An Evening of Translation
November 20th at 7:00 PM
2025 QSSI Translation Prize &
Inaugural Literary Translation Fellowship Ceremony
Espacio de Culturas at NYU
53 Washington Square South, New York, NY 10012
This special evening offers an exceptional opportunity for connection and exchange among literature lovers, translators, editors, and the broader cultural community.
Join us for the announcement of the winners of the QSSI Translation Prize and the inaugural Literary Translation Fellowship, followed by a conversation about the winning translations and a Q&A with special guests. Translators will also be signing books that will be for sale throughout the evening.
Created to support unpublished and emerging translators, the inaugural Fellowship includes a $20,000 award for the winning submission, along with ten Honorable Mentions of $500 each, all of which will be presented during the ceremony.
Following the program, guests are invited to continue the conversation and celebrate the honorees during a Spanish cocktail hour.
This program is possible thanks to the support of the Cultural Office of the Consulate General of Spain.
GUEST SPEAKERS
- BEGONIA SANTOS
Executive Director, Queen Sofía Spanish Institute - CHARLOTTE WHITTLE
Translator, Winner of 2023 QSSI Translation Prize - More TBC!
Shortlist for the 2025 QSSI Translation Prize:
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“A Last Supper of Queer Apostles: Selected Essays” by Pedro Lemebel, translated by Gwendolyn Harper, published by Penguin Classics
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“Childish Literature” by Alejandro Zambra, translated by Megan McDowell, published by Penguin Random House/Penguin Books
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“Hungry for What” by María Bastarós, translated by Kevin Gerry Dunn, published by Daunt Publishing
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“Living Things” by Munir Hachemi, translated by Julia Sanches, published by Coach House Books
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“Season of the Swamp” by Yuri Herrera, translated by Lisa Dillman, published by Graywolf Press
The History of the QSSI Translation Prize
With the aim of elevating awareness and engendering appreciation of Spanish-language literature in the United States, this $10,000 prize was created by the Cultural Committee and Board of Directors of the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute to honor the best English-language translation of a literary work written in Spanish. In 2010, the Reading Committee of the Inaugural Queen Sofía Spanish Institute Translation Prize unanimously recommended Edith Grossman to receive the award for her extraordinary translation of Antonio Muñoz Molina’s A Manuscript of Ashes.
About the Inaugural Literary Translation Fellowship
Aiming to allow unpublished translators and other emerging literary translators the chance to audition, show their talent, and get the chance to pitch their translations to publishers, the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute with the support of Penguin Random House seeks to support translators by offering this initiative. The most successful sample translation from Spanish into English, selected by the jury, will receive the Literary Translation Fellowship, a grant of $20,000 to translate the entire book. Ten of the sample translations that demonstrate promise, finesse and skill will be awarded Honorable Mentions, a smaller grant of $500 each.
