Translation can sometimes be a lonely endeavour, especially when you work for months on end on a long and difficult literary text. Input from peers as well as established translators may be needed to get your spirits up again and infuse your work with brilliant, new ideas.
Bristol Translates is an online summer school where language lovers work together exploring literary translation. This year’s event will take place from 3 to 7 July, comprising three days of workshops (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) from nine languages into English or, alternatively, in a multilingual group.
The other two days are filled with panel discussions and workshops on industry trends, job readiness and the opportunities available around different literary genres (fiction and non-fiction). These include sessions on
how to pitch to publishers,
how to approach literary journals and magazines,
how to negotiate contracts,
how to translate for the stage,
translator activism,
queer translation,
translation at war.
Bristol Translates offers a very extensive programme, and participants from previous years have lauded it as a launchpad of their careers.
The event is led by Ros Schwartz and Holly Langstaff. Tutors include well-known translators from nine languages into English, and the roll call of guest speakers and panellists is truly impressive.
Information on eligibility as well as the application form are available on the Bristol Translates website.
Applicants who apply before 28 February can also apply for a full bursary.
There is no formal application deadline – it is first come, first served, and workshops will fill up.
The second Writing Residency took place in Almaty from October 23 to October 29. This is a project of the Open Literary School of Almaty jointly with Chevron and the U.S. Consulate, with the support of the International Writing Program of the University of Iowa. Thanks to the Writing Residency in Almaty 2021, you are reading this blog now – it was born during the event.
This year, not only writers, but also translators participated in the residency. A separate workshop of literary translation was held under the leadership of Nina Murray, and gathered 8 people who were interested in exploring literary translation. The participants translated texts included in the long list of the Qalamdas prize. The pieces, originally written in Russian and Kazakh languages, will now be available in English versions as well.
The residency, which took place in a sanatorium, was a very comfortable format for writers and translators. Four meals a day, wellness treatments, clean air and healthy sleep after a ton of activities – what else do you need for comfortable work? During the week, the translators worked on the seminars in the mornings, and in the evenings they met with resident writers at thematic meetings. We discussed children’s literature (which was the topic of the residency), the lack of a bridge between authors and translators, got acquainted with foreign guests (for example, Christopher Merrill, head of IWP and the host of the residency last year) and read texts.
Translators at work.
Gulsaya Mazhenova, participant of the translation seminar, writes:
“I was one of the 9 luckiest to be selected as participants of the workshop on Literary Translation held for a week in Almaty, Kazakhstan, within the Almaty Writing Residency 2022 event. It was just an amazing experience – the friendly people, the warm atmosphere, the brightest ideas – it is a known fact that these rarely come together. We were given a unique opportunity to listen to and chat with Christopher Merrill, an American poet, essayist, journalist and translator, and Kelly Dwyer, an experienced writer and editor, author of several novels, as well as Yuriy Serebryanski, a Kazakhstani author, cultural researcher and active member of Almaty Open Literary School. Our coach, Nina Murray, author of several award-winning translations and a poet, generously shared her knowledge and specific translation methods with us, translators… and future writers… or poets, who knows? And this is what I am mostly grateful to this workshop – it inspired me to dare – dare to write, to create, and of course, to translate, be it prose or poetry.”
As a volunteer in the residency’s organization and a participant in the translators seminar, I can say that it was an amazing week. The atmosphere of upcoming projects and ideas was everywhere, as it was last year. And we can say for sure that twenty people – writers, translators and organizers – left the sanatorium refreshed and inspired. I can’t wait to see what results will be released this year!
You need to follow the writers and poets you like, as well as your experienced colleagues and publishing houses. You need to collaborate and stop being afraid to show who you are and what you can do as a translator.
Translation requires great enthusiasm! You must love reading and deep-dive research, editing and re-editing for hours on end. But despite all this, translation is a great thing when you really enjoy it!
I am very keen on translating fiction and non-fiction as a part of the special project dubbed the Laboratory of Literary Translation here, in Almaty. We translate modern authors and make their brilliant works available to a wider readership.
