The Kurodahan Press Translation Prize is awarded for translation excellence of a selected Japanese short story into English.

It is held annually, with the test piece usually announced in June/July and a cutoff date for submissions of the end of September.

The winner is normally announced by the end of the year.

The winning translation is usually published in a Kurodahan Press anthology, such as our Speculative Japan series, although that is subject to copyright permissions from the author and the translator, which are handled separately from this contest.

The 2020 Kurodahan Press Translation Prize is now officially open. The information packet, including instructions and story, can be downloaded as a PDF <here>. The story this year is “冬のアブラゼミ” by 安土 萌. The story can be found in 物語のルミナリエ, an excellent anthology that is now unfortunately out of print.

Submissions must be received by the end of September 2020, Japan time. See the download packet for more information.

1. Eligibility

There are no restrictions whatsoever on translator participation. All translators are encouraged to apply, regardless of whether or not you have worked with us before. Submissions are also accepted by teams, but understand that (if you win) rights have to be clear, and the tax people will demand to know exactly who gets the money.

2. Submission

Send your translation to the below address, by regular postal mail or (preferably) E-mail.

Please be sure to read the submission instructions, which cover formatting requirements (for both printouts and electronic files) and provide information on Kurodahan Press standards and other points.

Submitted translations will not be returned, but the translator will retain all applicable rights to the translation. Kurodahan Press will receive first publication rights to the winning translation, to be arranged under a separate and specific agreement.

No information about any submissions, including the names or contact information for people submitting translations, will be made available to any third party, including the jurors, with the exception of the name of the winner (or a pseudonym, if the winner prefers). Translators are of course free to tell anyone they wish that they have made a submission.

3. Source material

The submission package, including the source document, style sheet and instructions, is available as a downloadable PDF.

4. Application Deadline

Translations must be received no later than September 30, Japan time. A notice confirming receipt will be issued. The results should be announced by the end of the year.

However, the prize may be cancelled, or the deadline extended, if we haven’t received at least twenty submissions by the initial deadline.

5. Prize information

Grand Prize, to one winner

A cash prize of 30,000 yen, and possibly a contract for publication in an upcoming publication, for an additional payment to the winner (first English publication rights; translator retains all other applicable rights to the translation).

Note: Prize payments will be subject to source-tax deductions as required by Japanese law.

6. Submission address and contact

Submissions should be sent (electronically, if possible) to:

Click here to upload file

or to:

Kurodahan Press

2305-9 Yunomae Machi

Kuma-gun, Kumamoto

868-0600 JAPAN

7. Notification

All contest entrants will be informed of the contest results. The winner’s name will be posted on the Kurodahan Press website.

8. Judging

All decisions will be final and except in extremely unusual circumstances the reasons for the decision and the specific votes of the jurors will not be revealed. The goal of the contest, simply stated, is to produce an English translation faithful to the original, which can be read and enjoyed by someone with no specialized knowledge of Japan or Japanese.

The winner of the Prize is selected by a panel of at least three jurors. There are usually three jurors.

A group of about a dozen finalists will be selected from received submissions. Only finalists will be individually evaluated, and will be considered for the Prize. Evaluations are based on three criteria:

Translation accuracy Representation of the original English flow

Note on Romanization:

There are many ways to Romanize Japanese, and translators are not penalized for using uncommon ones. Translating 太郎 as Tarō, Tarou, Taroh or Taro is acceptable (although I personally prefer the first one). If the translator chooses to write Tom instead, that’s just flat wrong.

Thank you to everyone who submitted translations, and even if you didn’t win we hope you will continue to translate Japanese literature, enriching the global literary experience for all.

Many of the people submitting entries have agreed to make their anonymized translations available here with the goal of helping everyone become more proficient at translation. Each translator has taken a different approach to the same source text, and come up with different answers. The entire package, including all the submitted translations we are authorized for, is made available for download as a ZIP file each year.

