Join award winning author Zhang Ling, translator Shelly Bryant, and editor Liza Darnton as they discuss the processes behind the anticipated English translation, A Single Swallow; an epic that explores relationships, ideals and identities amidst the horrors of World War II.

Listen to them share how they translate the cultural, emotional and linguistic nuances from the original work for their English readers without losing the essence of the original story.

Zhang Ling's A Single Swallow can be purchased here.

This session is co-presented with Tender Leaves Translation.

The session will be conducted via the Zoom platform. Participants do not need a Zoom account to take part in the session. The session will also be streamed live on the Singapore Book Council Facebook page.

For enquiries, please email programmes@bookcouncil.sg

Speakers

Zhang Ling is a Chinese Canadian author whose major works include A Single Swallow （《勞燕》)， Aftershock （《餘震》）， and Gold Mountain Blues （《金山》). She won the Chinese Media Literature Award for Author of the Year, the Grand Prize (twice) of Overseas Chinese Literary Award, Taiwan’s Open Book Award, and was twice nominated for the Hong Kong Dream of Red Chamber International Prize for Chinese Fiction. Her novella Aftershock has been adapted into China’s first IMAX movie.

Shelly Bryant divides her year between Shanghai and Singapore . She is the author of eleven volumes of poetry, a pair of travel guides, a nonfiction book, and a short story collection. She has translated work from the Chinese language for Penguin Books, Epigram Books, the National Library Board in Singapore, Giramondo Books, HSRC, Rinchen Books, and Maclehose Press. Her translation of Sheng Keyi’s Northern Girls was long-listed for the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2012, and her translation of You Jin's In Time, Out of Place was shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize in 2016.

Liza Darnton, senior editor at Amazon Crossing, was born in New York and grew up overseas, where she developed a passion for Spanish and Latin American literature. She studied philosophy and psychology at Duke University before getting a Master’s degree in social policy and then working for nonprofits in the US and abroad. Before Amazon Crossing, Liza worked as an editor at The Penguin Press in New York City, and as an independent, freelance editor specialising in nonfiction.