Translation in Motion at the London Book Fair
April 19, 16:25 at the Literary Translation Centre
The session will explore the ways in which we can intensify the flow of translated literature through international mobility and professional development. The participants will discuss the benefits and challenges of translation workshops and residencies for literary translators, as well as residency exchanges for writers and translators.
Participants:
Yana Genova, Director, Next Page Foundation
Yana Genova is a cultural manager, consultant and researcher. She is the founder and director of Next Page Foundation, a non-governmental organization dedicated to supporting international literary communication from and into ‘peripheral’ languages. Yana is currently the president of the Board of RECIT.
Vladimir Jankovski, Editor, Goten Publishing
Vladimir Jankovski (1977) has graduated General and Comparative literature at the Faculty of Philology in Skopje. He worked as an editor in several publishing houses and ас cultural worker. He has published 3 novels: ‘Hidden Desires, Restless Travels’ (2020), ‘Invisible Loves’ (2015), and ‘Eternal Present Time’ (2010); 2 books of photo-essays in collaboration with the photographer Ivan Blazhev: ‘Faces of the Invisible Cities’ (2010) and ‘Skopje with Eyes Wide Open’ (2008). For the novel ‘Hidden Desires, Unrest Travels’ he was awarded with the ‘Novel of the Year award’ and for ‘Invisible Loves’ he was awarded with ‘Racinovo Priznanie award’ for the best prose book. ‘Hidden Desires, Restless Travels’ was nominee of Republic of North Macedonia for EUPL. He is active in the field of literary translations.
Alexandra Büchler, Director, Literature Across Frontiers
Alexandra Büchler is Director of Literature Across Frontiers (LAF), the European Platform for Literary Exchange, Translation and Policy Debate, based in Wales, United Kingdom. A literary curator, translator and editor, she has initiated a number of international literary projects and collaborations, and published over twenty-five titles, including prose and poetry, anthologies of short fiction and books on modern art and architecture. Among her latest publications are anthologies of emerging European writers, Zero Hours on the Boulevard: Tales of Independence and Belonging (2018) and Ulysses’ Cat (2022), both resulting from multi-year cooperation projects co-financed by Creative Europe.
Will Firth, Freelance Translator
Will Firth was born in 1965 in Newcastle, Australia. He studied German and Slavic languages in Canberra, Zagreb and Moscow. He lives in Berlin, where he works as a translator of literature and the humanities (from Russian, Macedonian and all variants of Serbo-Croatian, aka ‘BCMS’). His best-received translations of recent years have been Aleksandar Gatalica’s The Great War, Faruk Šehić’s Quiet Flows the Una and Tatjana Gromača’s Divine Child.
Second in-person Translation in Motion Partners’ Meeting
15 – 17 November 2022, Sofia (Bulgaria)
The second in-person Translation in Motion Partners’ Meeting took place between 15 and 17 November 2022. Hosts of the meeting in Sofia, Bulgaria were Next Page Foundation / Sofia Literature and Translation House.
Representatives of Translation in Motion‘s partners from RECIT (France), Krokodil (Serbia), Open Cultural Forum (Montenegro), Baltic Centre for Writers and Translators (Sweden), Collège International des traducteurs littéraires (France), Goten (North Macedonia), Next Page/ Sofia Literature and Translation House (Bulgaria), Poeteka (Albania), International Writers’ and Translators’ House (Latvia), National Centre for Writing (UK) and British Centre for Literary Translation (UK) gathered in order to assess what is already carried out and what are the future activities to be implemented in the upcoming nine months.
The partners were given a tour around Sofia centre from literary perspective by the Bulgarian writer and founder of the city reading space Chitalniata Alexander Shpatov who shared some less-known stories related to prominent figures in the Bulgarian literature.
While in Sofia, some of the partners participated in the discussion ‘The Literary 2022: Based on a true story’, presented by Literary Talks Sofia that aimed to outline the literary trends from the past year.
Photo: Yana Lozeva 
Photo: Yana Lozeva 
Photo: Yana Lozeva
Full video recording from the event is available in English:
The first Multilingual Translation Workshop took place in Albania in October
The workshop is initiated by Poeteka as part of the Translation in Motion project
The first Multilingual Translation Workshop took place in Tirana, Albania between October 5 and October 9, initiated by Poeteka, as part of the Translation in Motion project.
