Writing Workshops

Why and How to Translate Literature with Heather Cleary and Julia Sanches

$645

10 Sessions

In stock

Once a week Saturdays, 12:00 pm EDT - 2:00 pm EDT April 18 to June 27, 2026

Online via Zoom

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Public enrollment for this course has sold out, but The Center for the Art of Translation will support two scholarships for this upcoming course, covering the full cost of enrollment.

All translators, including BIPOC translators and heritage translators (translators working from a language connected to their familial or cultural background), are encouraged to apply.

Please apply for a scholarship here.

What is literary translation? How does translating affect how we read and write? What makes a good translation, and how do we find a home for our work?

This workshop slash interactive seminar welcomes beginner and experienced translators as well as creative writers who are looking to energize their relationship with the English language. Together we will read innovative translations and writing by translators on their art, workshop new and ongoing projects, and discuss the ins and outs of publishing translations.

Participants will learn how to read like a translator, dissecting texts on the basis of tone, structure, connotation, and cadence, and to write with this same precision. We will explore the balance between respect for the cultural specificity of the original text and the creative freedom required to reimagine it in another language. We will also discuss the professional side of translation, from pitching to collaboration and beyond.

No previous literary translation experience is necessary, but participants need reading knowledge of another language. Translation projects can be from any language into English.

Course Outline:

Each session will follow this general format:

Opening creative exercise or discussion of a group reading: Activities will include English-to-English translation games that explore voice and register, buddy and telephone translation, and phonetic translation from unknown languages. Activities will be tailored to the group and its goals. Texts will include a comparison among first-page translations of Kafka’s Metamorphosis and selections from several seemingly untranslatable texts; translator notes and essays by Lydia Davis, Jeremy Tiang, Lisa Dillman, John Keene, and Khairani Barokka, among others; and the greatest hits from translation theory, distilled for ready digestion.
Workshop: Workshops will be the centerpiece of the course. Each student will share their projects at least twice over the ten weeks and receive feedback from the instructors and their peers. By reading and commenting on one another’s work, we will expand our creative horizons and resources and help each other bring our projects to the next level.
Closing discussion: Topics will include selecting and pitching projects; author relations and co-translation; translation ethics; fair compensation, and any other questions that arise during the session.

Teaching Style: This is an interactive workshop centered on guided discussion.

Level: All Levels

This course is held online via Zoom. Please note there will be no meeting on April 25th.

Led by

Julia Sanches & Heather Cleary

Julia Sanches & Heather Cleary

Prize-winning translators Julia Sanches and Heather Cleary have brought more than fifty books into English from Spanish, Portuguese, and Catalan. Their co-translation of Dahlia de la Cerda’s Reservoir Bitches was nominated for the 2025 International Booker Prize, and they have taught courses and workshops on translation theory and practice at Princeton, Brown, and Columbia, Sarah Lawrence College, and—together—for the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

About this series

Writing Workshops

We strive to make our classes the most inviting and rewarding available, offering an intimate environment to study with award-winning, world-class writers. Each class is specially designed by the instructor, so whether you’re a fledgling writer or an MFA graduate polishing your novel, you’ll find a perfect fit here.

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