Programme

DAY 1: MONDAY 7 JULY

9.30 – 10.00

Welcome and Introduction, Professor Nathalie Edwards, Head of the School of Modern Languages, University of Bristol.

Presentation of the University of Bristol Masters in Translation

10.15 – 13.15

Literary translation workshop

13.15 – 14.00

Lunch break and online social

14.00 – 16.30

Literary translation workshop

17.00 – 18.00

Keynote: Reading Like a Translator

Damion Searls, the translator of Jon Fosse and Patrick Modiano, Ariane Koch and Victoria Kielland, Rilke, Proust, Hesse, Jelinek, and many other modern classics will discuss the approach to translation he has laid out in his new book The Philosophy of Translation (2024), which has been praised as “vast, generous, charming, and profound” —Jennifer Croft; “open, honest, and, most of all, smart... Remarkable” —Percival Everett. Avoiding dead-end theoretical debates and using a range of concrete examples from his own work, he shows how to think of translation as a kind of reading, which yields fresh and convincing insights into what translation really is and what translators actually do.

DAY 2: TUESDAY 8 JULY

10.00 – 11.00

Publishers panel

Publishers discuss what they are looking for in a literary translation and current industry trends. With Ellie Steel (Harvill Secker), Stella Sabin (Peirene) and Louisa Dunnigan, Profile Books.

11.30 – 13.00

Option 1: Poetry workshop

An interactive workshop on translating poetry led by award-winning translator Karen Leeder, University of Oxford. Open to translators from all languages.

Option 2:  Kids lit workshop

A specialist in translating books for children and young adults, Ruth Ahmedzai-Kemp offers a hands-on session on translating kids lit. Open to translators from all languages.

13.00 – 14.00

Lunch break and online social

14.00 – 15.00

Option 1:  Feminism and translation, Helen Vassallo, University of Exeter

What is “feminist translation”, and why does it matter? This interactive talk will invite participants to consider how (and why) we might take a feminist approach to translation both in the choices we make about which books to pitch and in the choices we make while translating.

Option 2: Video game localisation

A workshop with Sam Strong, University of Bristol, looking at the ins and outs of video game localisation with practical examples.

15.30 – 17.00

Translating dialect

Kotryna Garanasvili, Vilnius University and University of East Anglia leads a workshop exploring the strategies for translating dialect, with concrete examples.  

18.00 – 19.00

Pitch Your Project

A unique opportunity to practise pitching your translation project and to receive invaluable one-on-one feedback from an editor or publisher. These ten-minute pitching slots are only open to pre-registered attendees.

18.30 – 19.30

Lunch break and online social

DAY 3: WEDNESDAY 9 JULY

10.00 – 13.00

Literary translation workshop

13.00 – 13.45

Lunch break and online social

13.45 – 16.15

Literary translation workshop

16.30 – 17.30

Meet the Tutors

An opportunity to meet the tutors in small, informal groups and ask everything you have always wanted to ask about the world of literary translation.

18.00 – 19.00

Pitch Your Project

A unique opportunity to practise pitching your translation project and to receive invaluable one-on-one feedback from an editor or publisher. These ten-minute pitching slots are only open to pre-registered attendees.

DAY 4: THURSDAY 10 JULY

10.00 – 11.00

Option 1: Making a living as a literary translator

A panel discussion in which translators share ways of making a living while working as a literary translator, including other roles and employment, with contributions from Anam Zafar, Sophie Lewis and Will Firth.

Option 2: AI: Should we be worried?

Anna Ganley, Society of Authors and Morten Visby, European Writers Council discuss the implications of AI for literary translators.

11.15 – 12.15

Option 1: Contracts UK and Europe

Catherine Fuller, Translators Association and Cécile Deniard, CEATL: European Council of Literary Translators Association, discuss how to navigate contracts in UK and Europe and answer your questions.

Option 2: Translating for the voluntary sector: career opportunities

Amélie Trémelo (CLEAR Global / Translators without Borders) and Lauren Finch, director of the Global voices Lingua project and freelance translator, present voluntary sector opportunities for translators. Global Voices stories feature people and experiences rarely seen in mainstream media, and the Lingua project's hundreds of volunteers translate them into dozens of languages. Contributors to Clear Global and to Lingua develop new skills and perspectives, connect with people around the world, and help improve online language diversity.

