NW Literary Translation Events


Events of interest to literary translators and fans of literary translation. 
This list contains a variety of events related to the translation of literature, some of which are organized and sponsored by NOTIS and some that are not. Events organized by NOTIS are labeled with the "NOTIS event" logo. To learn more about the Northwest Literary Translators, click here

Upcoming Literary Translation Events

    • 01/12/2026
    • 18:00 - 20:00
    • Zoom/Online
    • 14
    Register

     NOTIS’s Translation Division presents:

    How to Be a Translator or Interpreter and Not Go Broke
    Presented by Helen Eby


    Event Description
    In this 2-hour webinar, we will consider the business of interpreting/translation from a variety of perspectives to develop a successful business plan.

    • Evaluating the quality of the product being offered
    • The value our work adds to the client’s business
    • How to promote our work
    • What the competition is
    • What the market may bear
    • The cost of doing business
    • Basic accounting and invoicing, follow-up practices for sustainability
    • Client follow-up and satisfaction


    During the webinar, the instructor will engage attendees by:

    • Asking questions for them to reply to in the chat, and co-creating answers to questions on a spreadsheet based on those questions.
    • Asking for participants comments at the end of every section and will occasionally reply to comments as she teaches without prompting.
    • Asking participants how they can apply the principles being discussed in their work environment.
    • Responses through the chat will be shared verbally so those who do not have access to the chat can participate as fully as possible.


    Handouts: Registrants will receive outline and rate-rationales.

    This webinar will be recorded. The recording will be available for one month from the workshop date.

    When?
    Monday, January 12, 2026, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. PST 

    Check-in at 5:50 p.m. 

    Where? 
    Two reminders with Zoom invitation will be sent: the first arriving three days before the workshop, and the second arriving on the day before. Each reminder will include log-on instructions and class handouts if applicable.

    Cost?
    $10 priority registration for NOTIS members
    Non-member registration fee: $15

    While this workshop is open to everyone, NOTIS members enjoy early access and discounted rates. Non-members may register beginning January 7, 2026.

    Registration is limited to 60 participants.

    Click HERE to join NOTIS!

    Registration
    Register by January
     10th, or until sold outAfter registering, you will receive an email confirmation; if you do not receive a confirmation, your registration did not go through.

    CEUs

      Credits Requested Approval Status 
    DSHS 2 general

    Approved (Approval number:761)

    AOC 2 general Approved
    OJD 2 general Approved
    ATA 2 Approved (category A)


    Agency Codes:
    WA AOC - Washington Administrative Office of the Courts
    OJD - Oregon Judicial Department
    ATA - American Translators Association
    WA DSHS - Washington Dept. of Social and Human Services

    Who is teaching? 

    Helen Eby registered her business, Gaucha Translations, with the State of Oregon in 2010, but has been working as a translator and interpreter for over 30 years in the United States and in Latin America. She is a certified Spanish court interpreter (Oregon and Washington), a certified Spanish health care interpreter (Oregon Healthcare Authority), an ATA Certified translator (Spanish to English) and a Washington DSHS Certified Document Translator (English to Spanish). As she has provided trainings and been involved in leadership, she has been involved in discussions with stakeholders from all sides. This presentation is designed to help interpreters and translators consider their work from a variety of perspectives, including the client’s viewpoint, in order to become professionals who have a profitable enterprise. She has given versions of this presentation for Interpreters United in Washington State, the New England Translators Association (NETA), the American Translators Association (ATA), the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (NAJIT), the Oregon Society of Translators and Interpreters (OSTI), and for the Congreso San Jerónimo, by the Organización Mexicana de Traductores, in Guadalajara, Mexico.


    Certificates of Attendance will be awarded to all who arrive on time and stay for the entire workshop. Please allow yourself enough time to log on and sign in before the webshop begins. While latecomers are welcome to stay for the educational value of the webshop, DSHS will not provide CE credit if you arrive late, for any reason. Certificates will be emailed the following week.