The Laboratory of Literary Translation, supported by the U.S. Mission to Kazakhstan, is a project led by Yuriy Serebryanskiy, a Kazakhstani author, and Andrey Platonov, a translator. The project started in 2018 focusing on engaging enthusiasts willing to translate.
I was very lucky to see the open call on Facebook. To pass the selection you needed to translate a short excerpt from ‘What’s eating Gilbert Grape’, a novel by Peter Hedges which I did! A few weeks later I got an invitation! I was over the moon and joined the project!
Laboratory’s goal was to train amateurs, work in a team, and collaborate with authors. All this added up to a real book named ‘Nine Stories’, a collection of short stories by modern American writers. The book can be downloaded for free at https://litshkola.kz/9storieskz/.
Our group began with translating and editing two Christophers (what a coincidence!): Christopher Merkner and Christopher Merrill. We met with the authors both online and offline and it was such a great experience for me.
I am still part of the Laboratory of Literary Translation and from time to time we translate the pieces we like.
Today I would like to share some of my ideas on how to advance one’s career as a translator.
First of all, you need to meet the right people and experts and look for places and events where such people gather to discuss professional issues. Networking is important and social networks are a great support here too! I know it for sure as I kicked off this way.
You need to follow the writers and poets you like, as well as your experienced colleagues and publishing houses. You need to collaborate and stop being afraid to show who you are and what you can do as a translator. Stop hiding and let the others spot you!
You need to read a lot in foreign and native languages as reading helps to find the right words with exact emotional coloring and meaning. It expands your horizons! Reading both Russian and English books makes me more confident. Writing a diary is also great as you learn how to express your ideas in writing.
You need to practice. Participate in various projects, volunteer, and communicate with colleagues and editors. Learn to be persistent and patient and take comments as an opportunity to grow and not as a personal offense. You need to keep this in mind as only by getting reasonable comments and analyzing them one can grow as a translator.
I know what I am talking about. I was very defensive and took any criticism very personally. It took me time to understand that no one was perfect. When you think that they are and when you are afraid to make mistakes, it will not advance you at all.
Translation helped me to improve my communication, cooperation, and decision-making skills. It taught me how to defend a point of view too! So it’s definitely worth trying!
Anna Kozhanova graduated from the Kazakh Ablai Khan University of International Relations and World Languages, in Almaty, Kazakhstan. She majored in English language and literature. Tried translation for the first time as a student. In 2005 started as a translator and a consecutive interpreter in one of the largest audit companies. Expert in audit, legal, marketing, corporate translations. Translates fiction and non-fiction as a part of the Laboratory of Literary Translation established in 2018 in Almaty. One of the translators and editors of Nine Stories, a collection of short stories by modern American writers. Translated short stories by Christopher Merkner ‘Of pigs and children’ and ‘Local accident’ published in ‘Лиterraтура’online literary journal.
Recently I became a finalist of the Qalamdas Literary Award as a literary translator. After I published a fb post about this intermediate success, one lady asked me to translate her book and she sent me the manuscript. When I started reading, I understood, it was starving for an editor. There were general mistakes of a beginner writer: stereotyped phrases, general descriptions without explanation, etc. All these things have to be definitely improved before translation.
So the first challenge I see as a translator of literature from whatever country is to find a proper author who provides editing/proofreading of his/her manuscript.
The second challenge is to receive a legally authorized permit of an author for translation. This is quite a complicated issue so I prefer my client to deal with it.
The third challenge is to solve questions related to the text with an author upon completion of a translation. Once my co-translator and I finalized a text, proofread it, and reached out to the author to to discuss some topics to be sure that everything was done correctly but unfortunately the author never answered us. The text is still with us and we are still hoping for a good outcome.
The fourth challenge is to confirm the authority as a translator. In spite of my translation experience, I have never graduated from a language university. So I could never submit a respective diploma to confirm my knowledge. However, I consider myself to be a good translator.
There are some challenges specific for Kazakhstan:
· The Kazakhstani book publishing market is at its early stage of development. It does not provide proper promotion to authors. So they self-publish their books or address Russian publishing houses. They also look for translators abroad.
