Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation
The Banipal Prize, whose full name is the Saif Ghobash–Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation, is an annual prize awarded to a translator 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, 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
= winner2006
- 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
2007
- Farouk Mustafa : 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
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
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
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
2011
Source:- Khaled Mattawa: Selected Poems by Adonis
- Barbara Romaine: Spectres by Radwa Ashour
- Maia Tabet: White Masks by Elias Khoury
2012
Source:- Roger Allen: A Muslim Suicide by Bensalem Himmich
- Humphrey Davies: I Was Born There, I Was Born Here by Mourid Barghouti
2013
Source:- Jonathan Wright: Azazeel by Youssef Ziedan
- William Maynard Hutchins: A Land Without Jasmine by Wajdi al-Ahdal
2014
Source:- Sinan Antoon: The Corpse Washer by Sinan Antoon
- Paula Haydar: June Rain by Jabbour Douaihy
- The Mehlis Report by Rabee Jaber, trans. Kareem James Abu-Zeid
- The Arch and the Butterfly by Mohammed Achaari, trans. Aida Bamia
- Private Pleasures by Hamdy El-Gazzar, trans. Humphrey Davies
- Ben Barka Lane by Mahmoud Saeed, trans. Kay Heikkinen
- Other Lives by Iman Humaydan, trans. Michelle Hartman
- Throwing Sparks by Abdo Khal, trans. Maia Tabet and Michael K. Scott
- That Smell by Sonallah Ibrahim, trans. Robyn Creswell
- House of the Wolf by Ezzat El Kamhawi, trans. Nancy Roberts
- New Waw by Ibrahim al-Koni, trans. William M. Hutchins
- Moon and Henna Tree by Ahmed Toufiq, trans. Roger Allen
- The Bridges of Constantine by Ahlem Mosteghanemi, trans. Raphael Cohen
- Earth Weeps, Saturn Laughs by Abdulaziz al Farsi, trans. Nancy Roberts
- Gertrude by Hassan Najmi, trans. Roger Allen
- Status Emo by Eslam Mosbah, trans. Raphael Cohen
- The Silence and the Roar by Nihad Sirees, trans. Max Weiss
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
- Stealth by Sonallah Ibrahim, trans. Hosam Aboul-Ela
- The Penguin's Song by Hassan Daoud, trans. Marilyn Booth
- African Titanics by Abu Bakr Khaal, trans. Charis Bredin
- Butterfly Wings by Mohamed Salmawy, trans. Raphael Cohen
- Fullblood Arabian by Osama Alomar, trans. C.J. Collins
- The Broken Mirrors: Sinalcol by Elias Khoury, trans. Humphrey Davies
- Diary of a Jewish Muslim by Kamal Ruhayyim, trans. Sarah Enany
- Who's Afraid of Meryl Streep by Rashid Al-Daif, trans. Paula Haydar and Nadine Sinno
- French Perfume by Amir Tag Elsir, trans. William M. Hutchins
- Nothing More to Lose by Najwan Darwish, poetry trans. Kareem James Abu-Zeid
- The Iraqi Nights by Dunya Mikhail, poetry trans. Kareem James Abu-Zeid
- The Woman from Tantoura by Radwa Ashour, trans. Kay Heikkinen
- Dates on my Fingers by Muhshin al-Ramli, trans. Luke Leafgren
- Oh, Salaam! by Najwa Barakat, trans. Luke Leafgren
- Where Pigeons Don't Fly by Yousef Al-Mohaimeed, trans. Robin Moger
- Women of Karantina by Nael Eltoukhy, trans. Robin Moger
- The Crocodiles by Youssef Rakha, trans. Robin Moger
- Days of Ignorance by Laila Aljohani, trans. Nancy Roberts
- Chaos of the Senses by Ahlem Mosteghanemi, trans. Nancy Roberts
- The Lanterns of the King of Galilee by Ibrahim Nasrallah, trans. Nancy Roberts
- Blue Lorries by Radwa Ashour, trans. Barbara Romaine
- Beirut, Beirut by Sonallah Ibrahim, trans. Chip Rossetti
- The Book of the Sultan's Seal by Youssef Rakha, trans. Paul Starkey
- Monarch of the Square: an Anthology of Mohamed Zafzaf's Short Stories by Mohamed Zafzaf, trans. Mbarek Sryfi and Roger Allen
