PEN Award for Poetry in Translation

Founded in 1996, the PEN Award for Poetry in Translation recognizes book-length translations of poetry from any language into English. The award confers a $3,000 prize to the translator of the winning book. Eligible books may have up to two translators.

All winners, finalists, and longlisted books are eligible to receive PEN America’s official emblems. If you are a publisher interested in obtaining a PEN America award emblem for use on a book cover, please write to [email protected].

For more information about PEN America’s Literary Awards, please visit our FAQ.

2026 Winner

To a poet whose distinguished collection of poetry represents a notable and accomplished literary presence.

Winner: Theory of the Voice and Dream, Liliana Ponce (World Poetry Books)
Translated from Spanish by Michael Martin Shea

Judges: Miriam Calleja, Jim Kates, Alta L. Price

From the judges’ citation: “Among the five powerful finalists for the PEN Award for Poetry in Translation, the strong verse of Argentine poet Liliana Ponce’s Theory of the Voice and Dream stood out. As translator Michael Martin Shea writes in his introduction, “The collection’s first line—‘Escribir es hoy un vacío,’ or, ‘To write today is an emptiness’—may seem like a prelude to a retreat….” We considered a wide range of translations, from the most Classical to the most experimental, and this collection and its voltas wove their way to the top—more of a prelude than a retreat. The theme of these poems of meditative silence, and the ‘thirst of impulses, / beach without memory,’ read anew ‘like a carnal pleasure / like certainty.’ Shea’s translation deftly captures the essence of Ponce’s serial poems on creation and absence, offering them with an apt, skillful contradiction that melds appropriate ambiguity and admirable precision.”

Eligibility

• Eligible titles must be original book-length poetry translations, by a single original author, published between January 1 and December 31 of the current calendar year by a U.S. trade publisher.
• Eligible books may have up to two translators but are limited to one original author.
• Eligible books must be originally written and published in a language other than English.
• Translators may be of any nationality. U.S. residency or citizenship is not required.
• Books submitted for this award may not be submitted for any additional PEN America Literary Awards, with the exception of the PEN Open Book Award. Please note that the PEN/Faulkner and PEN/Hemingway Awards are not considered PEN America Literary Awards.

NOT Eligible:

• Prose, trade, technical, or academic writing and anthologies with more than one original author.
• Reprints or retranslations, unless the work can be said to provide a significant revision of the original translation.
• Books with more than two translators.
• Translations in progress are not accepted; to submit a work in progress, please see the PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants.

Submission Guidelines

• All submitted books must be published by a trade or academic publisher between January 1 and December 31 of the current year. Self-published books are ineligible for the PEN America Literary Awards.
• Books with more than one original author are ineligible for the PEN America Literary Awards.
• PEN America will only accept submissions from publishers or literary agents. Authors may not submit their own books.
• Please be sure to select the award you are submitting to on the submission form.
• Submitting a book for multiple awards is allowed only in the case of the PEN Open Book Award. Please complete a separate submission for this award if applicable.
• Please submit verified email addresses on the submission form. Your order cannot be processed without an email address. Multiple addresses are essential so that we can get in touch directly if an author or translator is selected as a longlister, finalist, or winner.
• Upload a PDF file of the galley or final manuscript to the book submission form. Book award submissions will be read as PDF files. Please upload the file saved as BOOKTITLE_AUTHORNAME. For the judges’ ease of reading, please upload a book file WITHOUT watermarks. Each book file will remain confidential and is accessible only to the Literary Awards team and the awards judges. Please note that if a book is longlisted, PEN America may request physical copies for the judging panel.
• Upload a high-resolution image of the book cover. This will be used if the book is a longlister, finalist, or winner.
• Each submission is $85. Submission fees are not refundable. Please note that all payments must be made via the submission form.
• Submission fees may be waived for publishers whose annual net sales are less than $2 million. You may request an exemption here; a letter on company letterhead stating that the press’s annual net sales are less than $2 million is required. Do not submit your title before requesting your fee exemption, as the Literary Awards Team will provide you with an alternative submission method.
• Once a submitted book is received and reviewed for eligibility by PEN America, it will be passed along to the judges. Please add [email protected] to your address book, as it will be the main point of contact from PEN America.