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Applications for some of the BCLT Summer School workshop strands remain OPEN
NEW deadline for applications -- Sunday 6th April 2025
APPLICATIONS ARE STILL OPEN FOR THE FOLLOWING WORKSHOP STRANDS:
Danish-English - led by Paul Russell Garrett, with Danish author Eva Tind
Literature from Flanders - led by Kristen Gehrman with Flemish author Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem
This workshop is for Dutch-English literary translators. You do not need to have experience of translating Flemish literature.
Polish-English - led by Antonia Lloyd-Jones with Polish author Jacek Dehnel
Spanish-English - led by Cecilia Rossi and Elisa Taber (Leader of The Indigenous Writing Project: Contemporary Guaraní Poetry - Words Without Borders)
This Spanish-English workshop is part of an impact project funded by AHRC IAA (Impact Acceleration Account) to train Spanish to English literary translators with an interest in working collaboratively on translation from Spanish and Latin American indigenous languages – in this case Guarani. No previous experience of translating indigenous languages or knowledge of Guarani is needed. We will be working with poet Susy Delgado (National Poetry Prize, Paraguay) who will be joining us online, on her latest collection called Tatatinangue (2023), written in Spanish and Guaraní. The workshop will be led by Cecilia Rossi (who leads on this project) and, subject to confirmation, Elisa Taber, who leads The Indigenous Writing Project: Contemporary Guaraní Poetry - Words Without Borders
The workshop will introduce participating translators to the translation strategies and ethical approach needed to work from a Spanish translation of an indigenous language text, as well as offer training on writing about translation process and the production of paratexts.
Although no bursaries are specifically available for this workshop strand, the training offered to the participating translators during the summer school will extend beyond that week. Two hybrid meetings will be held at BCLT three and six months after the summer school (i.e.: early November 2025 and February 2026) which will give the translators the opportunity to share further work and get feedback. A final event (hybrid), which will include a reading and discussion of the work produced, will be hosted by BCLT in early March 2026.
The work produced under the guidance of the workshop leaders will be sent out for publication, for example, on NewWriting.net and also possibly Words without Borders and Latin American Literature Today. There will also be a possibility to collaborate with Argentine translators, subject to further funding.
Applications for the following workshop strands are now CLOSED:
French-English - led by Vineet Lal, with Swiss author Bruno Pellegrino
Korean (editing workshop) - led by Clare Richards with professional editor Tamara Sampey-Jawad (Fitzcarraldo Editions)
Multilingual Literary Non-Fiction - led by Daniel Hahn
Multilingual Prose - led by Nashwa Nasreldin
The Summer School will be taking place in-person at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK, Sunday 27th July - Saturday 2nd August 2025.
The 2025 Summer School packages are as follows:
Full residential package - £900.00
This package includes:
Welcome pack on arrival.
6 nights' accommodation on the university campus in a basic single ensuite bedroom in student halls.
Breakfast (Mon-Sat), morning and afternoon refreshments (Mon-Fri), lunch (Mon-Fri) and dinner each day (Sun-Fri. Please note that no dinner is served on the Wednesday as the evening is kept free to explore Norwich city centre).
Opening and closing drinks receptions and gala meals on the Sunday and Friday.
All tuition given throughout the week by experts in the field.
Coach travel to the National Centre for Writing on the Wednesday afternoon.
Non-residential package - £550.00
This package includes:
Welcome pack on arrival.
Morning and afternoon refreshments (Mon-Fri), lunch (Mon-Fri).
Opening and closing drinks receptions and gala meals on the Sunday and Friday.
All tuition given throughout the week by experts in the field.
Coach travel to the National Centre for Writing on the Wednesday afternoon.
All participants must arrange and pay for their own travel to and from University of East Anglia, Norwich and also ensure they have the relevant visa (if required).
After 25 years of running literary translation summer schools, the BCLT Summer School is a vibrant, tried and tested format for the professional development of literary translators. Not only does it provide a nurturing environment for translators to work on their craft; it also establishes a valuable network of translators, editors, publishers and indeed friends from around the world.
The core activity of the week is the literary translation workshops, led by experienced literary translators and editors, working from a range of languages into English. We also include in the programme two creative writing sessions for literary translators with authors writing in English, as well as plenary sessions addressing various aspects of the theory and practice of literary translation, with a focus on professional development for translators.
Our last in-person BCLT Summer School took place in July 2023. Please download the programme here to get an idea of how the schedule works for an in-person Summer School.
We have made the decision to offer both in-person and online Summer Schools in the future. Our 2025 Summer School will be IN-PERSON followed by an online Summer School in 2026. We will then continue to alternate between the two formats. We will not be offering a hybrid event.
What happens at a BCLT Summer School?