The reason for awarding the prize to Ms. Holm are set forth by the Dean of the Humanities Faculty of the University of Copenhagen, Kirsten Refsing.
"Mette Holm is receiving the Danish Translators Association's Prize for many years of effort to make it possible for contemporary Japanese literature to be a part of the Danish literary landscape via her direct translations from Japanese to Danish. Previous translations of Japanese literature have often been rendered into Danish via another main European language and therefore could not contribute to the Danish version the special cultural intimacy that Mette Holm achieves in her very fine and nuanced translations of Murakami Haruki's major literary works. Mette Holm is particularly known for her translations of Kafka on the Shore, The Wind Up Bird Chronicle, and Norwegian Wood, but the works of other Japanese authors such as Yoshimoto Banana have also been made accessible for a Danish-language audience thanks to Mette Holm's great efforts. For these efforts, she richly deserves the Danish Translators Association Prize."
The Prize, which consists of DKK 30,000 (about US $6,000), is funded by the Literature Committee of the Danish Arts Council.
