The Poetry Translation Centre invites publishers internationally to submit their books for the third biennial Sarah Maguire Prize, to be awarded in the PTC’s 20th birthday year in 2024.  The prize was established with a generous gift from the Estate of Sarah Maguire and donations from her friends and colleagues, as well as grants from the Golsoncott Foundation, the Garrick Charitable Trust and the British Council. It opens 4th May 2023, and the closing date is 31st December 2023. Books will be shortlisted by April, and the winner will be announced at the PTC’s 20th birthday celebrations in September 2024. The Sarah Maguire Poetry in Translation Prize is offered biennially for the best book of poetry in English translation by a living poet from beyond Europe, published anywhere in the world. £1,500 is awarded to the winning poet and £1,500 to the winning translator (or shared if there is more than one translator). A shortlist of up to seven titles will be included in a Poetry Book Society and retail partner promotion. The Prize will be awarded at a hybrid (London/online) event in September 2024.  Publishers must have the right to distribute the book in the UK.

Eligibility

a) The book must have been first published in English between 1st January 2022 and 31st December 2023.

b) The book can be published in any country but the rights for sale in the UK must be in place.

c) The Publisher must hold and/or have cleared all necessary permissions to publish the book in the English language including the rights for sale of the book in the UK and be able to evidence this if requested.

d) The book must be the work of a single poet writing in a language other than English whose work has been translated into English.

e) The poet can be resident anywhere in the world but must originate from beyond Europe and publicly identify their writing as being from beyond Europe. For the purposes of the 2024 prize Europe will be defined as proposed by the United Nations geoscheme, which can be found here.

f) The book must be the work of a living poet. A posthumous collection will only be eligible if it has been published within one year of the poet’s death.

g) At least 50% of the translations in the book must not have been published before in book form.

h) A book shall be defined as having at least 48 pages and with a valid ISBN number in its country of publication.

i) Books must be physical publications. Books that are only available in e-format are not eligible for entry.

j) The book must be submitted by the publisher. Entries from individual poets or translators of their own work will not be accepted. This includes any books that have been self-published.

k) In all cases, the organiser’s ruling on the eligibility or ineligibility of a book will be final and binding.

Submissions

a) All entries must be submitted electronically through the Poetry Translation Centre’s Submittable entry page, with completed entry forms and a PDF of the book. Books must be submitted by the publisher.

b) The last date for submission will be 31st December 2023.

Shortlist 

a) The judges will select a shortlist of five books, which will be announced in April 2024.

b) If in the judges’ opinion there are more titles worthy of recognition, the number of shortlisted books may be increased but will comprise of not more than seven books.

c) If an entry is shortlisted the publisher agrees to supply seven bound copies of the book by 15th April 2024 to the Poetry Translation Centre, The Albany, Douglas Way, Deptford, SE8 4AG, UK, as well as 30 to PBS and our retail partner.

d) Copies of books submitted to the Poetry Translation Centre will not be returned.

e) Shortlisted and winning poets and translators will be expected to be available for publicity near the time of the awards and, where possible, to attend the award ceremony. Poets and translators may also be filmed and recorded at the ceremony for the promotion of the Prize.

f) The copyright of each poem and translation remains with the author. By entering the competition, the publishers grant the Poetry Translation Centre the right in perpetuity to publish and/or broadcast their translations, with appropriate acknowledgement, for distribution throughout the world, in print, on the Poetry Translation Centre website, in our newsletter, in associated publications, on social media channels, and in press releases and emails for the purposes of marketing the publication, the Prize or associated work.

g) For books entered into the prize containing the original language poems as well as English language translations the above terms apply to the original language poems as well as the English language translations.

The Judging

a) The Prize will be judged by three judges chosen by the Poetry Translation Centre. The competition organisers reserve the right to change the judging panel without notice.

b) The decision of the judges is final and they will not enter into any correspondence with entrants regarding their decisions.

c) Judges may call in books for consideration if they so wish.

d) The judges reserve the right not to award the Prize if, in their opinion, no works entered reach a sufficiently high standard.