The PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants were created in 2003 by PEN America (formerly PEN American Center) after receiving a $730,000 donation from Michael Henry Heim, a well-known literary translator. Heim noticed that very few translated books from other languages were being published in English. The goal of the grants is to help bring more translated books from around the world into English so more people can read them. Each year, the grants are given to a small group of translators who are chosen based on the quality of their work and the importance of the original book. The Fund’s goal is to help more translated books be published and read.
Since the first grants were given in 2004, the Fund has supported translations from over 30 different languages. Many of the books helped by the Fund have been published, and some have won or been nominated for important awards, such as the Best Translated Book Award, the Northern California Book Award for Translation, the R. R. Hawkins Award, the National Jewish Book Award for Poetry, the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry, the Helen and Kurt Wolff Translator’s Prize, and the Griffin Poetry Prize. Some books also received help from the Lannan Foundation or were listed on the New York Public Library’s annual list of 25 Books to Remember.
Before 2012, the grants were called the PEN Translation Fund Grants. After Heim passed away in 2012, the awards were renamed in his honor. Heim asked to remain anonymous, so his name was not used publicly during his lifetime.
List of recipients
The names of ten winners were announced. The voting members of the advisory board were Esther Allen, Sara Bershtel, Barbara Epler, Michael Henry Heim, and Eliot Weinberger.
The names of thirteen winners were announced. The voting members of the advisory board were Esther Allen, Sara Bershtel, Barbara Epler, Michael Henry Heim, and Eliot Weinberger.
The names of nine winners were announced. The voting members of the advisory board were Esther Allen, Sara Bershtel, Barbara Epler, Michael Henry Heim, Michael F. Moore, Richard Sieburth, and Eliot Weinberger.
The names of ten winners were announced. The voting members of the advisory board were Esther Allen, Sara Bershtel, Barbara Epler, Michael Henry Heim, Michael F. Moore, Richard Sieburth, and Eliot Weinberger.
The names of eight winners were announced. The voting members of the advisory board were Sara Bershtel, Edwin Frank, Michael Henry Heim, Michael F. Moore, Richard Sieburth, and Jeffrey Yang, and Esther Allen served as the non-voting Chair.
The names of eleven winners were announced. The voting members of the advisory board were Sara Bershtel, Edwin Frank, Michael Henry Heim, Michael F. Moore, Richard Sieburth, and Jeffrey Yang, and Esther Allen served as the non-voting Chair.
The names of eleven winners were announced. The voting members of the advisory board were Esther Allen, David Bellos, Susan Bernofsky, Edwin Frank, Michael F. Moore, and Jeffrey Yang.
The names of eleven winners were announced. The voting members of the advisory board were David Bellos, Susan Bernofsky, Edwin Frank, Michael Reynolds, Natasha Wimmer, and Jeffrey Yang, and Michael F. Moore served as the non-voting Chair.
The names of thirteen winners were announced. The voting members of the advisory board were Susan Bernofsky, Barbara Epler, Edwin Frank, Michael Reynolds, Richard Sieburth, Eliot Weinberger, and Natasha Wimmer, and Michael F. Moore served as the non-voting Chair.
Nomination for the NYSCA grant:
The names of thirteen winners were announced. The voting members of the advisory board were Susan Bernofsky, Barbara Epler, Richard Sieburth, Lauren Wein, Eliot Weinberger, Natasha Wimmer, and Matvei Yankelvich, and Michael F. Moore served as the non-voting Chair.
Nomination for the NYSCA grant:
The names of fifteen winners were announced. The voting members of the advisory board were Esther Allen, Barbara Epler, Sara Khalili, Michael F. Moore, Lauren Wein, and Lorin Stein.
Nominations for the NYSCA grant:
The names of sixteen winners were announced. The voting members of the advisory board were Esther Allen, Mitzi Angel, Peter Blackstock, Howard Goldblatt, Sara Khalili, Michael F. Moore, Declan Spring, and Alex Zucker.
The names of fourteen winners were announced. The voting members of the advisory board were Esther Allen, Peter Blackstock, Sara Khalili, Tynan Kogane, Allison Markin Powell, Antonio Romani, Chip Rossetti, and Alex Zucker. Each winner was given $3,670.00.
The names of fifteen winners were announced. The voting members of the advisory board were Tyan Kogane, Edna McCrown, Fiona McCrae, Canaan Morse, Idra Novey, Allison Markin Powell, Antonio Romani, Chip Rossetti, Shabnam Nadiya, and Ross Ufberg.
The names of twelve winners were announced. The voting members of the advisory board were John Balcom, Peter Constantine, Tynan Kogane, Allison Markin Powell, Fiona McCrae, Mary Ann Newman, Antonio Romani, Chip Rossetti, Ross Ufberg, Natasha Wimmer, and Board Chair Samantha Schnee.
Winners in 2020 were:
10 grants were made in 2021:
Winners in 2022 were: [2]
Winners in 2023 were:
Winners in 2024 were:
Winners in 2025 were: