1997

Leila Vennewitz was presented with the award for her outstanding translation of Jurek Becker's Jakob der Lügner / Jacob the Liar Arcade Publishing (1996) by the Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dr. Gabriele von Malsen-Tilborch, at an awards ceremony on Monday, June 2, 1997.

The jury stated: "(We were) impressed by the elegance and accuracy of the translation, but even more so by the authority with which Leila Vennewitz deftly shapes the book's title narrative voice in order to convey the grand dark humor and emotional force that make Jurek Becker's novel an important work of contemporary German fiction."

Ms. Vennewitz has distinguished herself as a translator of many German literary works, most notably as a translator of Nobel Prize Winner Heinrich Böll's novels, as well as short stories, essays and reviews by him that have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, The New York Times and other publications. Other German authors translated by Leila Vennewitz include Uwe Johnson, Hermann Hesse, Uwe Timm, Walter Kempowski, Alexander Kluge, and Alfred Andersch.

Leila Vennewitz is the recepient of three previous translation awards: In 1968 from the Society of Authors in London: the Schlegel-Tieck Prize for End of a Mission (Ende einer Dienstfahrt) by Heinrich Böll; McGraw-Hill, New York. In 1979 from the American Center of P.E.N.: The Goethe House P.E.N. Prize for And Never Said a Word (Und sagte kein einziges Wort) by Heinrich Böll; McGraw Hill, New York.

In 1989 from the American Translator's Association: the German Literary Prize for Breakers (Brandung) by Martin Walser; Henry Holt, New York.

In 1994 her translation of Narcissus and Goldmund (Narziss und Goldmund) by Hermann Hesse, published by Peter Owen Ltd., London was shortlisted by the (London) Times Literary Supplement/ Society of Authors for the Schlegel-Tieck Prize.