Dr Simone Schroth has been awarded the 2023 Else Otten Translation Prize by the Nederlands Letterenfonds at this year's Leipzig Book Fair for her translation, with Christina Siever, of Etty Hillesum’s diaries and letters from Dutch into German.

The Else Otten Translation Prize is awarded by the Nederlands Letterenfonds (the Dutch foundation for Literature) every three years for the best German translation of a Dutch literary work. Whilst Simone was responsible for the translation of Hillesum's letters, Christina Siever translated her diaries and the resulting book Ich will die Chronistin dieser Zeit werden. Sämtliche Tagebücher und Briefe. 1941-1943 was published by C.H.Beck in 2023.

Etty Hillesum was a Dutch-Jewish writer who lived a fascinating life, and who chronicled the persecution of Jewish people in the Netherlands before her own death in Auschwitz in 1943. Hillesum's writing has gained increasing recognition over the past few decades for her contribution to Jewish culture of remembrance. Thanks to Simone and Christina's collaboration, eighty years after Hillesum's death, her work is now finally accessible to a German speaking readership providing an invaluable resource and bringing wider attention to Etty Hillesum's remarkable life.

The jury praised Simone and Christina's excellent translation of Hillesum's work, along with their ability to render Hillesum’s distinctive style in German, and were also impressed by the contextualising afterword provided for German readers. The prize was awarded to Simone and Christina on March 23rd at the Leipzig Book Fair where the ceremony was held for the first time. This year's Fair included many events highlighting the important work done by translators, showing appreciation for work that is too often not recognised (#namethetranslator).

Congratulations to Simone and Christina for their excellent work and achievement.