The Banipal Prize, whose full name is the Saif Ghobash–Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation, is an annual prize awarded to a translator (or translators) for the published English translation of a full-length literary work in the Arabic language. The prize was inaugurated in 2006 by the literary magazine Banipal which promotes the diffusion of contemporary Arabic literature through English translations and the Banipal Trust for Arab Literature. It is administered by the Society of Authors in the UK (which runs a number of similar literary translation prizes), and the prize money is sponsored by Omar Saif Ghobash and his family in memory of Ghobash's late father Saif Ghobash. As of 2009, the prize money amounted to £3000.
Winners and nominees
= winner
2006
Humphrey Davies: Gate of the Sun by Elias Khoury
Hala Halim: Clamor of the Lake by Mohamed el-Bisatie
Paul Starkey: Stones of Bobello by Edwar al-Kharrat
Judges: Moris Farhi, Maya Jaggi, Roger Allen
2007
Farouk Mustafa (pen-name Farouk Abdel Wahab): The Lodging House by Khairy Shalaby Marilyn Booth: Thieves in Retirement by Hamdi Abu Golayyel Peter Theroux: Saraya, The Ogre’s Daughter by Emile Habiby
Judges: Moris Farhi, Maya Jaggi, Roger Allen
2008
Fady Joudah: The Butterfly’s Burden by Mahmoud Darwish
Ghassan Nasr: The Journals of Sarab Affan by Jabra Ibrahim Jabra
Nancy Roberts: The Man from Bashmour by Salwa Bakr
Judges: Marilyn Booth, Aamer Hussein, Bill Swainson, Roger Allen
2009
Samah Selim: The Collar and the Bracelet by Yahya Taher Abdullah
Michelle Hartman: Wild Mulberries by Iman Humaydan Younes
Elliott Colla: Gold Dust by Ibrahim al-Koni
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:
Roger Allen: A Muslim Suicide by Bensalem Himmich
Humphrey Davies: I Was Born There, I Was Born Here by Mourid Barghouti
Judges: Ruth Padel, Esther Freud, Fadhil al-Azzawi, John Peate
2013
Source:
Jonathan Wright: Azazeel by Youssef Ziedan
William Maynard Hutchins: A Land Without Jasmine by Wajdi al-Ahdal
Judges: Humphrey Davies, Hassan Abdulrazzak, Rajeev Balasubramanyam, Meike Ziervogel
2014
Source:
Sinan Antoon: The Corpse Washer by Sinan Antoon
Paula Haydar: June Rain by Jabbour Douaihy
Longlist
The Mehlis Report by Rabee Jaber, trans. Kareem James Abu-Zeid (New Directions) The Arch and the Butterfly by Mohammed Achaari, trans. Aida Bamia (Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing) Private Pleasures by Hamdy El-Gazzar, trans. Humphrey Davies (AUC Press) Ben Barka Lane by Mahmoud Saeed, trans. Kay Heikkinen (Interlink Publishing Co.) Other Lives by Iman Humaydan, trans. Michelle Hartman (Interlink Books) Throwing Sparks by Abdo Khal, trans. Maia Tabet and Michael K. Scott (Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing) That Smell by Sonallah Ibrahim, trans. Robyn Creswell (New Directions) House of the Wolf by Ezzat El Kamhawi, trans. Nancy Roberts (AUC Press) New Waw by Ibrahim al-Koni, trans. William M. Hutchins (University of Texas Press) Moon and Henna Tree by Ahmed Toufiq, trans. Roger Allen (University of Texas Press) The Bridges of Constantine by Ahlem Mosteghanemi, trans. Raphael Cohen (translator) (Bloomsbury) Earth Weeps, Saturn Laughs by Abdulaziz al Farsi, trans. Nancy Roberts (AUC Press) Gertrude by Hassan Najmi, trans. Roger Allen (Interlink Books) Status Emo by Eslam Mosbah, trans. Raphael Cohen (translator) (AUC Press) The Silence and the Roar by Nihad Sirees, trans. Max Weiss (Pushkin Press)
Judges: Paul Blezard-Gymer, Lulu Norman, Samuel Shimon, Jonathan Wright
2015
Source:
Paul Starkey for The Book of the Sultan's Seal: Strange Incidents from History in the City of Mars by Youssef Rakha Land of No Rain by Amjad Nasser, trans. Jonathan Wright