The twelve mentors offered the participants lectures and workshops on the topics:
- The translator and original author
- Art on compromise in translation
- Translation as Intercultural Transfer
- Cultural References in Translation
- Challenges of Translation from ‘Small’ Languages”
- Noticing style – stylistic features and their importance for literary translators
- Using dictionaries, online encyclopedias, and other web sources, understanding the author’s biography (obvious in the case of autobiographical writings) and the historical context, identifying and dealing with cultural references, discussing specific jargons
- The editing process for translators
- Selection of titles/translators/application for translation funds
- Creative Writing for Translators
Open Call: Literary Translation Residency in Albania (Nov 1 – Nov 30 2022)
The residency is offered by Poeteka and is part of the Translation in Motion project
Due to cancelation of a previously selected resident, Poeteka (Albania) relaunches its open call for a literary translation residency.
Eligible parties are literary translators who translate from Albanian into the languages of the countries in the European Union.
The residency will take place in Tirana, Albania between Nov 1 and Nov 30 2022.
Application deadline: Sept 15 2022
For more information visit Poeteka’s website here.
The residency is part of the Translation in Motion project (1/2/21-31/8/23) co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.
The first Balkan Studio for Literary Translation Vice Versa will take place in Sofia, as part of the Translation in Motion project
The studio offers workshops, lectures, discussions and networking
The first Balkan Studio for Literary Translation Vice Versa offers workshops, lectures, discussions and networking to literary translators from Bulgaria and the Western Balkans working with Bulgarian and the languages of the WB and vice versa.
The studio will take place between Sept 15 – Sept 19 and Sept 22 – Oct 2 2022 in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is organized by Next Page Foundation.
The studio is designed to be equally beneficial for both translators at the beginning of their careers and for experienced and published professionals.
The participants will be working in multi-language and multicultural environment and will become acquainted with what is new in the contemporary Bulgarian literature scene. They will have the opportunity to meet colleagues and to network and share professional experiences.
The literary translation workshops are at the core of the programme and include hands-on sessions on participants’ translations with experienced mentors, consensus translation of excerpts, vice versa translation.
The studio parallel programme offers lectures, professional discussions, meetings with writers and editors.
The mentors of the studio are professional literary translators from Bulgaria and the Balkans. Read more about them below:
Ksenija Banovic has graduated from the Department of Croatian Studies at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb, and specialized in Bulgarian language and literature at the Sofia University. She has translated numerous contemporary Bulgarian novels into Croatian. In 2016 Ksenija won the Literary Prize of the Bulgarian National Book Center in 2016 in the category ‘Translation’. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Croatian P.E.N. Center.
Nikola Madzirov is a poet, essayist, translator from North Macedonia. He was born in 1973 in Strumica in the family of war refugees from the Balkan Wars. When he was 18, the collapse of Yugoslavia prompted a shift in his sense of identity – as a writer reinventing himself in a country which felt new but was still nourished by deeply rooted historical traditions. His poems are translated into more than forty languages and are awarded with numerous international prizes. Nikola translates from Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Bulgarian and English. Among the authors he had translated are Yehuda Amichai, Louise Glück, Vasko Popa, Li-Young Lee, Slavenka Drakulić, Ana Ristović, Faruk Šehić. Nikola Madzirov is also the first translator of Georgi Gospodinov intro Macedonian. He is the translator of the poetry of Silvia Choleva, Ekaterina Yosifova, Mirela Ivanova, Boyko Lambovski, Nikolay Boykov.
Rusana Hristova-Bejleri, Ph.D, is an Assoc. Prof. of Albanian Language and Literature at the Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski. She is a scholar, interpreter and literary translator, co-author of Balkan Idioms Dictionary (Tirana, 1999), author of ‘Albanian Literature as a Mirror of National Character’ (Sofia, 2009) and the newly published monograph on life and works of Albanian writer Thoma Kacori in Bulgaria (Sofia, 2022) with open access in Albanian here. Her latest literary translation is Stefan Çapaliku’s novel ‘Each one gets crazy in their own way’ (Sofia, Ergo, 2022).
Rusanka Lyapova believes that all true things pass through the heart, sharing her love for words between translating and teaching. She has taught at the National Military School in Veliko Tarnovo, at the Plovdiv and Sofia Universities, and currently teaches at the Military Academy in Sofia. She has translated over 40 books from South Slavic languages -Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Macedonian, mostly by contemporary authors, including mainly prose and less often poetry and drama. Rusanka has been honored by the Bulgarian Translators’ Union with various translation awards.
