This encouragement award was initiated by İKSV in 2015, to support outstanding translations of literary works including but not limited to poetry, short stories, and novels into Turkish. Named in honour of Talât Sait Halman, Turkey's first culture minister who passed away in 2014, the Talât Sait Halman Translation Award is given annually. Halman was also İKSV's Chairman of the Board of Trustees from 2008 to 2014.
Literary translations from any language into Turkish, which was published prior to the award year can be submitted and the winning translator is given a monetary award of TL 40,000. The Selection Committee, chaired by author Doğan Hızlan, and comprising of translator and author Sevin Okyay, translator and author Ayşe Sarısayın, author and translator Yiğit Bener, and author and translator Kaya Genç, announces the recipient in January.
Former recipients of the award were Siren İdemen with her translation of La Boutique Obscure: 124 Rêves by Georges Perec, Ahmet Arpad with his translation of Transit by Anna Seghers, and Fuat Sevimay with his outstanding translation of Finnegans Wake by James Joyce.
In 2018, Selection Committee presented the Talât Sait Halman Translation Award to Ülker İnce, for her outstanding translation of the Argentinian author Alberto Manguel’s novella, El Regreso (The Return).
The Talât Sait Halman Translation Award Selection Committee also decided to give a Special Jury Award to Gökhan Sarı in 2018, for his courage and success in translating Mark Z. Danielewski’s challenging and multifaceted cult novel House of Leaves into Turkish.