The winner of the 2019 Prize is Kenneth Weld of Florida, USA. The complete package, including test piece, instructions, and translations of people who gave us permission to post them, is available for download [here].

The test piece for the 2019 Kurodahan Press Translation Prize was “AIR” by Sena Hideaki, the author of Parasite Eve and numerous other works. We urge you to order a copy of author’s book containing this story, not only to thank Sena-san for cooperating with this year’s Prize, but also to enjoy a great collection of stories!

The winner of the 2018 Prize is Yan Yijun of Singapore. The complete package, including test piece, instructions, and translations of people who gave us permission to post them, is available for download [here].

The test piece for the 2018 Kurodahan Press Translation Prize was パラソル by 井上 雅彦. We urge you to buy the author’s book and enjoy all his stories: 夜会. We have published this author in the past, and one of his stories was selected as the contest piece for 2014.

The winner of the 2017 Prize is Kaley Kriminger of the United States of America. The complete package, including test piece,

instructions, and translations of people who gave us permission to post them, is available for download [here].

The source story won the ゆきのまち幻想文学賞, and was published in the 23rd collection of ゆきのまち short stories. Information on the ゆきのまち通信 and the ゆきのまち幻想文学賞 can be found [here].

The winner of the 2016 Prize is Lawrence E. Turner, of Chikugo, Japan. The complete package, including test piece, instructions, and translations of people who gave us permission to post them, is available [here].

The book containing the story, たそがれ by 鈴木三重吉, is available at Amazon Japan.

The winner of the 2015 Prize is Nick John of Australia. The complete package, including test piece, instructions, and translations of people who gave us permission to post them, is available [here].

The book containing the story, 雀谷, is out of print, but available at Amazon Japan, and contains a number of delightful pieces.

The winner of the 2014 Prize is Iain Arthy of Canada. We plan on publishing his translation in Speculative Japan 4, tentatively scheduled for publication in late 2015.

The complete package, including test piece, instructions, and translations of people who gave us permission to post them, is available [here].

The book containing the story, 残されていた文字, is available at Amazon Japan, and out of respect to the author I urge you to pick up a copy (not to mention, it’s a fun read, too!).

The winner of the 2013 Prize is Milo Barisof of the United States. We plan on publishing his translation in Speculative Japan 4, tentatively scheduled for publication in late 2015.

The contest package, including the source material 「断章」 by 皆川博子 and all the submissions we have been authorized to distribute, is available for download as a PDF file <here>.

The source book is not currently in print, but is available second-hand, including at Amazon Japan: http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4331606759/

The winner of the 2011 Prize is Angus Turvill of Newcastle on Tyne, England. His translation was published in Speculative Japan Volume 3.

The contest package is available for download as a ZIP file <here>, but as a courtesy to the author and publisher we request that interested parties please purchase the book (異形37 伯爵の血族 紅ノ章), which is available at bookstores in Japan including Amazon Japan.

The winner of the 2010 Prize is Michael S. Ignatov, a resident of Arizona, USA. His translation was published in Speculative Japan Volume 3.

The contest package (excluding the source material, which was 忠告 by 恩田陸, but including all the submissions we have been authorized to distribute) is available for download as a ZIP file <here>.

Note that because the story is in print, you are requested to purchase the book (虚構機関—年刊日本SF傑作選), which is available at most bookstores in Japan including Amazon Japan.

The winner of the 2009 Prize is Dink Tanaka, currently residing in New York City. His translation was published in Speculative Japan Volume 2.

The contest package (excluding the source material, but including all the submissions we have been authorized to distribute) is available for download as a ZIP file <here>.

Note that because the story is in print, you are requested to purchase the book (ファンタジア), which is available at most bookstores including Amazon Japan.

The winner of the 2008 Prize is Nancy Ross, currently residing in Hiroshima prefecture. Her translation was published in Volume 1 of the Kaiki anthology.

The contest package (including the source material and all the submissions we have been authorized to distribute) is available for download as a ZIP file <here>.