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Reposted by Kotryna Garanasvili

English PEN @englishpen.bsky.social · 27d

We’re delighted that English PEN & @writerscentre.bsky.social are collaborating again this year to highlight and promote events and activities taking place across the UK and online in celebration of International Translation Day 2025. #ITD2025

View the programme ⤵️
www.englishpen.org/translation/...

ITD 2025 – Nationwide Programme - English PEN

www.englishpen.org

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Reposted by Kotryna Garanasvili

Kasia Szymanska @kaszyma.bsky.social · 29d

👊🏻Join me for this 'Translation as Activism' workshop at the 2025 Manchester Literature Festival 👊🏻 @mcrlitfest.bsky.social
manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk/events/trans...

🤜🏻10 free tickets can be claimed by MMU (@manmetuni.bsky.social) & UoM (@uomhums.bsky.social) students ➡️📧 [email protected]

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Reposted by Kotryna Garanasvili

Brian Bergstrom @brianbergstrom.bsky.social · Aug 31

Jeremy Tiang really hits the nail on the head here (as would be expected).

Translation is caught between two forms of capitalist exploitation: using a per-word freelance structure to provide a bare minimum fee, and playing on its artistic nature to compel free ancillary labor alongside

Tiang: As Maureen alluded to, when we sign a contract, we get paid for our translations. But, in fact, we’re also doing a lot of other labor that is expected but not compensated. This can start way before the contract is signed. Many of us are pitching books to publishers, and to do that, we have to be reading wisely. We have to be making contact with authors and publishers to make sure that the rights are available. We have to do sample translations and synopses, for free, and we have to email them to publishers that we have taken care to build relationships with. All of this is unpaid until a publisher accepts the book, at which point you are negotiating for money after having done a lot of labor. And then there is, as Adam has pointed out, a power differential where the only power the translator has is to say, “This is what I would like.”

Beyond that, all you can do is accept what you’re offered or walk away. In one sense, you’re being paid for the labor of your translation. But in another sense, you’re an all-around concierge who, in my case because many of my authors do not speak English, is expected to translate emails between the author and the publisher, to act as a kind of go-between: an agent, a rights agent, and a publicist all in one. We do what has to be done in order to get the translation to market, and often we are the only person in the equation with access to both languages and both cultures and both literary scenes, so we’re the only person who can do this work. But it’s not in our contracts, and we’re not getting paid for it. But it’s what has to happen to keep everything running.

Tiang: Honestly, any kind of disruptive solution would be great. I am someone who makes the majority of my income from literary translation, even though my language isn’t particularly in demand. I do this by pitching a lot, generating a lot of my own work, never taking a day off, not sleeping. And that’s not really sustainable. The question for someone like me, who is relatively established and working constantly translating three to four books a year, is: Should I not be making a living? The fact that I am not suggests a problem with sustainability in the industry. It can’t just be people with outside sources of income. But I will say that this conversation has been hugely generative, and I’m going to suggest we start a group chat and continue it.

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Kotryna Garanasvili @kotrynagaranasvili.bsky.social · Aug 11

nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/get-involved...

@writerscentre.bsky.social @bcltuea.bsky.social

Emerging Translator Mentorships

The Emerging Translator Mentorships scheme matches experienced translators with emerging translators for a six-month period during which they work together on practical translation projects, developin...

nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk

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Kotryna Garanasvili @kotrynagaranasvili.bsky.social · Aug 11

APPLY: Lithuanian is one of the languages of the wonderful Emerging Translator Mentorship @writerscentre.bsky.social this year, and I’m v happy to return as a mentor. Please share this opportunity with people interested in translation, literature and languages ✍️📚🇱🇹 Deadline: 31 Aug. Link below!

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Kotryna Garanasvili @kotrynagaranasvili.bsky.social · Jul 10

I had a wonderful time leading a dialect translation workshop @bristoltranslates.bsky.social. It was so active with over 100 participants in the Zoom room, and their contributions have been simply brilliant! Dialect sparks the best kinds of conversations. Great to see & meet you all 📚✍️💙

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Reposted by Kotryna Garanasvili

The Society of Authors @societyofauthors.bsky.social · Mar 11

Member and former chair of the Translators Association Vineet Lal will be welcoming emerging translators at The Literary Centre at 10 today with @rebeccadewald.bsky.social , Nasim Luczaj & Dr Kotryna Garanasvili. #LBF25

Sessions Details

Useful Links

www.londonbookfair.co.uk

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Kotryna Garanasvili @kotrynagaranasvili.bsky.social · Apr 7

Meet the future of literary translation: the winners of this year’s Emerging Translator Mentorship will read from their brilliant work in this live showcase, hosted by @writerscentre.bsky.social
📚✍️🎤 9 mentees, 9 mentors, 8 languages, on 10 April! More details&booking here: tinyurl.com/4kbct5zv

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Kotryna Garanasvili @kotrynagaranasvili.bsky.social · Mar 3

I believe you mean Paulius Linčiūnas, whose name was Anglicized for global appeal.

