‘If knew then what I do now, he would never have been anywhere near government.’ That’s grammatically incorrect, isn’t it? When I was teaching English as a foreign language I’d have corrected that a hundred times out of a hundred to ‘If I *had known* then what I do now…’. 1/2

2025 reading: 52 books; made my target of one a week by a whisker. 27 fiction, 23 non-fiction, 2 poetry. 19 not in English: 5 in CS, 5 FR, 4 EL, 3 PL, 1 HU, 1 UK. 16 by or translated by women. 15 graphic novels. 5 in translation: 1 each from DE, CY, PL, ES and KR. Reviews: bsky.app/profile/paul...

A Happy Christmas to all!

Exciting news! 📣 We are delighted to announce the workshop strands for the BCLT Literary Translation Summer School 2026. Next year’s Summer School will take place online from Monday 20 July – Friday 24 July 2026. Bursaries are available. Find out more and apply: www.uea.ac.uk/groups-and-c...

‘People called Flores they go the house’?

Come and hear Polish poet Małgorzata Lebda discuss her wonderful debut novel VORACIOUS with its fine translator @antonialloydjones.bsky.social on Thursday 29 May at 1830 – a visionary account of the lacework of interrelationships between people and the earth. www.waterstones.com/events/vorac...

I’m pleased to have been invited to take part in this discussion about how translation affects meaning in the theatre. Wednesday May 28, Jermyn Street Theatre, 5.45 (preceding a performance of “Little Brother” by Timberlake Wertenbaker. Details below. www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk/jst-pre-show...

Minute Cryptic - 10 January 2025 "_estow _enevolence!?" (5) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 I scored: 3 under par www.minutecryptic.com?utm_source=s...

Minute Cryptic - 3 January 2025 "Changes actress!?" (7) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 I scored: 4 under par www.minutecryptic.com?utm_source=s...

A prime book year in 2024: 47 read, down slightly on last few years. 30 fiction, 17 non-fic; 10 graphic novels. 10 translations: 2 from JP, 1 from ES, AL, DE, PT, FR, BO, IT and LA. 30 in English, 17 not: 7 in PL, 4 CS, 2 ET, 2 HU, 1 SK, 1 EL. 20 by/involving women. Thread: bsky.app/profile/paul...

A prime book year in 2024: 47 read, down slightly on last few years. 30 fiction, 17 non-fic; 10 graphic novels. 10 translations: 2 from JP, 1 from ES, AL, DE, PT, FR, BO, IT and LA. 30 in English, 17 not: 7 in PL, 4 CS, 2 ET, 2 HU, 1 SK, 1 EL. 20 by/involving women. Thread: bsky.app/profile/paul...

Happy new year!

Minute Cryptic - 30 December 2024 "Load empty folder with 1000 in binary" (7) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 I scored: 4 under par www.minutecryptic.com?utm_source=s...

1. English 2. Czech 3. Spanish 4. Irish 5. Hungarian

Finest greetings of the season to all. Let’s make 2025 a good year.

Finest greetings of the season to all. Let’s make 2025 a good year.

Minute Cryptic - 21 December 2024 "Vocalist raps on remixed disc" (7) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 I scored: 3 under par www.minutecryptic.com?utm_source=s...

Want to work as a translator for the EU on a permanent contract? Then enter an open competition for a chance to be recruited. 2 source languages. EU citizens only, no experience needed. Deadline 14 Jan 2025: eu-careers.europa.eu/en/translato.... See also info event Tue 17 Dec: loom.ly/03kxbag

Minute Cryptic - 16 December 2024 "Pirate chooses caged parrot" (4) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 I scored: 2 under par www.minutecryptic.com?utm_source=s...

Minute Cryptic - 15 December 2024 "City drum beat is on-and-off" (5) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 I scored: 2 under par www.minutecryptic.com?utm_source=s...

We return in February for our annual long read: The Luminous Novel by Mario Levrero 🇺🇾, translated from Spanish by Annie McDermott @andotherstories.bsky.social. Join us online at 7pm London time on Mon 3 Feb. All welcome, from wherever in the world. Follow/DM for details.