· There are not many professional translators in Kazakhstan. It happened due to the low level of expertise of graduated translators.
So in reply to the video, all challenges can be classified as world-wide and specific for a country. However, it is possible to overcome all of them if you find the right people at the right time in the right place.
What challenges I see as a translator of literature from Kazakhstan
Recently I became a finalist of the Qalamdas Literary Award as a literary translator. After I published a fb post about this intermediate success, one lady asked me to translate her book and she sent me the manuscript. When I started reading, I understood, it was starving for an editor. There were general mistakes of a beginner writer: stereotyped phrases, general descriptions without explanation, etc. All these things have to be definitely improved before translation.
So the first challenge I see as a translator of literature from whatever country is to find a proper author who provides editing/proofreading of his/her manuscript.
The second challenge is to receive a legally authorized permit of an author for translation. This is quite a complicated issue so I prefer my client to deal with it.
The third challenge is to solve questions related to the text with an author upon completion of a translation. Once my co-translator and I finalized a text, proofread it, and reached out to the author to to discuss some topics to be sure that everything was done correctly but unfortunately the author never answered us. The text is still with us and we are still hoping for a good outcome.
The fourth challenge is to confirm the authority as a translator. In spite of my translation experience, I have never graduated from a language university. So I could never submit a respective diploma to confirm my knowledge. However, I consider myself to be a good translator.
There are some challenges specific for Kazakhstan:
· The Kazakhstani book publishing market is at its early stage of development. It does not provide proper promotion to authors. So they self-publish their books or address Russian publishing houses. They also look for translators abroad.
· There are not many professional translators in Kazakhstan. It happened due to the low level of expertise of graduated translators.
So in reply to the video, all challenges can be classified as world-wide and specific for a country. However, it is possible to overcome all of them if you find the right people at the right time in the right place.
The announcement as it appeared in Publishers Weekly: Marilyn Brigham at Amazon Crossing Kids has acquired Batu and the Search for the Golden Cup written by Zira Naurzbayeva (l.) and Lilya Kalaus (c.), and translated from Russian by Shelley Fairweather-Vega. The middle grade fantasy novel weaves the unique mythology of Kazakhstan into a story of friendship and courage as a group of kids embarks on an adventure through both current-day Kazakhstan and a fantasy world. Publication is slated for spring 2023; the authors represented themselves in the deal for world rights excluding Russian and Kazakh.
Interview by Ksenia Rogozhnikova, translated by Nina Murray
Ksenia Rogozhnikova: First of all, I want to thank you, Lilia and Zira: you inspired me and my co-author, Elena Klepikova, to write together. Many years ago, I heard Lilia speak about your process of co-writing—you just finished your first Batu book at the time. I was so captivated by the idea of writing with a partner that I think the very next day I asked my colleague Elena Klepikova if she would like to give it a try. The rest, as they say, is history in Kazakhstan’s children’s literature.
Lilia Kalaus: Thank you, Ksenia! I am so happy to hear that our book inspired you and Elena to collaborate! May you write many more books!
Zira Naurzbayeva: I find writing with a partner to be an excellent cure for procrastination. It really gives you discipline. If we agree to get something done by a certain deadline, I am accountable for it. And, of course, talking to you writing partner does wonders for you when you’re in a bad mood.
KR: You have written three books about Batu, a Kazakh boy. How do you come up with stories that you want to tell? What inspired you to create this character? And are you planning a fourth book?
LK: We work out the storylines together—it’s the most important part of our process and the one that can take the longest. We talk a lot, recall things from when we were children, and of course, make things up. Zira has all the crucial knowledge at her fingertips: she is the expert in our culture and mythology in addition to being incredibly well read. We pull storylines from myths and then talk them over and develop them by adding our characters, their backgrounds, dreams and aspirations. So, in every book, the main plot line is based on a Turkic myth—but that mythical seed has been rethought, modernized, and resolved the way we want.
Personally, I find the idea of a novel in stories really inspiring. It’s so cool to follow the same characters’ adventures from book to book, to watch them change and grow. Plus, in today’s children’s literature, such series are the mainstream.
