British Centre for Literary Translation

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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 founded 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.

Apply for our Translators-in-Residence scheme 📢 We are offering 2 x translation residencies for UK-based literary transl...
19/10/2026

Apply for our Translators-in-Residence scheme 📢

We are offering 2 x translation residencies for UK-based literary translators, to run from 1 February 2027 to 31 May 2027.

The residencies give the translators the opportunity to explore an area of literary translation and language that fascinates them, as well as the precious time to translate in a supportive environment.

💼 £3,200 stipend
📅 Apply by Monday 2 Nov 2026
🗣️ Interviews: Monday 7 December 2026

Find out more and apply 👉️ https://www.bclt.org.uk/translators-in-residence

“If you’re struggling with a particularly tricky sentence, remove it from your draft and put it in a separate document s...
19/10/2026

“If you’re struggling with a particularly tricky sentence, remove it from your draft and put it in a separate document so it can breathe. Write multiple versions of the sentence in this new document, compare them, read them aloud to yourself, then try putting the best versions back into your main draft and see how they work with the sentences around them.”

- Charlotte Whittle, Translator in Residence 2025-26

🎭️ What is a ‘literal’ translation for the stage, and why do theatres commission them? Does it make a difference whether...
14/10/2026

🎭️ What is a ‘literal’ translation for the stage, and why do theatres commission them? Does it make a difference whether the playwright whose work a theatre translator is translating is living or dead? When do theatres turn to surtitles, and what do theatre translators need to bear in mind?

Drawing on her extensive experience of translating theatre both for publication and performance, Sarah will address these and other questions facing emerging theatre translators today.

Sarah Maitland is a theatre translator and academic. She has translated for organisations including the Royal Court Theatre, the Cervantes Theatre, the Theatre Royal Bath, the Unicorn and New Diorama theatres in London, the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center in New York, and Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance.

📅 Wednesday 18 November 2026
⏲️ 5.30-7pm (GMT)
📍 Online

Find out more & register 👉️ https://www.bclt.org.uk/events/alternative-pathways-to-translating-for-the-stage

💫 Yesterday, BCLT Executive Director Ceci Rossi chaired a panel on Poetry Translation at the Cambridge Poetry Festival 💫...
12/10/2026

💫 Yesterday, BCLT Executive Director Ceci Rossi chaired a panel on Poetry Translation at the Cambridge Poetry Festival 💫

A huge thank you to the organisers, particularly Angus Allman, and to Pembroke College for hosting us. It was a wonderful panel full of lively discussion and thoughtful conversation. Many thanks to the audience for their insightful questions, and to our fantastic panellists, Astrid Alben, Harriet Truscott, and Juana Adcock, for sharing their perspectives on poetry and translation.

📚✨🩷 Congratulations to PhD student Astrid Alben on the publication of her recent translation from the Dutch of Anne Vegt...
09/10/2026

📚✨🩷 Congratulations to PhD student Astrid Alben on the publication of her recent translation from the Dutch of Anne Vegter’s Pig Data! 📚✨🩷

A ground-breaking work of contemporary Dutch poetry, following the acclaimed ‘Island mountain glacier’ which was published in 2022, ‘Pig Data’ exposes the raw nerves of power and desire.

The collection orchestrates a mythic and historical collision between three formidable figures – the South African poet Ingrid Jonker, the mythical witch Medea, and a provocative poetic ‘I’ (evoking the trope of the ‘scorned woman’) – to interrogate the male gaze and the transformative potential of female rage.

Astrid Alben is a poet, editor and translator. She is currently completing a CHASE-funded practice-based PhD in Translation Studies at the University of East Anglia, focusing on the self-translation of poetry.

Pig Data is available to borrow from the BCLT Library, open Tuesdays, 10am—4pm. Find us in Lakshmi Holmström Room, AHB 1.19, on the first floor of the Arts and Humanities building at the University of East Anglia, Norwich.

🎭 BCLT was delighted to support translator Lucy Phelps as part of the 2025-26 Orange Tree Writers' Collective🍊🌲 Alongsid...
08/10/2026

🎭 BCLT was delighted to support translator Lucy Phelps as part of the 2025-26 Orange Tree Writers' Collective🍊🌲

Alongside translator (and actor) Lucy Phelps, the 2025-26 cohort featured mid-career playwrights Hassan Abdulrazzak, Azan Ahmed, Catherine Dyson, Ben Weatherill, and Martha Watson Allpress.

A few weeks ago, Lucy joined fellow cohort members at Jermyn Street Theatre, where they shared readings from their work and reflected on their experiences of the programme during a live Q&A session.

Established in 2013, the Orange Tree Writers' Collective brings together a cohort of mid-career playwrights for an extended period of creative development. Participants receive support to begin work on a new project, alongside opportunities to exchange ideas, discuss their writing, and learn from leading practitioners across the theatre industry.

A word from our Literary Associate, William Gregory: “It has been my honour to take the helm of the Writers’ Collective from my predecessor Guy Jones and to steer this brilliant cohort of artists through our 15 months together."

Congratulations to Lucy and the entire cohort! 👏✨

One week to go! 💫 Join Josephine Murray for Translating Children’s Illustrated Non-Fiction Books 📚️ What effect do illus...
07/10/2026

One week to go! 💫 Join Josephine Murray for Translating Children’s Illustrated Non-Fiction Books 📚️

What effect do illustrations and layout have on the translation process? How do style, ethics and research feature in the translation of non-fiction?

In this workshop Josephine will take us through creative exercises based on Myths, Cities and Nature by Manon Bucciarelli (Harper Collins, 2026 and 2025) to explore the translation of illustrated non-fiction children's books.

🗓️ Wednesday 14 October
⏲️ 5.30-7pm
📍 Online

Register: https://www.bclt.org.uk/events/translating-illustrated-non-fiction

📚 Read 'Elective Affinities: Introducing W. G. Sebald' by Harjinder Singh Bhugtaana 📚In May 2026, Harjinder led a Sebald...
07/10/2026

📚 Read 'Elective Affinities: Introducing W. G. Sebald' by Harjinder Singh Bhugtaana 📚

In May 2026, Harjinder led a Sebald Walk around the UEA campus as part of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities End-of-Year Festival. This article presents the text of his introduction to the walk.

Harjinder is currently completing a PhD in the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing at UEA, where his research focuses on Sebald and phenomenology.

Read it here 👉️ https://www.newwriting.net/category/translation/

Another gem from Rosalind 💎
06/10/2026

Another gem from Rosalind 💎

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

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

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