MLC colleague Rebekah Vince won Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for co-translation of A Jewish Childhood in the Muslim Mediterranean.
On 10 December 2024, The Modern Language Association of America today announced it will award its twentieth Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for a Translation of a Literary Work to two works. Lia Brozgal, professor of French and francophone studies at the University of California, Los Angeles; Jane Kuntz, of Urbana, Illinois; Rebekah Vince, lecturer in French at Queen Mary University, London; and Robert Watson, assistant professor of instruction in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at the University of Texas, San Antonio, are receiving the award for their translation of A Jewish Childhood in the Muslim Mediterranean: A Collection of Stories Curated by Leïla Sebbar, published by the University of California Press.
The Scaglione Prize for a Translation of a Literary Work is one of twenty-three publication prizes that will be presented on 10 January 2025, during the association’s annual convention, to be held in New Orleans. The prize is awarded annually for a translation into English of a book-length literary work. From 1999 until 2016, the prize was offered biennially, alternating years with the Lois Roth Award for a translation of a literary work. The two prizes are now both offered annually. The members of the selection committee were Yvonne Fuentes (Univ. of West Georgia); Jacques Lezra (Univ. of California, Riverside), chair; Patricia A. Sieber (Ohio State Univ., Columbus); and Amy D. Wells (Univ. de Caen Normandie). The committee’s citation for Brozgal, Kuntz, Vince, and Watson reads:
In the contemporary geopolitical context, A Jewish Childhood in the Muslim Mediterranean brings understanding to complex identity politics, such as what it could mean to be an Arab Jew. Collaboratively translated by Lia Brozgal, Jane Kuntz, Rebekah Vince, and Robert Watson, the volume includes a map, a critical introduction, and translators’ notes. This English edition has reorganized the order of the short stories curated by Leïla Sebbar by geography, providing readers with an immersive experience. The construction of the volume and the clear and accessible translation make this work a valuable resource for students and researchers alike.