The French-American Foundation and the Florence Gould Foundation announce Winners of 22nd Annual Translation Prizes

New York, NY (May 25, 2009) – The French-American Foundation and the Florence Gould Foundation announce today the winners of their 22nd Annual Translation Prizes for superior English translations of French works published in 2008. Winners of the fiction and non-fiction prizes will receive a cash prize of $10,000 each, funded by the Florence Gould Foundation, and be honored at a special ceremony tonight in New York at the Century Association.

In the fiction category, the winners are Jody Gladding & Elizabeth Deshays for Small Lives by Pierre Michon (Archipelago Books). In the non-fiction category, the winners are Matthew Cobb & Malcolm DeBevoise for their translation of by Life Explained by Michel Morange (Yale University Press/Odile Jacob).

“These translation awards are an important opportunity to bring publishing professionals, translators and writers together to draw public attention to outstanding translations of literary works - which can often go unnoticed,” said French-American Foundation program director Emma Archer. “Translation is key to perpetuating an ongoing conversation between cultures and to promote the circulation of literary works at a time where the dominant language is English.”

Jurors for this year’s competition include Linda Asher, Tom Bishop, Antoine Compagnon, Linda Coverdale, Richard Howard and Lily Tuck.

The Foundations would like to congratulate the finalists in each category

FICTION

Alison Anderson
for The Elegance of the Hedgehog
by Muriel Barbery
(Europa Editions)

John Cullen
for The Only Son
by Stephane Audeguy
(Harcourt)

Douglas Parmée
for Afloat
by Guy de Maupassant
(New York Review Books)

Julie Rose
for Les Misérables
by Victor Hugo
(Modern Library)

Roger Whitehouse
for The Beast Within
by Emile Zola
(Penguin Books)

NON-FICTION

Ryan Bloom
for Notebooks 1951-1959
by Albert Camus
(Ivan R. Dee)

Janet Lloyd
for Comparing the Incomparable
by Marcel Detienne
(Stanford University Press)

Jeremy Mercer
for Abolition
by Robert Badinter
(University Press of New England)

Richard A. Rand
for Corpus
by Jean-Luc Nancy
(Fordham University Press)

*due to tie in votes, the fiction selection garnered six finalists instead of five.

About The French-American Foundation
The French-American Foundation is the principal non-governmental link between France and the United States at leadership levels and across the full range of the French-American relationship.

About The Florence Gould Foundation
The Florence Gould Foundation is an American foundation devoted to French-American exchange and friendship. Born of French parents in San Francisco in 1895, Florence Gould lived both in the United States and France during her lifetime. At her death in 1993, Florence Gould left the bulk of her fortune to the foundation bearing her name.

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