SCBWI Creates New Golden Kite Award for Translation

SOCIETY OF CHILDREN'S BOOK WRITERS AND ILLUSTRATORS ANNOUNCES NEW GOLDEN KITE AWARD FOR TRANSLATION

Recognizing the Growth of Translated Works and Their Importance

to Young Readers

LOS ANGELES, May 13, 2026 — The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) is proud to announce the creation of the Golden Kite Award for Translation. The award will be presented for the first time in 2027 and will honor books originally published in 2026. The category winner receives $2,500, and the honor recipient is awarded $500. Through this new honor, SCBWI recognizes the skilled translators who bring diverse stories to young readers in languages around the world. 

Avery Fischer Udagawa, SCBWI's Global Translator Coordinator, was instrumental in creating this award. A tireless advocate for translators within SCBWI and across children's publishing, Udagawa is the winner of the 2022 Mildred L. Batchelder Award and recipient of the 2024 Batchelder Honor.

"The Golden Kite Award for Translation will help translators build and sustain their careers, thanks to its purse," said Udagawa. "At SCBWI, we recognize that translators, like authors and illustrators, receive a copyright line for their creative contributions and must be named and known. Requiring translators to be named on the covers of their translations – as encouraged by The Authors Guild, PEN America, and The Chicago Manual of Style – helps ensure that readers know who chooses each word, who absorbs the feelings of a source text before rendering them with the utmost care for young readers. That is work AI could never replicate."

"The new Golden Kite Award for Translation represents long-overdue recognition of the crucial work translators do in carrying children's literature across the borders of language and culture," said Sarah Baker, SCBWI Executive Director. "We believe every child deserves access to great stories, and translators make that possible. We are deeply grateful to Avery Udagawa, whose dedication made this award a reality. We hope that translators of children’s literature around the world will take advantage of this important new opportunity for recognition." 

For submission rules and eligibility information, visit the Golden Kite Award page.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN KITE AWARDS

Founded in 1973, the Golden Kite Awards stand as the premier children’s literary award judged exclusively by peers, making them truly unique in the world of children’s literature. With over 1,000 books submitted annually, the Golden Kite Awards recognize outstanding achievement in eight categories: Young Reader and Middle Grade Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, Nonfiction for Younger Readers, Nonfiction for Older Readers, Translation, Picture Book Text, Picture Book Illustration, and Illustration for Older Readers.



Each category winner receives $2,500, while honor recipients are awarded $500. Hosted by SCBWI, the Golden Kite Awards celebrate the best in children’s storytelling, honoring excellence, creativity, and inspiration across genres and age groups.