    Refunds? 
    No refunds for this workshop. Credit transfer to another workshop is not allowed. No refunds will be given for reasons unrelated to this content, such as unstable Internet connection, failure to receive reminders, third-party application issues, or system requirement issues.

      Anything else?
      If you require accommodation, please contact NOTIS at least 3 weeks in advance if possible.

      Questions? Email NOTIS


      • 01/15/2026
      • 17:30 - 19:30
      • Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum, 93 Pike St #307, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
      • 15
      Register


      Lecture:
      On the Translation of Poetry,
      by Alexis Levitin


      Time & Location

      January 15, 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
      Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum
      93 Pike St #307, Seattle, WA 98101, USA

      About the Event

      Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum and The Northwest Literary Translators invite you to join us for an in-person lecture and discussion led by noted translator Alexis Levitin.

      Visiting as part of his West Coast tour, Alexis will focus on strategies for translating rhymed poetry from "rhyme-rich" languages like Spanish and Portuguese into a "rhyme-poor" language like English. He will discuss some highlights of his own long career in translation, including a rhymed sonnet by Ecuador's Sonia Manzano, a rhymed poem of four quatrains by Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, and one 2025 publication, Leonor Scliear-Cabral's set of 23 sonnets dedicated to letters of the Hebrew alphabet, called "Consecration of the Aleph Bet" in Alexis's translation. He will also discuss the stories behind his discovery of those works and their eventual publication in translation.

      Alexis Levitin is a widely-published translator and an author of short stories, as well as a beloved fixture of ALTA conferences, where the popular bilingual reading series is named in his honor. Read about Alexis and his work on his website

      Please bring a snack or beverage to share if you can.

      The Northwest Literary Translators meets almost every month for workshops, discussions, and networking. For more information, join our Facebook group or visit our website.

      • 02/19/2026
      • 17:30 - 19:30
      • Folio, 93 Pike St #307, Seattle, WA 98101
      • 14
      Register


      Feeling romantic after Valentine's Day? Lucky or unlucky in love? What about love across languages?

      This month, the Northwest Literary Translators will gather for a Feedback Forum focused on matters of the heart. Bring a passage from your work in progress that features love, eros, obsessive attraction, or a lingering teenage crush and accept helpful feedback and questions from attendees. We welcome all languages and genres. Presenters should be prepared to bring refreshments to share - and to bare their hearts (or their authors' hearts). We'll accept romantic readings as well as pieces to workshop for this event, so please attend even if you're not looking for translation advice for the lovelorn. 

      This month, we'll gather at our favorite place: Folio, the Seattle Athenaeum in Pike Place Market. To sign up to share your work, please send the sample you'd like to discuss to Shelley by Monday morning, February 16.

      For more information, join our Facebook group.

