This intensive course that spans three weeks will take translators through the final stages of the translation process via a realistic case-study scenario and give them an opportunity to work with industry insiders to refine their skills.

The course will teach translators the importance of identifying their readership and positioning their work within the publishing industry, and provide them with valuable tools and insights to perfect their editorial judgement. At the end of the three weeks, translators will be given an opportunity to judge own work and that of their peers.

The workshop will also equip participants with the necessary knowledge to effectively pitch projects to publishers, as well as to navigate the final stages of the translation and editorial process.

This workshop is supported by the National Translation Committee.

Singaporeans and Singapore PRs enjoy a NTC subsidised fee of $85 (ticketing charges apply). Please email programmes1@bookcouncil.sg for the promotional code.

COURSE OUTCOMES

Participants who attend the workshop will thereafter be able to:

Effectively select and work on translation projects with a clear understanding of the publisher’s readership
Take in editorial decisions and feedback from publishers, and understand all sides of the acquisitions process
Possess the tools to professionally work with a publisher on changes
Know how to position their text within the international publishing industry
Properly edit and work on their own submissions to make the translation more attractive for the publishing house in mind
Become a part of a community of translators and publishing professionals that could effectively share feedback, news, and industry insights among themselves and share resources for further success
Have the confidence to effectively champion their work at publishing events and bookfairs, as well as to agents and editors

This workshop is suitable for translators working from any language to English. It includes three Zoom sessions with the facilitator and offline work by the participants. Discussions with the facilitator and fellow participants will be in small, breakout groups.

This course comprises three sessions conducted over three weeks:

SESSION 1: 7 January (Thursday), 7pm to 8pm

Setting the framework

SESSION 2: 23 January (Saturday), 10am - 12pm

Group discussion of the translated exercise

SESSION 3: 28 January (Thursday), 7pm -8.30pm

Discussion about the process, and question and answer

This programme will be conducted via the Zoom platform. Participants do not need a Zoom account to take part in the workshop.

For enquiries, please email programmes1@bookcouncil.sg.

Facilitator

Shelly Bryant divides her year between Shanghai and Singapore, working as a poet, writer, and translator. She is the author of eleven volumes of poetry, a pair of travel guides for the cities of Suzhou and Shanghai, a book on classical Chinese gardens, and a short story collection.

She has translated work from the Chinese language for Penguin Books, Epigram Publishing, the National Library Board in Singapore, Giramondo Books, HSRC, Rinchen Books, and Maclehose Press and edited poetry anthologies for Alban Lake and Celestial Books. 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.

Anya Goncharova is a literary agent working for Peony Literary Agency and Tender Leaves Translation. Currently based in Shanghai, she works with international and local authors to connect them with top publishers and readers all over the world. Prior to her agenting role, she was the editor heading the English-language list at Penguin Random House North Asia where she published a variety of fiction and non-fiction from and about the region. Anya works in English, Russian and Chinese and she is always on the lookout for fiction in English and in translation, as well as original nonfiction.

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The Final Steps: Literary Translation Workshop