I hope and believe that there will be a fourth book. As well as the fifth, sixth, and seventh…
ZN: Yes, we are working on the next installment. And I definitely agree with Lilia about the plot being the most difficult part of the process. Especially when you have many characters and several plot-lines with different adventures. Plus, you have to make sure you don’t contradict what you had done in the earlier books. When we begin working on a new installment, we spend some time thinking about the overall philosophy of the book, its concept, if you will, and then construct the plot that can express our ideas. Then, if our ideas change in the process of actually writing the book, the plot changes too. Several times, usually. And, of course, sometimes our characters “refuse” to act the way we need them to. So we change things again.
KR: We are all painfully aware of the many challenges of publishing in Kazakhstan, including for children’s books. What keeps you motivated to keep fighting for each book? For the first one, I believe you found government funding, and the second and third had private sponsors, didn’t they?
LK: We also had a private sponsor for the first book, Batu and the Search for the Golden Goblet. We have not yet had any support from the government. What keeps us motivated… I guess, it’s the sense that someone has to do this. Zira and I have stories to tell, so we have to make things happen. The first book was an experiment—neither one of us had written for children before. We wanted to know if our young readers would like our story in the first place. Would they want to know what happens next? Turned out, they liked the story very much and looked forward to the next installment. So we kept writing.
Finding funding is a challenge. I am tremendously grateful to Zira: she leads a very public life online and offline, and is super-prolific with her blog posts, essays, and scholarly articles. The private individuals who supported our books financially come from her circle.
ZN: We did (sort of) have government funding for the Kazakh translation of the first book. At the end of that fiscal year, there were unspent budget funds, and the government asked publishers to try to add another children’s title or two to their lists. Our publisher already had the manuscript of the Kazakh translation, so they published it. What we were paid as authors for the Russian original did not even cover the cost of a good translation, which we commissioned ourselves, a few years prior. Last year, the book was included in the “One Country, One Book” program, and we hoped that there would be funding for another edition, or for translating the second and third installments into Kazakh. Some library orders at least. But none of that materialized.
KR: As you mentioned, before the Batu books, you wrote for adults. Zira is a scholar of Kazakh mythology, and Lilia edits and teaches creative writing. What prompted you to try writing for children?
LK: We wrote our first book for our own kids. Our domestic market has virtually no books for middle-grade and young-adult readers written by people from Kazakhstan about and for people of Kazakhstan. We wanted to share our national mythology and traditions, but not in a way that kids read about them in textbooks. We wanted to write a good fantasy adventure—and we were thrilled that our readers liked it. Our first readers have by now grown up (as did our own children), but new generations of readers seem to be just as interested in our characters’ adventures. The anticipation in our young readers’ eyes is the best motivation. So we keep writing.
ZN: I am a scholar first, and I am passionate about sharing my knowledge with the wider audience. I want to influence young people’s minds, but I can’t expect them to read my 700-page tome The Eternal Sky of Kazakhs. Instead, we engage them by writing captivating stories that rely on our traditional culture and mythology. You could say we are raising future readers for our adult books. That’s our sneaky plan!
KR: How did you meet Shelley (Fairweather-Vega) and managed to get Amazon Crossing interested in your book?
ZN: My friend Zaure Batayeva, who is also a writer and translator and works in four languages, introduced us to Shelley. Zaure lives in Brussels and does as much as she can to support Kazakh literature and literature from Kazakhstan more broadly. She translates works herself and commissions work from other translators and places pieces in western publications. Shelley and I then worked together on translating my husband, Talasbek Asemkulov’s, novel A Life at Noon (Slavica, 2019). Shelley not only translated the novel, but also found a publisher for it in the U.S. In this context, I asked her whether our children’s project might be of interest to an American publisher. I personally thought it was a hyper-local product, but Lilia disagreed.
LK: And I always believed that our books, rooted in Kazakh realities, culture and traditions, could appeal to readers in other countries. Western publics know so little about our country… Kids in Kazakhstan are thrilled when each new book in the series comes out—so I hope kids in other countries enjoy our stories as well.
