Translator and artist Anita Gopalan has been awarded the 2016 PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant for her English translation of Hindi novel “ Simsim ” by Geet Chaturvedi.
Ms. Gopalan, who is based in Bengaluru, is the second Indian translator to be selected for the grant. PEN America is a renowned literary organisation of the United States.
- The artist will be honoured at the 2017 PEN Literary Awards Ceremony in New York in February.
- Ms. Gopalan, a graduate from BITS Pilani in Computer Science and Mathematics, has worked in the banking technology sector for many years. Her translations have appeared in several international journals.
About Novel “SimSim”:
Simsim, the lyrical, award-winning novel was first published in 2008. It is recognized for its groundbreaking contribution to contemporary Hindi fiction.
- Simsim focuses on four central characters and a decaying library sitting on prime Mumbai real estate. The book narrates the clash between two Indias, i.e. one old and traditional, and the other driven by consumerism and corporate greed.
About PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants:
The PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grants were established in 2003 by PEN American Center following a gift of $730,000 by Michael Henry Heim, a noted literary translator.
- Heim believed that there was a ‘dismayingly low number of literary translations currently appearing in English’. The Grants’ purpose is to promote the publication and reception of translated world literature in English.
- Since the first grants were awarded in 2004, the Fund has supported translations of books from over 30 languages.
- Previously known as the PEN Translation Fund Grants, the awards were renamed in honor of Heim, who insisted on complete anonymity, after his passing in 2012.