- The Chronicles of Majnun Layla and Selected Poems by Qassim Haddad, poetry trans. John Verlenden and Ferial Ghazoul
- Rain Over Baghdad by Hala el Badry, trans. Farouk Abdel Wahab
- Land Of No Rain by Amjad Nasser, trans. Jonathan Wright
- Temple Bar by Bahaa Abdelmegid, trans. Jonathan Wright
- Chewing Gum by Mansour Bushnaf, trans. Mona Zaki
2016
Source:- Jonathan Wright for his translation of the novel The Bamboo Stalk by Saud Alsanousi
- Confessions by Rabee Jaber, trans. Kareem James Abu-Zeid
- The Bride of Amman by Fadi Zaghmout, trans. Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp
- Desert Sorrows by Tayseer al-Sboul, trans. Nesreen Akhtarkhavari and Anthony A Lee
- My Torturess by Bensalem Himmich, trans. Roger Allen
- Hurma by Ali al-Muqri, trans. T M Aplin
- Ebola '76 by Amir Tag Elsir, trans. Charis Bredin and Emily Danby
- 32 by Sahar Mandour, trans. Nicole Fares
- The Automobile Club of Egypt by Alaa Al Aswany, trans. Russell Harris
- Ali and his Russian Mother by Alexandra Chreiteh, trans. Michelle Hartman
- Telepathy by Amir Tag Elsir, trans. William M Hutchins
- The Scarecrow by Ibrahim al-Koni, trans. William M Hutchins
- A Portal in Space by Mahmoud Saeed, trans. William M Hutchins
- All Faces but Mine by Samih al-Qasim, trans. Abdulwahid Lu‘lu‘a
- Mortal Designs by Reem Bassiouney, trans. Melanie Magidow
- The Dust of Promises by Ahlem Mostaghanemi, trans. Nancy Roberts
- Whitefly by Abdelilah Hamdouchi, trans. Jonathan Smolin
- The Holy Sail by Abdulaziz al-Mahmoud, trans. Karim Traboulsi
- The Bamboo Stalk by Saud Alsanousi, trans. Jonathan Wright
- The Televangelist by Ibrahim Essa, trans. Jonathan Wright
2017
Source:- Robin Moger for The Book of Safety by Yasser Abdel Hafez
- The Dove's Necklace by Raja Alem, trans. Katharine Halls and Adam Talib
- No Knives in the Kitchens of This City by Khaled Khalifa, trans. Leri Price
- Limbo Beirut by Hilal Chouman, trans. Anna Ziajka Stanton
2018
Source:- The President's Gardens by Muhsin Al-Ramli, tr. Luke Leafgren
- Concerto al-Quds by Adonis, tr. Khaled Mattawa
- Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi, tr. Jonathan Wright
- Using Life by Ahmed Naji, tr. Ben Koerber
Longlist
- In Jerusalem and Other Poems by Tamim al-Barghouti, translated by Radwa Ashour, Tamim al-Barghouti, Ahdaf Soueif
- No Road to Paradise by Hassan Daoud, translated by Marilyn Booth
- Divine Names by Luay Abdul-Ilah, translated by Judy Cumberbatch
- Hend and the Soldiers by Badriah Albeshr, translated by Sanna Dhahir
- The American Quarter by Jabbour Douaihy, translated by Paula Haydar
- The Apartment in Bab el-Louk by Donia Maher, translated by Elisabeth Jaquette
- Suslov's Daughter by Habib Abdulrab Sarori, translated by Elisabeth Jaquette
- Tales of Yusuf Tadrus by Adel Esmat, translated by Mandy McClure
- All The Battles by Maan Abu Taleb, translated by Robin Moger
- Embrace on Brooklyn Bridge by Ezzedine C. Fishere, translated by John Peate
- Gaza Weddings by Ibrahim Nasrallah, translated by Nancy Roberts
- Farewell, Damascus by Ghada Samman, translated by Nancy Roberts
- Bled Dry by Abdelilah Hamdouchi, translated by Benjamin Smith
- The Blueness of the Evening: Selected Poems of Hassan Najmi by Hassan Najmi, translated by Mbarek Sryfi and Eric Sellin
- Fractured Destinies by Rabai al-Madhoun, translated by Paul Starkey
- The Baghdad Eucharist by Sinan Antoon, translated by Maia Tabet
2019
Source:- Death is Hard Work by Khaled Khalifa, translated by Leri Price
- Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi, translated by Marilyn Booth
- My Name is Adam: Children of the Ghetto Volume 1 by Elias Khoury, translated by Humphrey Davies
- Jokes for the Gunman by Mazen Maarouf, translated by Jonathan Wright