KR: As the saying goes, no prophet is accepted in her hometown. In the time since Amazon Crossing acquired the rights to your first book about Batu, has publishing become easier for you in Kazakhstan?
LK: I really want to believe that our next books will get both government and new private funding. But so far, I’ve no progress to report.
ZN: Yes, when the news first came out, there was a burst of interest and lots of news sites reposted the story. We were invited to speak on TV a couple of times. But so far, that’s all.
KR: Could you tell us how you financed the translation of your first book from Russian into Kazakh? What are the chances of the next two books in the series being translated?
ZN: We used the revenue from the sales of the Russian text to finance the translation. I am also a translator from Kazakh to Russian, so I know all the challenges in the translation field first-hand. We did not look to economize on this and commissioned one of our best and most expensive translators Ainash Sadyk.
KR: What are your plans? Have you considered entering the market in Russia? Or having your books translated into another European language?
LK: Our contract with Amazon Crossing leaves us the rights to the Russian texts and translations into Kazakh while the publisher owns the rights of translation into other languages. So that’s up to them. As far as the Russian market goes… a writer can dream. But the reality is that you don’t take your own samovar to Tula. Still, if the book does well in English and appeals to Western readers, Russian readers will notice. Time will show. Time is a very honest person, as Pierre de Beaumarchais once said.
As far as our plans go, they are the same as for all creatives, I think: to keep writing about the adventures of Batu and his friends. We still have so many ideas, so many stories to tell, so many interesting twists to explore! At the end of the third book, a few characters disappear—they fall into another world. We can’t just leave them in such dire straits, can we? We absolutely have to rescue them. So there will definitely be book number four.
ZN: We want the American edition to be a success, of course. Having our books translated into other languages depends on that. Shelley has just started the translation. I am very grateful to her and wish her the best of luck. The contract with Amazon Crossing also stipulated that the text of the book might be altered in order to be adapted for the American audience—and that stands to reason. Our Russian text is full of phrases in Kazakh and Kazakh cultural phenomena, because it is an explicit goal of ours to get young Russian speakers interested in the Kazakh language. For an American edition, that’s not so important.
Zira Naurzbayevais a native of Almaty. Dr. Naurzbayeva is a scholar of Kazakh mythology, screen-writer, translator, book author and the founder and moderator of otuken.kz, a site dedicated to Kazakh mythology, traditional culture, and music. Her books include The Eternal Sky of Kazakhs / «Вечное небо казахов» (2013, 2020); Four Clouds / «Четыре облака» (2017); and The Contender / «Соперница» (2020) which was included in the anthology Best Asian Short Stories 2019 (Kitaab International). With Lilia Kalaus, she is the co-author of The Adventures of Batu and his Friends series: In Search of the Golden Cup / «Приключения Бату и его друзей в поисках Золотой чаши» (Russian edition 2014, Kazakh 2018, English forthcoming in 2022); In the Land of Barsakelmes / «Приключения Бату и его друзей в стране Барсакелмес» (2019); In the Star Land of Aidala / «Приключения Бату и его друзей в звездной стране Айдала» (2021).
Lilya Kalausis a native of Almaty. She is a linguist, writer, editor, critic, screen-writer, painter, and radio anchor. In 2011-2014 she served as the Editor-in-chief of the literary journal “Booklover” / «Книголюб». Her books include novels “Bestiary” (Almaty, Iskander, 1999) and “The Last Hope Fund. A Post-Colonial Novel”, longlisted for Russkaya Premiya in 2010,as well as several collections of short stories and essays. Lilya Kalaus is a member of the Kazakhstan PEN-Club.
The aim of the Paul Celan Fellowship Program is to overcome deficits and asymmetries in the exchange of ideas and the reception of scholarly literature which result from the division of Europe in the 20th century. Therefore, the program supports translations of canonical texts and contemporary key works in the humanities, social sciences and cultural studies from Eastern to Western, Western to Eastern, or between two Eastern European languages. Special emphasis is put on translations of relevant works written by East European authors and/or by female scholars. A thematic relation to one of the research fields of the IWM is likewise welcomed.
The Alma Review 