general interest.

The original must have been first published in the last 100 years. The translation must have been first published in the United Kingdom in the current year.

Entries should be submitted by the publisher.

There is no limit on the number of submissions made by a publisher.

Please note that books published electronically only are not eligible.

Please submit:

• Three finished copies of the published translation
• Three copies of the book in the original language (these may be photocopies if sufficient numbers of the book are difficult to find, but please submit books if possible)
• A covering letter stating which prize the book is entered for and giving the publication date of the translation.

Send entries to:

Dorothy Sym
Awards Secretary
The Society of Authors
84 Drayton Gardens
London SW10 9SB
DSym@societyofauthors.org