Time is almost up for publishers to submit their entries to this year’s Sophie Castille Awards for Comics in Translation. The deadline for the second year of this award, celebrating the world of comics and those that make it accessible to us, is June 12.
The entry guidelines require no more than six submissions per company. Works must have been released in the last twelve calendar months and only one entry per series. All works must have been translated from another language into English – and translators must always be credited. The shortlist will be announced in July, and winners declared at this year’s Lakes International Comic Art Festival, in Bowness-on-Windermere, UK – taking place the weekend of September 27 to 29, 2024.
The English language edition – the first iteration of the Sophie Castille Awards – debuted in 2023 as a partnership between British comics expert Paul Gravett (Comica); translator, agent, and international comics operative Ivanka Hahnenberger (VIP Brands Ltd), and the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. The awards are named after the late Sophie Castille, who was the international rights director and VP of licensing at major rights hub Mediatoon, and cofounder and director of the Europe Comics project. The inaugural Sophie Castille Award went to Michele Hutchison for her translation of Barbara Stok’s The Philosopher, The Dog and the Wedding, published in English by SelfMadeHero.
According to a press release, Ivanka Hahnenberger said:
“The Sophie Castille Awards are global awards to recognise the work of translators in the medium, as well as to highlight the importance of the work of translation in the world of comics, recognising the skill and dedication of those who contribute significantly to the dissemination and understanding of comics around the world which was very important to Sophie Castille.”
The 2024 jury for the Sophie Castille Award will see returning jurors Karen Green, Curator for Comics and Cartoons, Columbia University’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library; former TV producer and Lakes Festival chair Peter Kessler; and artist Charlie Adlard, who is a passionate advocate for comics localisation.
The Sophie Castille Awards continue to move from strength to strength as other countries sign up to do their own iteration of the award. This year Spanish, Italian, Polish and Slovenian Sophie Castille Awards have been announced or are about to take place. All with local comic con and festival partners. In May, Sophie Castille Award – Spain (for best translation into Spanish or Catalan of a foreign work; in partnership with Comic Barcelona) went to Regina López Muñoz for Alison, by Lizzy Stewart – originally published in English by Serpant’s Tail (UK) and Fantagraphics (US) in 2022. The Spanish edition was released by Errata Naturae in late 2023.
