The 7,000-euro working grant from the Free State of Bavaria goes to Andrea O’Brien in 2023 for her translation of the novel “Unsettled Ground” by Claire Fuller from English into German. Art Minister Markus Blume emphasizes: “Andrea O’Brien is a double winner with great ability – this is the second time she has received the work grant from the Free State of Bavaria.” In 2016 she was awarded a working grant for the translation of Jonathan Evison’s novel “This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance!”. The jury emphasizes what a “subtle repertoire in German” O’Brien has.
Andrea O’Brien was born in Wilhelmshaven in 1967. She studied English and German at the RWTH Aachen University and at Trinity College in Dublin. After several years as an editorial assistant at Carl Hanser Verlag, she completed postgraduate studies in “literary translation” at the LMU in Munich. The working grant, awarded annually by the Ministry of Art and Science since 2009, is intended to help students to devote themselves to a translation project without material constraints. The minister decides on the award of the scholarship based on a proposal from a jury that examines self-applications. The translator’s grant to Andrea O’Brien will be awarded at a ceremony on July 11, 6 p.m. in the Munich Literature House (library), and there will be samples of her skills. Admission is free.