Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation


The Banipal Prize, officially the Saif Ghobash–Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation, is an annual award presented to a translator for the published English translation of a full-length literary work in Arabic.
The prize was established in 2006 by the literary magazine Banipal, which promotes the dissemination of contemporary Arabic literature through English translations, alongside the Banipal Trust for Arab Literature. It is administered by the Society of Authors in the UK, which also oversees several other literary translation prizes.
The prize is sponsored by Lioudmila Ghobash, Saeed Saif Ghobash and Maysoune Saif Ghobash in memory of HE the Late Saif Ghobash.

Winners and nominees

= winner

2006

Judges: Moris Farhi, Maya Jaggi, Roger Allen

2007

Judges: Moris Farhi, Maya Jaggi, Roger Allen

2008

Judges: Marilyn Booth, Aamer Hussein, Bill Swainson, Roger Allen

2009

Judges: Francine Stock, Aamer Hussein, Marilyn Booth, Roger Allen

2010

Source:
  • Humphrey Davies: Yalo by Elias Khoury
  • Humphrey Davies: Sunset Oasis by Bahaa Taher
  • Kareem James Abu-Zeid: Cities without Palms by Tarek Etayeb
Judges: Margaret Drabble, Susan Bassnett, Elliott Colla, Yasir Suleiman

2011

Source:
  • Khaled Mattawa: Selected Poems by Adonis
  • Barbara Romaine: Spectres by Radwa Ashour
  • Maia Tabet: White Masks by Elias Khoury
Judges: Sarah Churchwell, Joan Smith, Christina Phillips, Samuel Shimon

2012

Source:
Judges: Ruth Padel, Esther Freud, Fadhil al-Azzawi, John Peate

2013

Source:
Judges: Humphrey Davies, Hassan Abdulrazzak, Rajeev Balasubramanyam, Meike Ziervogel

2014

Source:
Longlist
Judges: Paul Blezard-Gymer, Lulu Norman, Samuel Shimon, Jonathan Wright

2015

Source:
Longlist
  • Stealth by Sonallah Ibrahim, trans. Hosam Aboul-Ela
  • The Penguin's Song by Hassan Daoud, trans. Marilyn Booth
  • African Titanics by Abu Bakr Khaal, trans. Charis Bredin
  • Butterfly Wings by Mohamed Salmawy, trans. Raphael Cohen
  • Fullblood Arabian by Osama Alomar, trans. C.J. Collins
  • The Broken Mirrors: Sinalcol by Elias Khoury, trans. Humphrey Davies
  • Diary of a Jewish Muslim by Kamal Ruhayyim, trans. Sarah Enany
  • Who's Afraid of Meryl Streep by Rashid Al-Daif, trans. Paula Haydar and Nadine Sinno
  • French Perfume by Amir Tag Elsir, trans. William M. Hutchins
  • Nothing More to Lose by Najwan Darwish, poetry trans. Kareem James Abu-Zeid
  • The Iraqi Nights by Dunya Mikhail, poetry trans. Kareem James Abu-Zeid
  • The Woman from Tantoura by Radwa Ashour, trans. Kay Heikkinen
  • Dates on my Fingers by Muhshin al-Ramli, trans. Luke Leafgren
  • Oh, Salaam! by Najwa Barakat, trans. Luke Leafgren
  • Where Pigeons Don't Fly by Yousef Al-Mohaimeed, trans. Robin Moger
  • Women of Karantina by Nael Eltoukhy, trans. Robin Moger
  • The Crocodiles by Youssef Rakha, trans. Robin Moger
  • Days of Ignorance by Laila Aljohani, trans. Nancy Roberts
  • Chaos of the Senses by Ahlem Mosteghanemi, trans. Nancy Roberts
  • The Lanterns of the King of Galilee by Ibrahim Nasrallah, trans. Nancy Roberts
  • Blue Lorries by Radwa Ashour, trans. Barbara Romaine
  • Beirut, Beirut by Sonallah Ibrahim, trans. Chip Rossetti
  • The Book of the Sultan's Seal by Youssef Rakha, trans. Paul Starkey
  • Monarch of the Square: an Anthology of Mohamed Zafzaf's Short Stories by Mohamed Zafzaf, trans. Mbarek Sryfi and Roger Allen
  • The Chronicles of Majnun Layla and Selected Poems by Qassim Haddad, poetry trans. John Verlenden and Ferial Ghazoul
  • Rain Over Baghdad by Hala el Badry, trans. Farouk Abdel Wahab
  • Land Of No Rain by Amjad Nasser, trans. Jonathan Wright
  • Temple Bar by Bahaa Abdelmegid, trans. Jonathan Wright
  • Chewing Gum by Mansour Bushnaf, trans. Mona Zaki
Judges: Robin Ostle, Samira Kawar, Alastair Niven, Susannah Tarbush.

