The Literary Translators’ Association of Canada (LTAC) announced the 33rd John Glassco Literary Translation Prize winner on Sunday October 1, 2017. Catherine Leroux was chosen from over 20 entries for Corps conducteurs (Éditions Alto), her French translation of Sean Michaels’ novel Us Conductors.

The 2017 jury comprised of Sonya Malaborza (Chair), Peter Feldstein, Nouha Homad and Marie-Claude Plourde, all full members of LTAC, commended Leroux’s translation for its incisiveness, finesse and accuracy. According to the jury, “Leroux has crafted a lively translation full of beautiful prose delivered in an elegant and believable vernacular similar to the one used in Lev Termen’s semi-fictional universe. Sean Michaels’ novel has been masterfully rendered in French by Catherine Leroux.”

Corps conducteurs is Catherine Leroux’ first literary translation, but she has already made her mark in the literary field. Her debut novel, La marche en forêt, was shortlisted for the Prix des libraires du Québec and her most recent work, Madame Victoria, won the Prix Adrienne-Choquette. Le mur mitoyen was awarded the Prix France-Québec and its English translation The Party Wall by Lazer Lederhendler was shortlisted for the Giller Prize. After completing Corps conducteurs, Catherine translated a Mark Frutkin novel. This French translation entitled Le saint patron des merveilles will be published shortly. Catherine is currently working on the translation of Madeleine Thien’s Do Not Say We Have Nothing.

Catherine Leroux was awarded the 2017 John Glassco Literary Translation Prize and a cheque for $1,000 during an LTAC/Festival international de la littérature event. During the evening, LTAC members and attendees paid homage to John Glassco, the Canadian writer, poet and translator. LTAC also recognized the Canadian literary translators who have excelled on a national and international level over the past two years.

The John Glassco Literary Translation Prize has been awarded by LTAC since 1982 in celebration of St. Jerome, the patron saint of translators. The prize is named after John Glassco, a well-known writer and translator whose works include the English translation of the journals and complete poems of Saint-Denys Garneau. The prize is bestowed on a translator whose first book-length translation in French or English (novel, short story, poetry, essay, children’s literature, play) stands out for its literary merits and precision. Over thirty translators, many of whom are still very active in the field, have been awarded the prize over the years.

The complete list of winners can be found here: https://www.attlc-ltac.org/en/john-glassco-prize.