Reposted by Kotryna Garanasvili

Gonzalo Fernández Gómez @gonzalofg.bsky.social · Feb 5

Un traductor literario hace mucho más que traducir textos. La lista de tareas es casi abrumadora.

Este excelente artículo de @kotrynagaranasvili.bsky.social basado en una encuesta demuestra, sin embargo, que el común de los lectores tiene una idea demasiado básica de lo que implica nuestro trabajo.

Michele Hutchison @michehut.bsky.social · Feb 4

www.thebookseller.com/comment/tran... it's hard not to get jaded with this kind of invisible unpaid workload.

Translation adjacent

Translators do so much more than translation – and we need the industry's help.

www.thebookseller.com

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Reposted by Kotryna Garanasvili

Michele Hutchison @michehut.bsky.social · Feb 4

www.thebookseller.com/comment/tran... it's hard not to get jaded with this kind of invisible unpaid workload.

Translation adjacent

Translators do so much more than translation – and we need the industry's help.

www.thebookseller.com

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Reposted by Kotryna Garanasvili

Marina Rullo @marinarullo.bsky.social · Feb 3

"Translators are the Clark Kent of the publishing industry."

@kotrynagaranasvili.bsky.social on the @the-bookseller.bsky.social explores how the work of literary translators is perceived by readers.

#literarytranslation
www.thebookseller.com/comment/tran...

Translation adjacent

Translators do so much more than translation – and we need the industry's help.

www.thebookseller.com

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Reposted by Kotryna Garanasvili

Words Without Borders & WWB Campus @wwborders.bsky.social · Jan 30

In "The Bookseller," a lovely abridged version of Kotryna Garanasvili's recent WWB essay "Translation-adjacent"!
www.thebookseller.com/comment/tran...

Translation adjacent

Translators do so much more than translation – and we need the industry's help.

www.thebookseller.com

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Reposted by Kotryna Garanasvili

Charlène Busalli @charlenebusalli.bsky.social · Jan 30

Great article by @kotrynagaranasvili.bsky.social about the various things literary translators actually do www.thebookseller.com/comment/tran...

Translation adjacent

Translators do so much more than translation – and we need the industry's help.

www.thebookseller.com

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Reposted by Kotryna Garanasvili

Beth Hickling-Moore (she/her) 🍉 @bethangharad.bsky.social · Jan 6

@kotrynagaranasvili.bsky.social on everything we translators do that goes above and beyond actual translating.

Nailed it, Kotryna. Thanks for advocating for the amazing work we all do! 👏

@wwborders.bsky.social

Words Without Borders & WWB Campus @wwborders.bsky.social · Dec 19

Today on WWB: Kotryna Garanasvili on “translation-adjacent” tasks, from pitching to editing—and on the necessity of acknowledging this labor. Read her essay here: https://buff.ly/3Daeols

Pencils and shavings scattered over a surface with the quote “Translation-adjacent tasks are a mission, and it’s translators who very often end up with this mission. Why? Well, if anything, because no one else is willing to take it on. Even if they are, they won’t necessarily be able to do it” and the text “'Translation-adjacent' by Kotryna Garanas

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Reposted by Kotryna Garanasvili

Lawrence Schimel @lawrenceschimel.bsky.social · Dec 20

Great essay by @kotrynagaranasvili.bsky.social on all the unpaid/unackowledged things that befall translators in addition to and beyond translating itself.

#xl8 #langsky

Words Without Borders & WWB Campus @wwborders.bsky.social · Dec 19

Today on WWB: Kotryna Garanasvili on “translation-adjacent” tasks, from pitching to editing—and on the necessity of acknowledging this labor. Read her essay here: https://buff.ly/3Daeols

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Reposted by Kotryna Garanasvili

Anna Gunin @annagunin.bsky.social · Dec 22

An excellent piece on misperceptions around what the job of literary translator involves.

By @kotrynagaranasvili.bsky.social.

wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...

Translation-adjacent - Words Without Borders

Just how broad is a translator's remit? Kotryna Garanasvili calls for "translation-adjacent" tasks to be duly acknowledged.

wordswithoutborders.org

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Reposted by Kotryna Garanasvili

Words Without Borders & WWB Campus @wwborders.bsky.social · Dec 19

Today on WWB: Kotryna Garanasvili on “translation-adjacent” tasks, from pitching to editing—and on the necessity of acknowledging this labor. Read her essay here: https://buff.ly/3Daeols

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