Literary Translation That Respects the Voice That Made the Writing Work.

Literary translation is the most demanding translation discipline because the voice of the writing is part of the content itself. Translating only the words produces a dead document. What the reader experiences as voice -- rhythm, word choice, humor register, narrative distance, sentence length variation -- has to be reconstructed in the target language using the conventions of that language, not just converted from the English.

We select literary translators who are active readers in both languages, who understand genre conventions, and who can make defensible choices about when to translate literally and when to adapt for equivalent effect. For fiction, we build character voice profiles before translation starts. For non-fiction and long-form journalism, we maintain the argumentative structure and rhetorical strategy of the source.

For books and long manuscripts (over 20,000 words), we work with sample chapters first. You review the sample against the original and we agree on any adjustments before the full manuscript is translated. This prevents the situation where the full translation is delivered and the voice is wrong.

We work with literary fiction, narrative non-fiction, essay collections, travel writing, lifestyle and food writing, business books aimed at general audiences, and digital content from serious publications and independent writers.