RECITAL OF THE DARK VERSES wins the 2024 Queen Sofia Spanish Institute Translation Prize

NOVEMBER 21, 2024: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK, NY — Recital of the Dark Verses by Luis Felipe Fabre, translated from the

Spanish by Heather Cleary, has won the 2024 Queen Sofía Spanish Institute Translation

Prize. With the aim of elevating awareness and engendering appreciation of Spanish-

language literature in the United States, this $10,000 prize was created by the Cultural

Committee and Board of Directors of the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute to honor the best

English-language translation of a literary work written in Spanish.

From the judges: “Heather Cleary's translation of Recital of the Dark Verses is a rare

translation, indeed.The flamboyant creativity Cleary employs in her work is a perfect match

for the flamboyance of Fabre's text, and her retranslations of the poems by Saint John of the

Cross, the titular dark verses which are central to the text, add further depth and dimension

to this book. Her rendering of the text adds flair to this playful story. Readers will quickly

see how much fun she had translating this novel, because that fun is infectious. As well, her

translator's note contextualizes the work of one of Spain's most important poets, and offers a

tantalizing glimpse into her methodology, demonstrating how often translators are both

scholars and writers at once.”

The Queen Sofía Spanish Institute Translation Prize ceremony was held at the New York

University Espacio de Culturas (NYU KJCC) on Thursday, November 21st, featuring guest

speakers Begonia Santos and Samantha Schnee. This award brings with it a cash prize of

$10,000. A video of the ceremony will be made available here, and the full shortlist of titles

honored in 2024 can be found here.

Deep Vellum is a nonprofit publishing house and literary arts organization with the mission

to bring the world into conversation through literature. Founded in 2013, Deep Vellum has

expanded to encompass five distinct publishing imprints, and is now the largest publisher of

translated literature in the US.