Stevns Translation Prize

Two Lines Press partners with the U.K. publisher Peirene Press on the Stevns Translation Prize, an annual award that offers opportunities for emerging translators to translate their first full-length work of fiction. Every year, a different language and book is chosen and entrants are invited to translate an extract. The winning entrant is offered a contract to translate the whole book, which is then published simultaneously in the US and UK, along with a mentorship from an experienced translator and up to six weeks at a retreat in the French Pyrenees.

Established with the generous support of Martha Stevns, the prize is open to any translator over the age of 18 who has not yet published a full work of fiction in translation.

The winner of the 2025 Stevns Translation Prize is Dina Leifer, whose translation of Anne Pauly’s Before I Forget will be published in fall 2026.

The 2026 Stevns Translation Prize is now open. This year’s prize focuses on Vietnamese, and the selected title is Bảo Tàng Lông [Museum of Hair] by Maik Cây, a daring and intimate novel told in eight kaleidoscopic stories. Entrants are asked to submit a translation of a chosen extract from the book along with a 500-word translator’s note. Find more information about this year’s prize and how to apply at stevnstranslationprize.com(opens in a new tab)