His work includes much of the fictional prose of and the works of contemporary authors such as and. He also translated all the major novels of (a feat comparable, in simple page count, to a wholly new translation of Proust), as well as works by many other writers. Woods lives in Berlin.
For his edition of Schmidt's Evening Edged in Gold, Woods received the 1981 U.S. National Book Award in category Translation (a split award). He won the PEN Prize for translation twice, for that work and again for Perfume in 1987. Woods was also awarded the Helen and Kurt Wolff Translator's Prize for his translations of Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain and Arno Schmidt's Nobodaddy's Children in 1996.
As well as the Schlegel-Tieck Prize for the translation of Christoph Ransmayr's The Last World in 1991. He was awarded the Ungar German Translation Award in 1995, and most recently the prestigious Goethe-Medaille from the Goethe Institute in 2008.
Selected translations Alfred Döblin A People Betrayed Karl and RosaDoris Dörrie Love, Pain, and the Whole Damn Thing What Do You Want from Me?Friedrich Dürrenmatt A Monster Lecture on Justice and Law The Execution of JusticeGünter Grass Show Your TongueThomas Mann Joseph und seine Brüder: Joseph and His Brothers Der Zauberberg: Magic Mountain Doktor Faustus: Doctor Faustus Buddenbrooks: BuddenbrooksLibuše Moníková Die Fassade: The FaçadeWilhelm Raabe HorackerJohn Rabe The Good Man of NankingChristoph Ransmayr Die Schrecken des Eises und der Finsternis: The Terrors of Ice and Darkness Die letzte Welt: The Last World Morbus Kitahara: The Dog KingArno Schmidt Nobodaddys Kinder: Nobodaddy's Children Das steinerne Herz: The Stony Heart Die Gelehrtenrepulik: The Egghead Republic Kaff auch Mare Crisium: Boondocks/Moondocks Zettel's Traum: Bottom's Dream (forthcoming) Die Schule der Atheisten: School for Atheists Abend mit Goldrand: Evening Edged in Gold (winner of the National Book Award and the PEN Prize for translation in 1981)Ingo Schulze 33 Augenblicke des Glücks: 33 Moments of HappinessPatrick Süskind Perfume (winner of the PEN Prize for translation in 1987) The PigeonHans-Ulrich Treichel Leaving Sardinia.
Die Schule der Atheisten: School for Atheists.
