Winner
Edith Grossman, who has translated major works by Miguel de Cervantes and Gabriel García Márquez
The Ralph Manheim Medal for Translation is given every three years to a translator whose career has demonstrated a commitment to excellence through the body of his or her work. The award is judged by the PEN Translation Committee. Gregory Rabassa, Richard Howard, Ralph Manheim, William Weaver, Richard Wilbur, Robert Fagles, Edmund Keeley, and Donald Keene have all been awarded the medal in previous years. The award was initiated by funds donated by the late Bernard Malamud and by Gay Talese, and has received additional support from the family and friends of Ralph Manheim.
2006 Judges
PEN Translation Committee
From the Judges’ Citation
“From the battlefield of her desk, Edith Grossman has journeyed across time and space, into a world that stretches from the enchanted plains of La Mancha to the muddy, magical waters of the Rio Magdalena. Her vivid, colorful translations of contemporary Latin American masters— García Márquez, Vargas Llosa, Mutis, Montero—and of the golden age classic Don Quixote transport the English reader beyond the borders of our language and deep into the realm of the imagination.”