Some useful information about literary translation for publishers and freelance translators, and about my specialist areas of interest: children’s books in translation, and Arabic/German/Russian literature.
Literary translation
Finding a literary translator
- Society of Authors UK/Translators’ Association: translator directory.
- SCBWI (The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) has translator members and you can search the directory here
- Bologna Children’s Book Fair translator directory
- CEATL, the Conseil Européen des Associations de Traducteurs Littéraires / European Council of Associations of Literary Translators. CEATL lists the 34 member associations here, with links to their websites and translator directories
- ALTA – the American Literary Translators Association. Translator directory here
- AALITRA – The Australian Association for Literary Translation
- Irish Translators’ and Interpreters’ Association (ITIA) / Cumann Aistritheoirí agus Ateangairí na hÉireann. Translator directory here
- ATA – American Translators Association) has a Literary Division. Translator directory here
About translation and international literature
- “Now They See Us: On translators’ labor and invisibility” by Jeremy Tiang (The Margins, 2023)
- “Translated fiction sells better in the UK than English fiction” (The Guardian, 2016)
- “Translated fiction enjoys golden age as Manga surge boosts sector to record high” (The Bookseller, 2022)
- Global Literature in Libraries Initiative
- International literature blogs
- European Literature Network
- Between worlds: in praise of the literary translator by Miranda France, Prospect Magazine
- Found in translation: The invisible art of translation deserves wider recognition by Robert Chandler (literary translator from Russian)
- Words Without Borders
- Asymptote Journal
- Literature Across Frontiers
- Machine Translation Literacy – open source resources
Literature translation prizes
- The Women in Translation campaign and the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation
- The International Booker Prize for literature in translation
- Best Translated Book Award @ Three Percent: a resource for international literature at the University of Rochester
- ALTA National Translation Award (NTA)
- Society of Authors translation prizes
- GLLI Translated YA Book Prize
- International prizes awarded for translations (Literature Across Frontiers database)
Building a sustainable freelance business: resources for literary translators
- The Illustrated Freelancer’s Guide, by Heather Parry and Maria Stoian (Creative Scotland)
- Before You Sign | Negotiating Payment for Translators, by Catherine Fuller (Society of Authors)
- Cs for Translators: Copyright, Compensation, Credit by Avery Fischer Udagawa (SCBWI Japan Translation Group)
- Authors Guild Literary Translation Model Contract
- PEN America A Model Contract for Literary Translations
- “Now They See Us: On translators’ labor and invisibility” by Jeremy Tiang (The Margins, 2023)
- Authors’ Guild Literary Translation Model Contract
- Resources for aspiring literary translators (compiled by me; last updated 2021)
- English PEN grants: PEN Translates, PEN Promotes, PEN Presents
- PEN/Heim translation fund grants
- Bursaries, fellowships, travel grants and other opportunities for translators (Literature Across Frontiers database)
- Getting into literary translation: an interview with me for AALITRA journal (May 2015) and also an interview with me about getting into literary translation on the Comma Press blog (Jan 2019)
- Emerging Translators’ Network (ETN)
- Literary Translation Database Extraordinaire (managed by Charlotte Coombe)
- More general resources for language careers workshops at schools and universities (compiled by me)
- Translating Against World Literature by Nicholas Glastonbury
- US CalPro – spreadsheet to help freelance translators calculate how to set rates (ATA)
- Corinne McKay’s Deciding What To Charge worksheet
- Getting into literary translation: ALTA guides (published by ALTA, the American Literary Translators Association)
- Step-by-step guide to becoming a literary translator by Outside In World, together with Daniel Hahn and the BCLT (the British Centre for Literary Translation (download as a PDF)
- We Need to Talk About Money by Justine Raymond (CIOL journal, The Linguist)
- Can AI help literary translators? by Roy Youdale (Goethe Institut)
Books about translation
- 101 Things a Translator Needs to Know, by the WLF Think Tank
- The Prosperous Translator: Advice from Fire Ant & Worker Bee by Chris Durban and Eugene Seidel
- Catching Fire: A Translation Diary by Daniel Hahn (Charco Press)
- Using Technologies for Creative-Text Translation, ed. James Luke Hadley, Kristiina Taivalkoski-Shilov, Carlos S. C. Teixeira, Antonio Toral (Routledge, 2022)
- Towards Responsible Machine Translation: Ethical and Legal Considerations in Machine Translation, ed. Helena Moniz, Carla Parra Escartín (Springer Cham, 2023)
- Computer-Aided Literary Translation, ed. Roy Youdale, Andrew Rothwell, and Andy Way (Routledge, 2023)
- De-mystifying Translation: Introducing Translation to Non-translators by Lynne Bowker (Routledge, 2023; open access)
Children’s literature in translation
- World Kid Lit blog: news and reviews of world literature for young people, particularly active during September, #WorldKidLitMonth
- Translation at SCBWI: the new website showcasing translators at the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators has a wealth of translator interviews and other resources
- In Other Words 2018: BookTrust’s project to promote the translation and UK publication of outstanding children’s literature from around the world
- Outside in World: promoting and exploring world literature and children’s books in translation
- IBBY’s Bookbird: Journal of International Children’s Literature
- Children’s and YA International Book Catalog: librarycat catalogue, managed by GLLI
- The White Ravens: annual selection of the best children’s and YA literature, produced by the International Youth Libary
- Have you heard? September is World Kid Lit month: blog post by me for Federation of Children’s Book Groups (Sept 2018)
Arabic-language literature
- ArabLit (in English)
- International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF)
- Etisalat Award for Arabic Children’s Literature
- Banipal magazine of modern Arab literature in English translation
- Sheikh Zayed Book Award
- Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding
- Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature (awarded by the American University in Cairo Press)
- Anna Lindh Foundation: Arab Children’s Literature Regional Programme
- ArabKidLitNow: a fresh view on contemporary Arabic children’s literature, in Arabic and in translation
German-language literature
- New Books in German
- Goethe Institut translation grant programme
- Love German Books blog by Katy Derbyshire
- Helen and Kurt Wolff prize for German to English translation (awarded by Goethe Institut USA)
- Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (German Children’s Literature Award)
- Deutscher Buchpreis (The German Book Prize)
Russian-language literature
- Read Russia
- Institut Perevoda / Institute of Translation
- Lizok’s Bookshelf: Russian literature blog by Lisa Hayden Espenschade
- PapMamBook: Children’s and YA book reviews in Russian and English
- NOS Literature Prize (founded by the Mikhail Prokhorov Charitable Foundation)
- Big Book Prize (website in Russian)
- Нацбест (National Bestseller Prize): website in Russian
- Russian Booker Prize (wikipedia in English) (website in Russian)
- Russophone Kid Lit blog
Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp 