Polish literature in major British translation prizes

Abstract

This article offers a short desk-based overview of how works of Polish literature translated into English have performed in the upper stages of four major British prizes for literary translation: the International Booker Prize, the Oxford-Weidenfeld Prize, the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation, and the EBRD Literature Prize. Initially, some historical and present-day information about Polish language and culture in the United Kingdom is given before the core details of the four selected prizes are presented. Subsequently, using data taken from the websites for each of the awards, the presence of Polish literature in the shortlists and among the eventual prize-winners is highlighted. This is done through analysing relevant information regarding the selected works, including details about the particular works, their original authors, their literary translators, and their publishers.