The Medal for Excellence in Translation is a major national award that recognises outstanding achievement in translation and the vital role of translators and translation in Australian culture and scholarly discourse. 

Established in 2016, it is awarded biennially for a book-length translation into English of a work of any genre (including scholarship), from any language and period.   

Criteria

• Excellence of translation: The nominated work will be judged on the basis of its success in conveying the style, spirit, effects, meaning and cultural context of the original. An Advisory Panel will consider, as appropriate, special challenges posed by the form, style or content of the original; the extent to which the translator shows an understanding of these challenges and adopts creative solutions to them; and the extent to which the translator has appropriately adapted the work to the frame of reference of its new audience.
• Significance of the translated work: The importance of the source text as a work of literature, scholarship or as a cultural document.

Eligibility: 

• Nominations will be accepted from the publisher of the translation (not necessarily Australia-based), another individual, or the translator her/himself. The Nominator must obtain the permission of the Nominee before nomination.
• Nominees must be Citizens or Permanent Residents of Australia who are residing in Australia at the time of nomination.
• Multi-authored translations are eligible for nomination provided that all nominees on the application are Australian citizens or permanent residents.
• Translations published as books, or e-books, are eligible. All nominated works must be publicly available and have an ISBN.
• The translation must be into English.
• The translation must have been published within the three calendar years prior to the deadline for nominations (for the 2026 award this will be 2023, 2024, and 2025).
• In cases where there are multiple editions of a translation, published in one or more countries, only the first translation into English will be accepted.
• The Academy will only accept one nomination per author in the year that the award is being offered.
• The Awards Committee reserves the right to solicit nominations, which will be subject without favour to the same deadlines and competitive processes as unsolicited nominations.

• Phone: (02) 6189 6982
• Email: grants@humanities.org.au