2025 Pitch Perfect Translation Grant Winners

We are delighted to announce the winners of this year’s Pitch-Perfect Translation Grant. This grant assists children’s book translators in the development of a specific translation project into English, which is not currently under contract. Up to two winners are selected annually. 

The 2025 winners are:

Patience Haggin for the translation of The Girl with the Green Backpack by Elisa Castiglioni from Italian (Middle Grade)

Aerin Park for the translation of Mo Story, written and illustrated by Yeonju Choi, from Korean (Picture Book)

Each winner will receive $500 to hone their sample and/or extend it to 4000 words; the result will be presented to agents, editors, and other industry professionals.

The external judge who consulted with SCBWI provided these comments about the winners.

The Girl with the Green Backpack

"Historical fiction continues to appeal to young readers—especially World War II fiction! The smooth, readable translation drew me into the story and its questions, and the conversational voice felt welcoming and engaging for upper middle-grade readers."

Mo Story

"The art is adorable, and I could see US readers being charmed by Mo, Bear, and the other woodland creatures and their story. The translated text sample inclined me to think that Mo Story’s words were just as delightful as its art! I enjoyed the narrative voice and the dialogue’s character voices, and I loved the onomatopoeia."

We encourage all translators who submitted to continue developing and sending out their work. We hope that this program leads to many more translations being proposed and published.

Learn more about how to apply for next year's Pitch Perfect Translation Grant.