British Centre for Literary Translation

British Centre for Literary Translation British Centre for Literary Translation (BCLT) is Britain’s leading centre for the study and support of literary translation.

Britain’s leading centre for the study and support of literary translation. BCLT is a research centre within the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia in Norwich. We support the MA in Literary Translation at the University of East Anglia, an increasing variety of undergraduate modules in the subject, and an extensive programme of PhD research. BCLT was f

ounded in 1989 by the late W G ‘Max’ Sebald. We also work in close partnership with Writers’ Centre Norwich and a wide range of other national and international organisations to deliver a programme of activities which support the professional development of literary translators and promote the recognition of literary translation as a profession. These include the annual Sebald Lecture, held in February at the British Library in London, and the International Summer School in Literary Translation and Creative Writing, held in July at UEA in Norwich.

Join Charlotte Whittle, Jeremy Tiang and Robin Myers for a discussion of life and work as a writer-translator 💫 📅 Wednes...
27/05/2026

Join Charlotte Whittle, Jeremy Tiang and Robin Myers for a discussion of life and work as a writer-translator 💫

📅 Wednesday 3 June 2026
⏲️ 4.30 - 6.00pm (BST)
📍 Online

Charlotte Whittle is an award-winning translator, editor, writer, and current BCLT Translator-in-Residence who translates Spanish and Latin American literature into English.

Robin Myers is a poet and translator whose work focuses on contemporary Latin American literature. She won the 2025 National Book Award in Translated Literature for We Are Green and Trembling.

Jeremy Tiang is a writer, playwright, and translator who has translated more than thirty books from Chinese. His novel State of Emergency won the Singapore Literature Prize.

To find out more and register: https://www.bclt.org.uk/events/Literary-Renegades

26/05/2026

Is there more than one way to be a translator? 🤔 Hear from archive fellow Daniel Hahn in conversation with Thomas Boll, curator of the translation collection at the British Archive for Contemporary Writing. 📖🎓️



There's still time to register for Rosalind's talk this Wednesday 📣 How do we relate to literary translation, and how is...
25/05/2026

There's still time to register for Rosalind's talk this Wednesday 📣

How do we relate to literary translation, and how is literary translation relational? Do we view it as a job, an art-form, both, or something else entirely, and to what degree do our backgrounds and temperaments play a part in this view? How and why might our personal histories draw us towards a profession that hovers somewhat uneasily on the edges of the publishing industry, a profession that requires both a high level of emotional intelligence and an ability to at times ignore the messages from our body telling us that our working conditions are less than favourable? How do we retain a love for our work while simultaneously questioning the limits of this love?

In this talk, BCLT Translator-in-Residence, Rosalind Harvey will share an excerpt from her work-in-progress, a book exploring translation, therapy and relationships, and which uses attachment theory as an imperfect lens to examine our attraction to and conflicts with texts, publishing and creative labour.

📅 Wednesday 27 May 2026
⏲️ 4 - 5.30pm (BST)
📍 Online

Register 👉️ https://www.bclt.org.uk/.../research-seminar-rosalind-harvey

24/05/2026

🦅 Our first poetry workshop from our collaboration with the Aga Khan Centre starts this Saturday! Join April Yee to explore the thin line between art and poetry through this poetry and collage workshop.

Inspired by the Aga Khan Centre’s Canticle of the Birds exhibition—itself rooted in The Conference of the Birds, the 12th-century Persian poem by the Sufi poet Farid ud-Din Attar—this workshop series continues the exhibition’s spirit of translation and transformation.

Lovers of words in all languages welcome—poets and non-poets, translators and non-translators.

More info and tickets here: https://buff.ly/BneQTQc

23/05/2026

Join us online for PETRA-E’s 3rd International Conference: Creative Translation in the Age of AI 📚️🧑‍💻

The PETRA-E Network is delighted to hold its third conference on literary translation, hosted by the British Centre for Literary Translation.

This conference will focus on the human creativity that is resistant to the rise of AI – on the extent to which the literary translator can be considered an original author, how creativity and experimentation can be cultivated in the classroom, how a translator’s creativity might need to be constrained and how it thrives on constraints.

📅 28–29 May 2026
🌐 Online

This is a hybrid hybrid event, but bookings are now closed for in-person attendance.

Register now 👉️ https://www.bclt.org.uk/events/Creative-Translation-Age-of-AI

We love these photos from the final projects of MA students in their Literary Translation as a Creative Writing Practice...
21/05/2026

We love these photos from the final projects of MA students in their Literary Translation as a Creative Writing Practice module - so artistic! 🥰

Find out more about studying for an MA in Literary Translation with BCLT: https://www.bclt.org.uk/bclt-ma-literary-translation

✨ From UEA to the International Booker Shortlist ✨ Huge congratulations to UEA alumna Izidora Angel, shortlisted for the...
19/05/2026

✨ From UEA to the International Booker Shortlist ✨

Huge congratulations to UEA alumna Izidora Angel, shortlisted for the International Booker Prize for her translation of the Bulgarian novel She Who Remains, written by Rene Karabash.

Best of luck this evening at the prizegiving! 🤞

Izidora also wrote a wonderful piece for BCLT reflecting on her journey. Read it on newwriting.net: https://www.newwriting.net/2026/05/from-uea-to-the-international-booker-shortlist/

19/05/2026

Hear from translator Daniel Hahn about his fellowship with BCLT working on his archive that sits in the British Archive for Contemporary Writing at UEA. He is in conversation with archives manager, Helen Busby. 📚️😊

How do we relate to literary translation, and how is literary translation relational? Do we view it as a job, an art-for...
18/05/2026

How do we relate to literary translation, and how is literary translation relational? Do we view it as a job, an art-form, both, or something else entirely, and to what degree do our backgrounds and temperaments play a part in this view? How and why might our personal histories draw us towards a profession that hovers somewhat uneasily on the edges of the publishing industry, a profession that requires both a high level of emotional intelligence and an ability to at times ignore the messages from our body telling us that our working conditions are less than favourable? How do we retain a love for our work while simultaneously questioning the limits of this love?
In this talk, BCLT Translator-in-Residence, Rosalind Harvey will share an excerpt from her work-in-progress, a book exploring translation, therapy and relationships, and which uses attachment theory as an imperfect lens to examine our attraction to and conflicts with texts, publishing and creative labour.

📅 Wednesday 27 May 2026
⏲️ 4 - 5.30pm (BST)
📍 Online
Register 👉️ https://www.bclt.org.uk/.../research-seminar-rosalind-harvey

Address

Arts And Humanities Building, Room 1. 19, University Of East Anglia
Norwich
NR47TJ

Opening Hours

Monday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 9:30am - 4:30pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when British Centre for Literary Translation posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The University

Send a message to British Centre for Literary Translation:

Shortcuts

Share

Category