The Turið Sigurðardóttir Translation Prize for Faroese and Icelandic Literature

The American-Scandinavian Foundation in New York has announced the Turið Sigurðardóttir Translation Prize, established to honor Professor Turið Sigurðardóttir and each year celebrate the best translation from a work of Faroese or Icelandic literature into English. 

Beginning with this year’s competition, ASF will award the Turið Sigurðardóttir Translation Prize, honoring the best translation from a work of Faroese or Icelandic literature into English. The prize includes a $2,000 award, a bronze medallion, and publication in Scandinavian Review. This new award has been made possible through the generosity of acclaimed translator and poet Randi Ward, a two-time recipient of the Nadia Christensen Prize.

The new prize is named in honor of Turið Sigurðardóttir, trailblazing professor emerita of Faroese language and literature at the University of the Faroe Islands. A prolific literary historian, author, and translator, Professor Sigurðardóttir has also distinguished herself as a devoted mentor to many. For decades, she has tirelessly fostered an ever-expanding network of translators—translating into and from Faroese—in addition to championing the work of contemporary writers through her publishing house, Ungu Føroyar. For her inestimable contributions to Nordic letters, Sigurðardóttir has received the Icelandic Order of the Falcon and the Faroe Islands’ M.A. Jacobsen Award. ASF hopes the Turið Sigurðardóttir Prize will encourage more translators, and a wider Anglophone readership, to engage with Faroese literature and Icelandic literature.

The 2026 Translation Prize Competition is open through September 15, 2026. Read more here.