2016

Source:
  • Jonathan Wright for his translation of the novel The Bamboo Stalk by Saud Alsanousi
Longlist
  • Confessions by Rabee Jaber, trans. Kareem James Abu-Zeid
  • The Bride of Amman by Fadi Zaghmout, trans. Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp
  • Desert Sorrows by Tayseer al-Sboul, trans. Nesreen Akhtarkhavari and Anthony A Lee
  • My Torturess by Bensalem Himmich, trans. Roger Allen
  • Hurma by Ali al-Muqri, trans. T M Aplin
  • Ebola '76 by Amir Tag Elsir, trans. Charis Bredin and Emily Danby
  • 32 by Sahar Mandour, trans. Nicole Fares
  • The Automobile Club of Egypt by Alaa Al Aswany, trans. Russell Harris
  • Ali and his Russian Mother by Alexandra Chreiteh, trans. Michelle Hartman
  • Telepathy by Amir Tag Elsir, trans. William M Hutchins
  • The Scarecrow by Ibrahim al-Koni, trans. William M Hutchins
  • A Portal in Space by Mahmoud Saeed, trans. William M Hutchins
  • All Faces but Mine by Samih al-Qasim, trans. Abdulwahid Lu‘lu‘a
  • Mortal Designs by Reem Bassiouney, trans. Melanie Magidow
  • The Dust of Promises by Ahlem Mostaghanemi, trans. Nancy Roberts
  • Whitefly by Abdelilah Hamdouchi, trans. Jonathan Smolin
  • The Holy Sail by Abdulaziz al-Mahmoud, trans. Karim Traboulsi
  • The Bamboo Stalk by Saud Alsanousi, trans. Jonathan Wright
  • The Televangelist by Ibrahim Essa, trans. Jonathan Wright
Judges: Paul Starkey, Lucy Popescu, Zahia Smail Salhi, Bill Swainson,

2017

Source:
Judges: Alastair Niven, Peter Kalu, Wen-chin Ouyang, Salam Sarhan.

2018

Source:
  • The President's Gardens by Muhsin Al-Ramli, tr. Luke Leafgren
  • Concerto al-Quds by Adonis, tr. Khaled Mattawa
  • Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi, tr. Jonathan Wright
  • Using Life by Ahmed Naji, tr. Ben Koerber

    Longlist

  • In Jerusalem and Other Poems by Tamim al-Barghouti, translated by Radwa Ashour, Tamim al-Barghouti, Ahdaf Soueif
  • No Road to Paradise by Hassan Daoud, translated by Marilyn Booth
  • Divine Names by Luay Abdul-Ilah, translated by Judy Cumberbatch
  • Hend and the Soldiers by Badriah Albeshr, translated by Sanna Dhahir
  • The American Quarter by Jabbour Douaihy, translated by Paula Haydar
  • The Apartment in Bab el-Louk by Donia Maher, translated by Elisabeth Jaquette
  • Suslov's Daughter by Habib Abdulrab Sarori, translated by Elisabeth Jaquette
  • Tales of Yusuf Tadrus by Adel Esmat, translated by Mandy McClure
  • All The Battles by Maan Abu Taleb, translated by Robin Moger
  • Embrace on Brooklyn Bridge by Ezzedine C. Fishere, translated by John Peate
  • Gaza Weddings by Ibrahim Nasrallah, translated by Nancy Roberts
  • Farewell, Damascus by Ghada Samman, translated by Nancy Roberts
  • Bled Dry by Abdelilah Hamdouchi, translated by Benjamin Smith
  • The Blueness of the Evening: Selected Poems of Hassan Najmi by Hassan Najmi, translated by Mbarek Sryfi and Eric Sellin
  • Fractured Destinies by Rabai al-Madhoun, translated by Paul Starkey
  • The Baghdad Eucharist by Sinan Antoon, translated by Maia Tabet
Judges: Pete Ayrton, Georgia de Chamberet, Fadia Faqir and Sophia Vasalou.