Kiki Coumans wins biggest Dutch translation prize

Dr Elly Jaffé Prize of €40,000 for literary translator French - Dutch

The Dr Elly Jaffé Prize 2024 for the best literary translation from French into Dutch has been awarded to Kiki Coumans. She receives the prize for her oeuvre and in particular for her translation of Summer '80s by Marguerite Duras published by Vleugels publishers in 2022. The Dr Elly Jaffé Prize amounts to 40,000 euros, making it the largest literary translation prize in the Netherlands.

The jury praised the craftsmanship evident in Couman's translations and the thorough research she conducts.

The jury on Kiki Coumans: "Anyone reading a Duras translation by Coumans is reading a text by Duras but in Dutch. At no point does the source text still shine through the translation, even on close reading; the reader has the feeling of reading a text that Duras would have written had she been Dutch- rather than French-speaking."

Presentation

Kiki Coumans will receive the award at a festive ceremony on Thursday afternoon 10 April 2025 at Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA).

About the winner

Kiki Coumans studied Modern Dutch Literature and French Language and Literature at the University of Amsterdam and in Paris. She has been translating prose and poetry from French since 1999. She also works as an editor and reviewer for poetry magazine Awater. She also writes essays on literature and translation, including for Filter, Revisor and De Groene Amsterdammer. In 2000, she received the first Elly Jaffé Stipendium for promising French translators.

About the price

The Dr Elly Jaffé Prize was established in 2000 on the initiative of literary critic Elly Jaffé (1920-2003) to stimulate interest in the French language and literature in the Netherlands. Translations in the genres of narrative or contemplative prose and poetry are eligible for the prize.

The Elly Jaffé Prize is housed in the Author Prizes Foundation, managed by the Authors' Association.

stichtingauteursprijzen.nl/dr-elly-jaffe-prijs

Jury

The jury of the Dr Elly Jaffé Prize 2024:

• Grâce Ndjako (philosopher, author, translator)
• Elte Rauch (writer, publisher)
• Manik Sarkar (translator, writer)