📢 The EU institutions are looking for translators for their DA, EL, EN, ES, FR, IT, MT & NL departments. More about the selection procedure: 👇 t.co/TGWKPgTrXY ⏰ 14 January 2025 #EUCareers #Translate4EU #ShapingEuropeTogether

Minute Cryptic - 14 December 2024 "Iron crumpled shirt, removing its fourth kink" (6) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 I scored: 2 under par www.minutecryptic.com?utm_source=s...

The EU is recruiting permanent staff translators into English and 7 other languages. 2 EU source langs & EU citizenship required. Apply here by 14 Jan 2025: eu-careers.europa.eu/en/translato.... The EU Commission's Dublin office is holding an open online info session on Tue 17 Dec: europa.eu/!9nGFdG

The EU is recruiting permanent staff translators into English and 7 other languages. 2 EU source langs & EU citizenship required. Apply here by 14 Jan 2025: eu-careers.europa.eu/en/translato.... The EU Commission's Dublin office is holding an open online info session on Tue 17 Dec: europa.eu/!9nGFdG

Minute Cryptic - 11 December 2024 "Meal Uncle John cooked containing zero joules" (8) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 I scored: 4 under par www.minutecryptic.com?utm_source=s...

Minute Cryptic - 6 December 2024 "Final recourse by captain in plane!?" (5) ⚪️🟡🟡🟡🟣🟣 I scored: 1 over par www.minutecryptic.com?utm_source=s...

Minute Cryptic - 5 December 2024 "Purchase trapped soul of Dennis Hopper" (5) 🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣🟣 I scored: 3 under par www.minutecryptic.com?utm_source=s...

The EU will soon be recruiting translators working into English from 2 EU languages - the first permanent staff posts in a long while. Expected 3 December. Keep an eye here: eu-careers.europa.eu/en/job-oppor.... Also for translators into DK, EL, ES, FR, IT, MT & NL. EU nationality required.

Happy #InternationalTranslationDay to those that celebrate. This year I am co-organising the European Commission’s Translating Europe Forum, on 6-8 November in Brussels and online, on translation, AI and terminology. Join us! More info: commission.europa.eu/translating-... #ITD #ITD2024 #2024TEF

The EU will soon be recruiting translators working into English from 2 EU languages - the first permanent staff posts in a long while. Expected 3 December. Keep an eye here: eu-careers.europa.eu/en/job-oppor.... Also for translators into DK, EL, ES, FR, IT, MT & NL. EU nationality required.

It’s been a while since I was last able to do this in my local park…

Happy New Year! My 2023 in books: 53 read; 27 fiction, 26 non-fic; 26 by/involving women; 12 graphic novels; 14 translations: 3 from IT, 1 each from Ancient Greek, HU(via DE), JP, KR, FR, NO, BG, LV, RU, CS, VI; 19 not in English: 10 in CS, 5 in PL, 2 in EL, 1 in FR, 1 SK. Tail end of list here:

Best Christmas wishes to all!

I’ve done a reading from The Book of Prague on the fantastic Translators Aloud YT channel: youtu.be/X38OCo-c7p4?si…. We’re doing launch events in London this Thursday 16 and Manchester Friday 17 November; come along - details here: commapress.co.uk/books/the-book 

The Book of Prague is published today by Comma Press - ten stories by Prague authors about this quintessentially European city. Pleased to say I’m the translator of one of them - Waiting for Patrik by Veronika Bendová. My first published literary translation. commapress.co.uk/books/the-bo...

I met Bobby Charlton once, while working for Man U in a Champions’ League fixture with Slovak side 1. FC Košice. I interpreted for him & other Utd directors at a pre-match dinner with the visiting board. He was warm, down to earth, chatty - much more so than the other directors.

Congratulations to Antonella Lettieri on winning this year’s Dryden translation contest organised by the BCLA. I was pleased to make the longlist again, with my translation of an extract from Stanisław Łubieński’s Książka o śmieciach: bcla.org/winners-of-t...

I’m creating a thread here, as I’ve done at that other place, of the books I read: to keep a record for myself and to encourage comment and discussion with others who might have read them too. Including a moon-based score marking their impression on me and a three-word review.

The Real & Imagined History of the Elephant Man at Nottingham Playhouse: brilliant, thought-provoking, linguistically rich play by Tom Wright; all performances great but Zak Ford-Williams as local East Mids boy Joseph Merrick especially so. Get to Notts! nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk/events/the-r...