We were delighted to receive four nominations for the two vacancies to join the committee at the AGM on 3 November.  Thank you to all the candidates for their commitment to the Translators Association (TA) in these uncertain times.

The candidates up for nomination are:

 
The successful candidates will join Rebecca DeWald, Rosie Hedger, Sawad Hussain, Vineet Lal, Anju Okhandiar and Clare Richards on the Committee in November.

The closing date for votes is Tuesday 18 October at 12 noon.

Place your vote here.

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Candidate statements

Astrid Alben

I am a poetry translator who has also translated the work of playwrights, philosophers, architects, mathematicians and scientists. Most recently my translation of Anne Vegter’s poetry received an English PEN Translates Award.

Currently, I am the Commissioning Editor for Literature in Translation at Prototype Publishing. In that role, I have worked with TA Committee members to put in place clearer and fairer contracts for translators. I believe strongly that transparency and collaboration across the publishing industry will make the translation industry fairer, more inclusive and diverse, and more robust.

As interim CEO of the Poetry Translation Centre, I advocated for translator networks between European and non-European languages and organised and hosted the Poetries in Translation Symposium at SOAS.

As current Chair of Poetry London, I restructured and strengthened the board with the other Trustees and nurture an environment in which colleagues and friends can play a key part in making things happen.

I am a graduate of the prestigious Clore Leadership Programme and was awarded a Wellcome Fellowship for my pioneering work across the sciences and the arts. I am an experienced public speaker with a recognised profile in the literature community. I am an advocate for the importance of translation, for better recognition and pay in particular. I would love to share my cross-sector experience in and passion for advocacy, campaigning, board experience to the TA Committee.

www.astridalben.com @albenastrid @AstridAlben

Ian Giles

Literary translation has never been so sought after in the UK, making it more important than ever for literary translators to seek enhanced terms so that we can focus on the work we want to do. My contribution to The Bookseller’s first ever translation issue in May 2022 explored the rise of translator professionalism as demand for translated books increases, as well as emphasising the importance of strong leadership from trade union organisations.

I have translated the Scandinavian languages to English professionally since 2010. What we do as literary translators is work and that work should pay. As a member of the TA committee, I would empower translators to negotiate the best possible terms when undertaking work, while also improving the translator ecosystem and wider publishing sphere. The current economy must not result in translators being treated as an afterthought by publishers.

The TA’s ongoing CPD initiatives should focus on futureproofing us as individuals so that translation remains a paying job, and ensure members are equipped with the tools they need to stand up for themselves. I have extensive experience organising and planning literary and CPD events, including in my current long-standing role as Chair of the Swedish-English Literary Translators’ Association. As a member of the TA committee, I would bring my experience to the table as I proactively seek to improve TA members’ material terms.

If elected to the TA committee, I have two key goals:

• Empower translators to negotiate for better pay

• Further improve the TA’s CPD initiatives

Andrea Reece

I hold an MA in Literary Translation from Exeter University, have been a freelance translator from French and Spanish since 2010, starting with creative commercial translations (audio-guide scripts, museum content, sports journalism) and steadily moving towards more literary translation, attending courses such as Arvon, BCLT, Warwick Translates and ATLAS Vice-Versa in Arles, France as well as industry events including the London and Edinburgh book fairs.

I have around ten published book translations to my name, including non-fiction, fiction, memoir, autobiography, children’s educational picture books, published by a mix of indie and large commercial publishers. One book won a PEN Translates grant; another was a Sunday Times bestseller.

Encouraged by Ros Schwartz, I started a literary translators’ group in Brighton back in 2019, holding monthly meetings to discuss translation issues, as well as organising summer camps and work Christmas parties. This group is still going strong. I recently also co-organised a long weekend reunion of attendees of the 2016 Arvon Translation course.

In a previous career working for BAA (British Airport Authority), I was a branch secretary and trade union representative for my department, attending courses on negotiations and representation, which have stood me in good stead throughout subsequent careers and which I hope to feed into a role with the TA committee.

I feel I have now accumulated enough breadth of experience and knowledge to be able to give something back to the translation industry and prove useful to TA members and the wider translation environment.

Nichola Smalley

I’d like to put myself forward for the TA Committee. My main motivations for wanting to join the committee are to be more involved in the running of the TA and the setting of priorities after almost ten years as a member, to develop a greater understanding of the needs and challenges of my colleagues, and to be active in a collective endeavour connected to my career now I have gone full-time as a freelancer.

With my background working for the best part of a decade for And Other Stories, a publisher that works extensively with translated literature, I believe I would bring a unique expertise and insight to the committee, having experience of both sides of the translator-publisher ‘divide’, and knowledge of many different aspects of the publishing process. In addition, I am well connected across the publishing industry, with a track record of bringing people together, and would like to utilise these connections to the benefit of all members. Finally, I am keen to work towards increased diversity of many kinds within the profession of literary translation, and am confident in communicating why such diversity is important to ensure not only equity, but also literary brilliance.