Helen Vassallo – författare

This pioneering work advocates for a shift toward inclusivity in the UK translated literature landscape, investigating and challenging unconscious bias around women in translation and building on existing research highlighting the role of translators as activists and agents and the possibilities for these new theoretical models to contribute to meaningful industry change.The book sets out the context for the new subdiscipline of feminist translator studies, positing this as an essential mechanism to work towards diversity in the translated literature sector of the publishing industry. In a series of five case studies that each exemplify a key component of the feminist translator studies "toolkit", Vassallo draws on exclusive interviews with a range of activist translators and publishers, setting these in dialogue with contemporary perspectives on feminism and translation to propose a new agent-based model of feminist translation practice. In synthesising these perspectives, Vassallo makes a powerful argument for questioning existing structures in the translated literature publishing system which perpetuate bias and connects these conversations to wider social movements towards promoting demonstrable change in the industry.This book will be a valuable resource for students and scholars of translation studies and publishing, as well as for the various agents involved in promoting translated literature in the UK and beyond.

The Body Beseiged: The Embodiment of Historical Memory in Nina Bouraoui and Leïla Sebbar by Helen Vassallo brings together the work of two important contemporary writers, Nina Bouraoui and Leïla Sebbar. Both authors embody a significant historical divide (they are half French and half Algerian), and each author’s work returns unfailingly to the legacy of opposition engendered by the colonial past that France and Algeria share: neither Bouraoui nor Sebbar claims any intention to write about the Algerian War of Independence, and yet its impact is felt throughout all of the texts chosen for discussion. This inescapable omnipresence of the Algerian War is conceptualized here as “embodied memory,” a corporeal impulse to write about a war whose legacy is transmitted to these “second-generation” writers rather than a conscious decision to engage with the historical aspect of their personal heritage. Both authors suffer a culturally imposed “de-territorialization” in their life and their early autobiographical narratives, and both subsequently undergo a voluntary “displacement,” undertaking literal and psychological journeys to map out routes towards a sense of self, of belonging, and ultimately of “re-territorialization.” However, the analysis reveals how this move from de-territorialization to re-territorialization is accompanied by a shift from internalization (through memory and silence) to externalization (via articulation and community): rather than using the individual as symbolic of the universal, Bouraoui’s and Sebbar’s life writing acknowledges that their experience begins with a universal, historical, or social context, and represents a personal act of remembrance which is key to the recovery of historical memory, and to the negotiation of an appropriate space for this memory. At a time of “reconciliation” and remembrance, the analysis exposes and probes open wounds in the Franco-Algerian relationship through a close focus on the autobiographical writings of two authors who embody both (hi)stories, and whose texts represent a site of this “embodied memory.”

This pioneering work advocates for a shift toward inclusivity in the UK translated literature landscape, investigating and challenging unconscious bias around women in translation and building on existing research highlighting the role of translators as activists and agents and the possibilities for these new theoretical models to contribute to meaningful industry change.The book sets out the context for the new subdiscipline of feminist translator studies, positing this as an essential mechanism to work towards diversity in the translated literature sector of the publishing industry. In a series of five case studies that each exemplify a key component of the feminist translator studies "toolkit", Vassallo draws on exclusive interviews with a range of activist translators and publishers, setting these in dialogue with contemporary perspectives on feminism and translation to propose a new agent-based model of feminist translation practice. In synthesising these perspectives, Vassallo makes a powerful argument for questioning existing structures in the translated literature publishing system which perpetuate bias and connects these conversations to wider social movements towards promoting demonstrable change in the industry.This book will be a valuable resource for students and scholars of translation studies and publishing, as well as for the various agents involved in promoting translated literature in the UK and beyond.

Getting Started as a Literary Translator: Translated Literature and Publishing is an essential textbook for aspiring literary translators, offering a comprehensive guide to navigating the professional and entrepreneurial aspects of the field. Recognizing that translation can often be an isolated practice, this book provides emerging translators with the industry knowledge and connections needed to establish themselves, with a particular focus on the translated literature sector of the UK publishing industry, while also referencing other Anglophone contexts.Rather than teaching translation techniques, this textbook focuses on the practical skills required to operate as a professional translator. It brings together detailed information on key organizations, funding bodies and industry practices, alongside exclusive interviews with translators at various career stages and representatives from organizations that support literature in translation. These real-world insights and examples offer invaluable advice for breaking into the field.The book also highlights barriers to accessing and advancing in the translated literature sector and provides strategies to address them. Practical exercises and assessments throughout the chapters guide readers in developing their first translation pitch, culminating in the creation of a translation sample and a complete pitch pack. Designed for students, educators and emerging professionals, this textbook is an indispensable resource for anyone looking to build a career in literary translation.

Getting Started as a Literary Translator: Translated Literature and Publishing is an essential textbook for aspiring literary translators, offering a comprehensive guide to navigating the professional and entrepreneurial aspects of the field. Recognizing that translation can often be an isolated practice, this book provides emerging translators with the industry knowledge and connections needed to establish themselves, with a particular focus on the translated literature sector of the UK publishing industry, while also referencing other Anglophone contexts.Rather than teaching translation techniques, this textbook focuses on the practical skills required to operate as a professional translator. It brings together detailed information on key organizations, funding bodies and industry practices, alongside exclusive interviews with translators at various career stages and representatives from organizations that support literature in translation. These real-world insights and examples offer invaluable advice for breaking into the field.The book also highlights barriers to accessing and advancing in the translated literature sector and provides strategies to address them. Practical exercises and assessments throughout the chapters guide readers in developing their first translation pitch, culminating in the creation of a translation sample and a complete pitch pack. Designed for students, educators and emerging professionals, this textbook is an indispensable resource for anyone looking to build a career in literary translation.