Introduction to Translating Children's Literature

When
10am to 12pm PT, Oct. 8, 2022

The National Center for Interpretation is pleased to announce a special webinar on translating children's literature, being offered in collaboration with the University of Arizona's Worlds of Words in the College of Education. Thanks also to the Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language and Literacy for their sponsorship and support!

This session provides participants with an introduction into how the translation of children’s books works and to the art of translating itself, with a focus on picturebooks. Participants will learn about the major players working to support children’s literature in translation and how to get started in the field. Then we will look at a few pages from 2-3 different picturebooks together, and participants will have the opportunity to try their hand at translating a page from a picturebook.

Upon completing the session, participants will have:

  • An understanding of the publishers and major players actively involved in making children’s literature travel and how they can get started in the field
  • An understanding of the role of the translator as a creative agent
  • An understanding of literary translation as the art of transferring meaning, style, and register rather than individual words

Instructor: Mia Spangenberg, Ph.D., translates fiction, nonfiction and children’s literature from Finnish and German into English. Her work has been published in Finland and the UK, and in journals such as LitHub and Asymptote. She also teaches translation workshops and is a regular contributor to the WorldKidLit blog. She holds a Ph.D. in Scandinavian studies from the University of Washington, Seattle, where she resides with her family.