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Bait AlGhasham DarArab Translation Prize

International Prize for Translating Arabic Literature Into English

– Submission open: 18th April 2023

– Submission close: 31st July 2023

– Shortlisted Works: (5 books) for each category, to be announced in December 2023.

– Winners announcement: February during Muscat Book Fair 2024

Please note that publication dates may shift.

We are pleased to announce the shortlist of The Bait AlGhasham DarArab Translation Prize which consists of two categories: Translators’ category and Authors’ category.

The Judges for the inaugural 2023 competition are professors William Maynard Hutchins (USA), Michelle Hartman (Canada), and Khalid Albulushi (Oman). The role of Judges is to evaluate the submitted works, set a shortlist and select a final winner based on the prize’s evaluation criteria.

The three Judges reported that they worked diligently to reach a consensus, all the three together: Michelle Hartman, Khalid AlBulushi, and William Hutchins. They discussed the works in writing by email, in batches, and debated the merits of the works submitted for the two prizes separately. After much reflection, they have reached fair and well-reasoned decisions about the works submitted as they claimed. Their final report was approved by the board of trustees.

Translators’ category:

A prize for the Publication of an unpublished English translation of a published literary work that is originally written in Arabic:

The prize honours the significant role that translation plays in promoting understanding and communication among cultures, languages, and individuals worldwide. Receiving as few as 11 valid applications in Translators’ category is not only highlighting the shortage of professionals in this very important area but also reflecting the reality of large ignorance in translating Arabic literature to other languages. Therefore, the judges have decided to expand the shortlist by including all qualified participators in the translators’ category in appreciation for their efforts. These participators are (ordered according to the date of publication of the original work):

 

 

Authors’ category:

A Prize for the Publication and Translation of an Unpublished (Arabic) Literary Work:

The total number of submissions in the Authors’ category are 127 works, all of which were reviewed by a first-round screening team where works were examined against the prize’s terms and conditions, and eliminated if any condition is violated or not applicable. Then, all valid works were shared with the Judges who held the same level of discussions as the Translators’ category to come with a fair and well-reasoned decision. Accordingly, Judges have named a shortlist of 5 works in the Authors’ category, as the following (alphabetically ordered):

 

 

The name of the winner in each category will be announced during Muscat International Book Fair in February 2024.

 

On Feb. 26th Bait Alghasham DarArab Translation Prize announced the winner of the two categories as follows: