Oxford Translation Day 2026
Saturday 13th June
Translating YA and Middle Grade Literature: A Primer
Seminar Room 8, St Anne's College
Register via Eventbrite, here.
Is translating YA and middle grade literature really that different from translating literature for adults? How does one craft a compelling and unique voice when translating for children? What are the pitfalls when translating dialogue for this age group? What other challenges does the translator face when navigating between two languages and cultures for younger readers? How does one pitch such books? With the announcement of the new Children's Booker highlighting the importance of young audiences, now is the time to try your hand at translating Arabic YA into English (no knowledge of Arabic necessary), with award-winning translator, Sawad Hussain, as your guide.
Sawad Hussain is a PEN Award-winning translator from the Arabic. She has been shortlisted for The Warwick Prize for Women in Translation, the Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize and the National Book Award for Translation, and longlisted for the Moore Prize in Human Rights Writing, among others. A former co-chair of the Translators' Association in the UK, Sawad has also served as a judge for the Palestine Book Awards and the 2023 National Translation Award. She has run translation workshops under the auspices of Shadow Heroes, Africa Writes, Shubbak Festival, the Yiddish Book Center, the British Library and the National Centre for Writing. In 2024, she became the first translator-in-residence for "Wasafiri", and was the Spring 2025 translator-in-residence at PIIRS, Princeton University.
Feminist Translation
Seminar Room 9, St Anne's College
Register via Eventbrite, here.
In this workshop we will think about what “feminist translation” is, and why it matters. We will start by considering how (and why) we might take a feminist approach both in the choices we make about which books to translate and in the choices we make while translating. Then we’ll put this into practice by working together on a translation of a poem from French, exploring creative responses and developing our feminist translation practice. A literal translation of the poem will be provided so that non-French speakers can also participate in the creative exercise.
Professor Helen Vassallo is a British Maltese translator and Associate Professor of French and Translation at the University of Exeter (UK). Her recent and forthcoming translations include work by Leïla Slimani, Darina Al Joundi, Margarita García Robayo and Renée Vivien. She is the author of Towards a Feminist Translator Studies: Intersectional Activism in Translation and Publishing, co-author of Getting Started as a Literary Translator: Translated Literature and Publishing, and Translations Editor of the journal Feminist Translation Studies.
Translating Dialect
Seminar Room 8, St Anne's College
Register via Eventbrite, here.
How to translate dialect? This task is often deemed to be impossible. Dialect can be used to great effect in literature, yet it challenges everyone: writers, readers and translators. The challenges are not only linguistic (how do you translate likesay in Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting?), but also inevitably raise political, social and cultural issues. And yet, many inventive and acclaimed literary translations show that translating dialect is not only possible, but can open up unique creative possibilities and reveal affinities even between the most distant language pairs. This workshop will explore dialect through text and sound, hands-on exercises and examples from a wide range of languages.
Dr Kotryna Garanasvili is a writer, translator, and interpreter working with English, Lithuanian, French, German, Russian, and Georgian. She is an Assistant Professor of literature and translation, teaching and researching at Vilnius University and University of East Anglia, where she has received a PhD in literary translation and serves as a member of the BCLT Research Group. She is a mentor as well as a previous mentee of the Emerging Translator Mentorship at the National Centre for Writing and has been awarded traineeships at the EU Council and the European Parliament. More about Kotryna on her webpage.
Theatre in Translation: From Page to Stage with Foreign Affairs
Tsuzuki Lecture Theatre, St Anne's College
Register via Eventbrite, here.
What happens to a play when it moves between cultures and languages – and what does it mean for that translation to come to life in performance?
Led by Foreign Affairs co-artistic directors Camila França and Trine Garrett, joined by two associate actors, this hands-on session offers a window into the creative decisions that shape how a play finds its voice in a new context. With over fifteen years of experience sharing world theatre, nine UK/world premieres, and contributions to over 30 new English translations, Foreign Affairs brings rare insight into the art of translating for the stage.
Expect a short presentation on Foreign Affairs' approach to theatre translation, micro translation exercises, and a live reading by professional actors of work developed in the room – with time for open discussion throughout.
No experience of a specific language needed – the exercises are designed to be accessible whatever your linguistic background, making this a session for anyone curious about the space where translation meets performance.
Bridging the literary and the theatrical, this is an invitation to experience the journey from page to stage first-hand.
Winner of The Stage International Award 2026, Foreign Affairs is a theatre company with an adventurous spirit, led by Camila França and Trine Garrett. Based at the Rose Lipman Building in Hackney, they stage international plays in translation – work that resonates across languages, cultures, and communities. They can often be found in unexpected spaces – creating close-up encounters between global stories and local audiences.
Recent productions include Black Swans by Christina Kettering, translated by Pauline Wick; The Wetsuitman by Freek Mariën, translated by David McKay; and Where I Call Home by Marc-Antoine Cyr, translated by Charis Ainslie.
Foreign Affairs also run workshops and training programmes for emerging theatre-makers and translators, and local young people, including the Theatre Translator Mentorship (unique in the industry), Emerging Theatre-Makers activities, and workshops in secondary schools in collaboration with Performing International Plays — all grounded in the company's practice.
"This is Why": Translators on Translating
Seminar Room 7, St Anne's College
Register via Eventbrite, here.
Join acclaimed literary translators who have featured on prestigious shortlists and longlists to hear more about their translation practices and choices. They will discuss a short poem or passage that they have recently translated, and give the audience insight into the “hows” and “whys” of their approach.
Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize Short List Readings and Prize-Giving
Tsuzuki Lecture Theatre, St Anne's College
Register via Eventbrite, here.
The Oxford–Weidenfeld Prize is for book-length literary translations into English from any living European language. It aims to honour the craft of translation, and to recognise its cultural importance. It was founded by Lord Weidenfeld and is supported by New College, The Queen’s College, and St Anne’s College, Oxford. This celebration of literary translation will feature readings from the work of the shortlisted translators, and the presentation of the prize.