The Balkan Studio for Literary Translation Vice Versa is part of the Translation in Motion project (1/2/21-31/8/23) co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.
The second selection of Translation in Motion literary residents is announced
Discover the future translators in residency for Period 2 of the project
Collège International des traducteurs littéraires in Arles (France)
Bojan Savic Ostojic (Serbia) for the translation of Jules Renard: ‘Poil de Carotte’, Éditions Flammarion, 1894 into Serbian
Linda Gjetani (Albania) for the translation of Eliette Abécassis: ‘Instagrammable’, Grasset, 2021 into Albanian
Krokodil in Belgrade (Serbia)
Valentina Marconi (Italy) for the translation of Dejan Atanacković: ‘Luzitanija’, Besna kobila, 2017, into Italian
Rebekka Zeinzinger (Austria) for the translation of Milica Vučković: ‘Smrtni ishod atletskih povreda’ , Booka, 2017, into German
Open Cultural Forum in Cetinje (Montenegro)
Elvira Veselinović (Germany) for the translation of Milorad Popović: ‘Čovjek bez lica’, Franktura, 2016, into German
Baltic Centre for Writers and Translators in Gotland (Sweden)
Jelena Vojinović (Montenegro) for the translation of Olaug Nilssen: ‘Yt etter evne, få etter behov’ (2020) into Serbian
Slavica Milosavljević (Serbia) for the translation of Tove Jansson: ‘Den ärliga bedragaren’ into Serbian
Nikola Perišić (Serbia) for the translation oflesser-known works by August Strindberg into Serbian.
Goten in Skopje (North Macedonia)
Ekaterina Petrova (Bulgaria) for the translation of Rumena Bužarovska: ‘Мојот маж’, Ili-Ili, 2015 into Bulgarian
Will Firth (Germany) for the translation of Petre M. Andreevski: ‘Nebeska Timjanovna’, Naša kn, 1989 into English
Next Page / Literature and Translation House in Sofia (Bulgaria)
Ksenija Banovic (Croatia) for the translation of Georgi Bardarov: ‘Absolvo te’, Musagena, 2020 into Croatian
Dushko Krstevski (North Macedonia) for the translation of Alek Popov: ‘Mission Turan’, Ciela, 2021 into Macedonian
Poeteka in Tirana (Albania)
Cord Pagenstecher (Germany) for the translation of Liri Lubonja: Larg dhe mes njerëzve. Kujtime internimi 1973-1990, Fjala Editions, 2007 into German
Evelyne Noygues (France) for the translation of poetry by author Arben Selimi into French
Rigels Halili (Poland) for the translation of poetry, essays, short prose and chronicles of Albanian authors, as well as the Code of Lek Dukagjin into Polish
International Writers’ and Translators’ House in Ventspils (Latvia)
Vera Horvat (Serbia) for the translation of Latvian poetry and folklore, among which Dainas, Latvian folk songs into Serbian.
National Centre for Writing in Norwich (UK)
Marija Girevska (North Macedonia) for the translation of James Joyce: ‘Finnegans Wake’ into Macedonian
Anxhela Çikopano Hoxha (North Macedonia) for the translation of Jane Austin: ‘Persuasion’ into Macedonian
Dragana Erjavšek (Montenegro) for the translation of Emily Berry: ‘Unexhausted Time’ into Montenegrin
The Translation in Motion project (1/2/21-31/8/23) is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.
Open Call: Literary Translation residencies 2022 – 2023
Translation in Motion Programme April 2022 – April 2023
in Arles (France), Belgrade (Serbia), Cetinje (Montenegro), Gotland (Sweden), Skopje (North Macedonia), Sofia (Bulgaria), Tirana (Albania), Ventspils (Latvia) and Norwich (UK)
For a second year the Translation in Motion consortium of translation residencies invites applications by literary translators working from or into the languages of the countries of the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia).
A record of the Translation in Motion translators in residency in 2021 is available here.
Application deadline: Please consult the hosting organizations websites below
The residencies offer translators time for focused creative work on a literary translation project, the opportunity to immerse themselves in the source language of their translation and carry out research, and to raise their visibility by networking with the local literary sector and presenting their work to local audiences.
Eligibility
The residencies are offered by a range of host organizations which welcome proposals from literary translators working from or into the languages of the countries of the Western Balkans. Depending on the language combination and host organization, eligible translators should be citizens of any EU country or any country of the Western Balkans.
