Contests

Les poésies francophones du Canada:
A Translation Prize

The contest deadline has passed. Click here to read about the winner, Donald McGrath.

The Malahat Review, Canada’s premier literary magazine, invites entries from Canadian translators, poets, and passionate readers to submit to a one-time translation contest of les poésies francophones du Canada.

A prize of $1000 will be awarded to the best translation of a poem in French, from Quebec or elsewhere in Canada, into English. The winning entry will be announced in late summer 2014, and will be published in At Home in Translation. The winner will also be interviewed for Malahat lite and the Malahat website. There will be only one winner; no second or third prizes or honourable mentions will be awarded. An honorarium will also be paid to the author of the original French-language poem.

Translations must be of published French-language poems that do not exceed 60 lines including stanza breaks. The winning translation must also succeed in English as a work of the imagination. This contest marks the publication of Issue 188, At Home in Translation.

Deadline

The judge of the Malahat's one-time translation contest was Donald Winkler. Read a biography of Winkler here.

For inspiration, entrants were invited to read interview with Winkler on the translation process.

The deadline for the Les poésies francophones du Canada: A Translation Prize was June 15, 2014 (postmark date).

Guidelines

  • Eligible entrants include: Canadian translators, poets, and passionate readers.
  • Entrants must be Canadians, Canadian residents, or Canadian expatriates.
  • One translation per entry with a maximum length of 60 lines including stanza breaks.
  • When submitting a translated work, please include a copy of the original text in French and a copy of a letter of permission from the author and/or first-language publisher. These permission letters often take a while to obtain, so don't delay in contacting the author and/or publisher! The winning entrant may be asked to re-confirm that permission to translate the poem and publish the translation has been secured.
  • Entry fee per translated poem: $15 CAD (see How To Pay below)
  • Entrants may submit more than once; however, each entry must be accompanied by its own entry fee.  
  • Entrants’ anonymity is preserved throughout the judging. Contact information (including an email address) must not appear on the submission, but on a separate page, along with entry title. The name of the poet translated, however, must appear on the translation.
  • Entries already published, accepted, or submitted elsewhere are ineligible.
  • Previous publication is considered to be any appearance in print or online, including on or in a newspaper, newsletter, magazine, anthology, chapbook, book, website, electronic magazine, personal blog, Twitter, or Facebook. Please note that even if the print run or circulation of the print publication where the work has previously appeared is small, this is still considered previous publication. No work that has been excerpted elsewhere is eligible for submission; nor is a work that has been revised since its original publication.
  • Entries may be sent by email or regular mail.
  • Entries sent by regular mail will not be returned, even if accompanied by an SASE.
  • The winner will be notified via email.
  • Other entrants will not be notified about the judges’ decisions even if a SASE is enclosed for this purpose.
  • The winning entry will be published in the At Home in Translation issue of The Malahat Review, and publicized in Malahat lite, the magazine’s electronic newsletter.
  • An interview with the winner will be posted on the Malahat’s website to promote the launch of the issue, and will be featured in Malahat lite.

Enter by Email

  • Send entries and supporting documents as attachments to translat@uvic.ca (take note of the missing 'e' at the end the word 'translat'; do not send to translate@uvic.ca)
  • The subject line must contain the entrant's full name, and method of payment. e.g., "John Smith, cheque" or "Jane Tucker, credit online" or "Jane Doe, credit mail-in"
  • Entrants must also submit an information sheet as a separate attached file:
    • Entrant's full name;
    • Title of translated poem in English and French;
    • Full name of the author of the entry;
    • Entrant's mailing address;
    • Entrant's email address;
    • Method of payment (see How to Pay below)
  • Note: if submitting more than one entry, please include a cover sheet for each entry.
  • Ideally, a copy of the permission release from the copyright holder should also be submitted; however, permission can also be arranged prior to publication should your entry be chosen as the winner.
  • Acceptable file formats for the entry: Word (.doc and .docx) or PDF.
  • The text of the original Québécois poem may be a  Word file (.doc and .docx) or PDF.
  • One document (Word doc or PDF) containing both the translated and original poem (separated by a page break) is acceptable.

Enter by Regular Mail

  • Provide the following information on a separate sheet:
    • Entrant's full name
    • Title of translated poem in English and French
    • Full name of the author of the translated poem
    • Entrant's mailing address
    • Entrant's email address
    • Method of payment (see How to Pay below)
  • Note: if submitting more than one entry, please include a cover sheet for each entry. Ideally, a copy of the permission release from the copyright holder should also be submitted; however, permission can also be arranged prior to publication should your entry be chosen as the winner.
  • Send entries to:
    The Malahat Review
    Les poésies francophones du Canada: A Translation Prize
    University of Victoria
    P.O. Box 1700
    Stn CSC
    Victoria, B.C. V8W 2Y2
    Canada
    Email: translat@uvic.ca
    Telephone: 250-721-8524
    Fax: 250-472-5051

How to Pay

Please note that no further payments are being accepted, as this contest closed on June 15, 2014.

You can pay online or, if you're mailing your entry, enclose payment with it.

Online Payment

  • After paying by credit card, please print a copy of the receipt for your records.
  • We will match your payment with your entry by your name. If there is any doubt, we will contact you to confirm your receipt number.

Mail-In Payment

  • By Cheque or Money Order: Enclose a cheque or money order, made out to The Malahat Review, in Canadian or U.S. funds with your entry.
  • By Credit Card: Complete our Credit Card Payment Form and enclose it with your entry.