A range of publishing professionals, from the founder of a new independent press to a senior editor at one of the world’s leading publishing houses, advised Bristol Translates participants to “speak to the times,” “speak to us” and “speak to each other.” Aina Marti of Héloïse Press and Katharina Bielenberg of Quercus both emphasised that publishers are continuously looking to discover exciting new literature, and that “we sometimes don’t even know what we’re looking for until a translator pitches a book to us.” Even though a mid-size publisher such as Quercus may not have more than a handful of slots each year for new translators, Bielenberg, much like Trine Garrett of the Foreign Affairs theatre company, pointed out that she would often pass an exciting project on to a colleague if she thought it deserved an audience.
Ellie Steel of Harvill Secker and François von Hurter of Bitter Lemon Press discussed the editorial process a manuscript will undergo once the translator has submitted it, stressing that they would often plan two years ahead. They explained the differences between different forms of editing and responded to audience questions about copyright and contracts as well as their preferred length of translation samples and readers reports.
A panel of professional non-fiction translators described the various ways in which projects can come about, and agreed that personal connections tended to play a key role. Laura Bennett, Lucinda Byatt and Trista Selous advised emerging translators to specialise in areas they are interested in and never stop honing their language skills; all three made it clear to listeners, though, that business and networking skills were just as important.
Bristol Translates literary translation summer school continues with three more days of workshops and panel discussions until the end of the week.
For more information, visit:
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/sml/translation-studies/bristol-translates/