Host organizations
- Collège International des traducteurs littéraires in Arles, France: for translators from Western Balkan countries translating from French language
- Krokodil in Belgrade, Serbia: for translators from EU member countries translating from Serbian language
- Open Cultural Forum in Cetinje, Montenegro: for translators from EU member countries translating from Montenegrin
- Baltic Centre for Writers and Translators in Gotland, Sweden: for translators from Western Balkan countries translating from Scandinavian languages
- Goten in Skopje, North Macedonia: for translators from EU member countries translating from Macedonian language
- Next Page / Sofia Literature and Translation House in Sofia, Bulgaria: for translators from Western Balkan countries translating from Bulgarian
- Poeteka in Tirana, Albania: for translators from EU member countries translating from Albanian language
- International Writers’ and Translators’ House in Ventspils, Latvia: for translators from Western Balkan countries translating from Latvian language
- National Centre for Writing in Norwich (UK): for translators from Western Balkan countries translating from English
General conditions
During their residency, translators are expected to work intensively on the literary translation project with which they applied for the programme, to take part in events or activities of the host organization, and to network with colleagues and with other residents.
The host organizations offer free accommodation in the residency center, a travel grant and a monthly fellowship to cover living expenses.
To find out more about the specific conditions for each residency, please consult the website of the relevant host organization.
Application and Selection
Applications for residency stays taking place between April 2022 and April 2023 are to be submitted according to each hosting organization deadline.
Candidates are invited to send a letter of interest outlining their reasons for applying for the residency, a description of their literary translation project and a CV to the relevant residency host.
Full details of the application process can be found on each residency host website.
The Steering Committee of the Translation in Motion consortium will make the selection and announce results by May 1 2022.
In the light of COVID-19, all residency arrangements are subject to change in case of COVID restrictions. For specific measures applied by the host countries consult the relevant government guidelines. Also, be sure to follow the host organization website for most recent information.
About Translation in Motion
Translation in Motion is a programme that aims to enrich and intensify the flow of translated literature in contemporary Europe and specifically between the Western Balkans countries and the EU member states.
Recognizing that literary translators are influential and driven ambassadors of cultural dialogue, this programme provides international mobility and professional development.
The Translation in Motion project (1/2/21-31/8/23) is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.
Translation Training Tutors’ Meeting
16 – 17 September 2021, Cetinje (Montenegro)
The Translation Training Tutors’ Meeting within the Translation in Motion project took place between 16 and 17 September 2021 in Cetinje, Montenegro.
The meeting gathered experienced and future trainers and programmers from nine countries from EU and WB, and was organized for the purpose of exchanging methodologies and best practices in the sector.
The presentations and debates at the Meeting are to help the Translation in Motion project partners in the Western Balkans to program and organize the translation workshops scheduled to take place in Albania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Serbia in 2022.
Jörn Cambreleng (France), Literary translator, director of ATLAS, programmer of literary translation trainings
Dens Dimiņš (Latvia), Literary translator from six languages into Latvian, trainer in literary translation
Patricia Klobusiczky (Germany), Translator from English and French into German, formerly head of the German translator’s association, with many years of experience as a literary editor
Nadya Radoulova (Bulgaria), Translator from English into Bulgarian, awarded poet, program director and lecturer at Autumn Studio for Literary Translation in Sofia, lecturer at EKF’s translation atelier
Marija Krivokapic (Montenegro), Associate Professor of English Literature at the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Montenegro
Jelena Kostic Tomovic, Dr. (Serbia), Professor of German Linguistics, University of Belgrade
Ben Andoni (Albania), Cultural journalist, publicist and translator from the languages of the former Yogoslavia and from English
Milan Damjanoski, PhD (North Macedonia), Assistant Professor of Literature and Conference Interpreting at the Department of English Language and Literature at the Faculty of Philology at “Ss. Cyril and Methodius University” in Skopje, and a translator from English into Macedonian
Tanja Petrič (Slovenia), Awarded literary translator from German into Slovene, literary critic and editor
Yana Genova (Bulgaria), current president of RECIT and project manager of the Translation in Motion project, director of Next Page Foundation and founder of Sofia Literature and Translation House and its Autumn Studio for Literary Translation with 20+ years of experience in international cultural initiatives as a manager, programmer, consultant, researcher and evaluator
First in-person Translation in Motion Partners’ Meeting
11 – 13 September 2021, Cetinje (Montenegro)
The first in-person Translation in Motion Partners’ Meeting took place between 11 and 13 September 2021. Hosts of the meeting in the beautiful city of Cetinje, former royal capital of Montenegro, was the locally based organization Open Cultural Forum / OKF.