12.30 – 13.30

Option 1: Comma Press competition

Join publisher Ra Page, Comma Press, for the launch of the annual Comma Press Emerging Translator Award. In 2025 the competition is open to translators from Chinese, Japanese and Urdu. The winner will be considered for publication in an upcoming Comma Press anthology of translated literature.

Option 2: Translation event hosted by the Institut Français and the Goethe Institute. “Gender in Translation and the Limitations of AI” with a focus on the German novel Blutbuch by Kim de l’Horizon. A discussion with the novel’s English and French translators, Jamie Lee Searle and Rose Labourie, on the challenges of translating a novel that eschews genre categories and gender polarities, and the pitfalls of AI when it comes to translating non-binary identities. Chaired by Rebecca DeWald.

13.30 – 14.30

Lunch break and online social

14.30 – 16.00

Option 1: Negotiating case studies

A panel of seasoned translators give advice on how to negotiate contract terms and present case studies of their own experiences. With Antonia Lloyd-Jones, Sandra Smith and David Colmer.

Option 2: Subtitling

Carol O’Sullivan (University of Bristol) leads you through the subtitling process in this hands-on workshop.

16.30 – 17.00

Translation at English PEN

Will Forrester, Head of Literature Programmes at English PEN, presents the work of English PEN and their translation-related schemes and funding opportunities.

18.00 – 19.00

Pitch Your Project

A unique opportunity to practise pitching your translation project and to receive invaluable one-on-one feedback from an editor or publisher. These ten-minute pitching slots are only open to pre-registered attendees.

DAY 5: FRIDAY 11 JULY

10.00 – 13.00

Literary translation workshop

13.00 – 13.45

Lunch break and online social

13.45 – 16.15

Literary translation workshop

16.30 – 17.15

Feedback and Farewell

TUESDAY 8 JULY

10.00 – 11.00

Publishers panel

Publishers discuss what they are looking for in a literary translation and current industry trends.

With Ellie Steel (Harvill Secker), Stella Sabin (Peirene Press) and Louisa Dunnigan (Profile Books).

14.00 – 15.00

Feminism and translation, Helen Vassallo, University of Exeter

What is “feminist translation”, and why does it matter? This interactive talk will invite participants to consider how (and why) we might take a feminist approach to translation both in the choices we make about which books to pitch and in the choices we make while translating.

15.30 – 17.00

Translating dialect

Kotryna Garanasvili, Vilnius University and University of East Anglia leads a workshop exploring the strategies for translating dialect, with concrete examples. 

THURSDAY 10 JULY

10.00 – 11.00

Option 1: Making a living as a literary translator

A panel discussion in which translators share ways of making a living while working as a literary translator, including other roles and employment, with contributions from Anam Zafar, Sophie Lewis and Will Firth.

Option 2: AI: Should we be worried? 

Anna Ganley, CEO of the Society of Authors and Morten Visby, former chair of The Danish Translators’ Association, former president of CEATL (Conseil Européen des Associations de Traducteurs Littéraires) and current chair of The Danish Authors’ Association, discuss the implicatios of AI for literary translators.

11.15 – 12.15

Translating for the voluntary sector: career opportunities

Amélie Trémelo (CLEAR Global / Translators without Borders) and Lauren Finch, director of the Global voices Lingua project and freelance translator, present voluntary sector opportunities for translators. Global Voices stories feature people and experiences rarely seen in mainstream media, and the Lingua project's hundreds of volunteers translate them into dozens of languages. Contributors to Clear Global and to Lingua develop new skills and perspectives, connect with people around the world, and help improve online language diversity.

12.30 – 13.30

Option 2: Translation event hosted by the Institut Français and the Goethe Institute. “Gender in Translation and the Limitations of AI” with a focus on the German novel Blutbuch by Kim de l’Horizon. A discussion with the novel’s English and French translators, Jamie Lee Searle and Rose Labourie, on the challenges of translating a novel that eschews genre categories and gender polarities, and the pitfalls of AI when it comes to translating non-binary identities. Chaired by Rebecca DeWald.

14.30 – 16.00

Negotiating case studies

A panel of speakers give advice on how to negotiate contract terms and present case studies of their own experiences. With Antonia Lloyd-Jones, Sandra Smith and David Colmer.  

16.30 – 17.00

Translation at English PEN

Will Forrester, Head of Literature Programmes at English PEN, presents the work of English PEN and their translation-related schemes and funding opportunities.