Join the Queen's Translation Exchange (QTE) and Oxford Comparative Criticism and Translation (OCCT) for a Slovak translation workshop with award-winning author Nicol Hochholczerová. During this workshop, participants will translate an extract from a short story by Hochholczerová which has not previously been translated into English. No knowledge of Slovak is required to take part in the workshop.
This event is free of charge, but registration is required. Lunch will be provided.
This translation workshop forms part of a two-day series of events in Oxford with Nicol Hochholczerová and her translators Julia and Peter Sherwood, to celebrate the celebrate the new English translation of her debut novel, This Room is Impossible to Eat (Parthian Books, 2025). On Wednesday 7th May, QTE will host Nicol Hochholczerová and Julia and Peter Sherwood at Queen's College for a conversation about writing, translation and contemporary Slovak literature. Find more details about this event and register here.
This Room is Impossible to Eat has been a controversial best-seller. Through the novella, in her minimalist, poetic style, Hochholczerová weaves a story of obsession and power and how both can lead to damage and separation. Rich with symbolism, the novel’s explosive themes – of eating disorders, abusive control and family dysfunction – are delicately handled with honesty and intelligence. Shortlisted for Slovakia’s most prestigious literary prize, the Anasoft Litera Award, and nominated for a number of further literary awards, the book is now being widely translated across Europe.
Nicol Hochholczerová was born in 1999 and grew up in Rimavská Sobota, Slovakia. In 2024, she completed a Master’s in graphic design at the Academy of Art in Banská Bystrica. Her short stories have garnered prizes in a number of literary competitions. Her book-length debut, Táto izba sa nedá zjesť (This Room Is Impossible to Eat) was shortlisted for Slovakia’s most prestigious literary prize, the Anasoft Litera Award, and has since been translated into Bulgarian, Czech, Hungarian, Serbian, Polish and Ukrainian, with German and Macedonian translations underway. A feature film based on the book is in production. In 2022, Hochholczerová was named Young Artist of the Year by the Tatra Banka Foundation. The Polish translation was nominated for the Angelus literary prize, awarded to living authors from Central Europe.
Julia and Peter Sherwood are celebrated and prolific translators of Slovak, Czech, Polish, Russian and German into English. Their work includes joint translations of novels, short stories, poetry, graphic novels and children’s literature, by writers including Balla, Uršul’a Kovalyk, Peter Krištúfek, Ivana Dobrakovová and Nicol Hochholczerová.