Representatives of Translation in Motion‘s partners from Collège International des traducteurs littéraires (France), Krokodil (Serbia), Open Cultural Forum (Montenegro), Baltic Centre for Writers and Translators (Sweden), Goten (North Macedonia), Next Page/ Sofia Literature and Translation House (Bulgaria), Poeteka (Albania), International Writers’ and Translators’ House (Latvia), National Centre for Writing (UK) and British Centre for Literary Translation (UK) gathered in order to discuss and plan future project activities to be implemented in the upcoming 23 months.
The first selection of Translation in Motion literary residents is announced
Discover the future translators in residency for Period 1 of the project
After reviewing the total of 40 applications for 14 project residencies for Period 1 (June-December 2021) of Translation in Motion, the Steering Committee of the project made its final selection in a digital meeting on May 13.
Each hosting partner reported on the applications received and the committee reached a common decision on approving the following residents:
Collège International des traducteurs littéraires in Arles (France)
Milica Antic (Serbia) for the translation of Michel Haar: ‘Nietzsche et la métaphysique’, Gallimard, 1993 (‘Nietzsche and the metaphysics‘) into Serbian
Krokodil in Belgrade (Serbia)
Maša Dabić (Austria) for the translation of Bojan Savić Ostojić: ‘Ništa nije ničije’, Kontrast, 2020 (‘Nothing is nobody’s’) into German
Miguel Roan (Spain) for the translation of Senka Marić: ‘Kintsugi tijela‘, Kontrast, 2019 (‘Kintsugi bodies‘) into Spanish
Marie van Effenterre (France) for the translation of Ivana Bodrožić: ‘Sinovi, kćeri’, Corto Literary, 2020 (‘Sons, daughters’) into French
Open Cultural Forum in Cetinje (Montenegro)
Refik Ličina (Sweden) for selection and translation of poetry by contemporary Montenegrin poets into Swedish
Baltic Centre for Writers and Translators in Gotland (Sweden)
Slavica Milosavljevic (Serbia) for the translation of Tove Jansson: ‘Den ärliga bedragaren’, Schildts Förlags Ab, 1982 (‘The True Deceiver’) into Serbian
Goten in Skopje (North Macedonia)
Sonja Dolzan (Slovenia) for the translation of Rumena Buzarovska: ‘Не одам никаде’, Или-Или, 2018 (‘I’m Right Here’) into Slovene
Mariangela Biancofiore (Italy) for the translation of Elena Filipovska: ‘Идол на ѕидот’, Сигмапрес, 2020 (‘Idol on the wall’) into Italian
Anamaria Cinege-Panzova (Hungary) for Anthology of Macedonian Literature into Hungarian
Next Page / Literature and Translation House in Sofia (Bulgaria)
Katica Acevska (North Macedonia) for the translation of Angel Igov: ‘Krotkite’, Janet 45, 2015 (‘The Meek’) into Macedonian
Poeteka in Tirana (Albania)
Zuzana Finger (Germany) for the translation of contemporary Albanian poetry into German
Eleana Zhako (Belgium) for the translation of a contemporary Albanian essay book into Greek
International Writers’ and Translators’ House in Ventspils (Latvia)
Elizabeta Lindner (North Macedonia) for the translation of contemporary Latvian poetry into Macedonian
National Centre for Writing in Norwich (UK)
Aco Peroski (North Macedonia) for the translation of Edna O’Brien: ‘The Love Object’, Alfred A. Knopf, 1968 into Macedonian
Translation in Motion is an international initiative launched in February 2021 by a cluster of translation centres from eight European countries from the Western Balkans and EU-member states. Translation in Motion’s ambition is to push for and aid the increase of the number, diversity and quality of literary works available to readers across Europe.
We believe literary translators are influential and driven ambassadors of intercultural dialogue. By giving audiences access to the wealth of literature written in other languages, hey are the key players in the mutual enrichment of European literatures and culture.
Ultimately, the Translation in Motion project is about a diverse and lively flow of translated literature across European languages and about new and long-lasting partnerships, based on equality and mutual understanding.
The Translation in Motion project (1/2/21-31/8/23) is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.
Follow RECIT’s website to be up to date with news regarding the project’s progress.