    Past Literary Translation Events

    12/11/2025 Northwest Literary Translators Holiday Potluck
    11/13/2025 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    10/16/2025 Book Discussion: The Philosophy of Translation by Damion Searls
    10/08/2025 Translation as an Act of Resistance: A Conversation with Sawad Hussain
    09/17/2025 Shelley Fairweather-Vega presents Castigation and We Computers
    08/20/2025 Book Launch: We Computers
    08/09/2025 Feedback Forum in the park
    07/19/2025 A Taste for Words: Translating the Language of Food (online live via Zoom) 2 CEU by ATA. $30/Members
    07/17/2025 Translation in the Spotlight – Open mic night!
    06/24/2025 Book discussion: Language City by Ross Perlin
    06/10/2025 Mia Spangenberg presents Backlight
    06/04/2025 2025 Translation Slam!
    05/08/2025 Reception and Q&A with Translator Sawad Hussain
    05/07/2025 Panel: Translating Young Adult Literature as Resistance and Entertainment
    05/07/2025 Literary Translation Masterclass with Sawad Hussain (free for members)
    05/05/2025 Seattle launch of Best Literary Translations 2025
    04/10/2025 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    03/20/2025 Translators in Fiction: Tales of Bart with José Alaniz
    02/20/2025 Book Fairs for Literary Translators: A Panel Discussion
    01/16/2025 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    12/19/2024 Northwest Literary Translators Holiday Potluck
    11/14/2024 Translating Persian Literature: Problems & Prospects
    11/13/2024 Shahzoda Samarqandi and Shelley Fairweather-Vega
    11/07/2024 Translating In & Out of the Ivory Tower
    10/17/2024 Literary Translation Feedback Forum & Conference Prep
    09/19/2024 Literary translation publishers' panel
    08/31/2024 Literary Translation Feedback Forum - in the park!
    06/20/2024 2024 Translation Slam!
    06/01/2024 Machine and GenAI Translation Techniques for NOTIS members (online live via Zoom) 1 CEU by ATA. Free for NOTIS members!
    05/22/2024 How to Be a Translator or Interpreter and Not Go Broke (members only, $5; online via Zoom) 2 CEUs by DSHS (#761), AOC, OJD, ATA.
    05/16/2024 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    05/02/2024 Reception and Q&A with Translator Anton Hur
    05/01/2024 Literary Translation Masterclass with Anton Hur (free for members)
    04/18/2024 Book Discussion: Babel by R.F. Kuang
    03/14/2024 Poetry Translation Workshop with Wendy Call
    02/28/2024 The Translations of Seamus Heaney with Marco Sonzogni
    02/15/2024 Discussion: Literary Translators Inside and Outside the Academy
    01/20/2024 The Importance of Biblical References for Translators and Interpreters
    01/19/2024 Translating For and Against Empire
    01/18/2024 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    12/14/2023 Northwest Literary Translators Holiday Potluck
    12/08/2023 On Demand: Self-Editing for Literary Translation (Free for members!)
    11/18/2023 Olena Stiazhkina and Dominique Hoffman
    11/16/2023 Self-Editing for Literary Translation
    10/19/2023 Literary Translation Feedback Forum & Conference Prep
    10/05/2023 Juhani Karila and Lola Rogers
    09/30/2023 Celebrate International Translation Day with NOTIS
    09/09/2023 Bringing Nordic Children's Literature to an English Readership
    08/24/2023 Literary Translation Pitching Practice
    07/27/2023 Book Discussion: Translating Myself and Others
    06/19/2023 On Demand: Subtitling 101 - The Art and Science of Good Subtitles (watch the recording and earn continuing education credits) 3 credits by ATA. $15/members
    06/15/2023 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    06/15/2023 On Demand: The Sweet Spot Called Productivity (Recorded workshop, free for members!) 1 CEU by ATA
    06/07/2023 Book presentation: "Whale" by Cheon Myeong-kwan
    05/18/2023 Fourth Annual Translation Slam!
    05/04/2023 Mia Spangenberg presents The Red Book of Farewells
    04/20/2023 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    03/09/2023 Party with the Northwest Literary Translators
    03/08/2023 AWP Conference & Bookfair
    03/02/2023 Lecture: Translation as a Decolonial Act in Southeast Asia
    02/16/2023 Roundtable: Selling Books in Translation
    01/26/2023 Northwest Literary Translators 2023 Preview Meeting
    12/15/2022 Literary Translators Holiday Potluck
    11/15/2022 Found in Translation, Or Why to Translate & for Who?
    10/25/2022 Translating the Eccentric and the Commonplace
    10/20/2022 Translations That Sound Right: On Rendering the Ukrainian Writer Serhiy Zhadan into English
    09/29/2022 Conference Prep for Literary Translators
    07/11/2022 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    06/13/2022 Third Annual Translation Slam!
    05/09/2022 Workshop: Pitching translations to publishers
    04/15/2022 Hamid Ismailov in conversation with Shelley Fairweather-Vega
    04/11/2022 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    04/08/2022 ALTA45th
    03/14/2022 Research for Literary Translation
    02/15/2022 Contracts for Book-length Works of Literary Translation
    01/10/2022 Translating Food
    12/13/2021 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    11/15/2021 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    11/11/2021 ALTA 44th annual conference - in-person portion
    10/29/2021 Translation Studies Hub Colloquium: Anthony Geist on Translating Poetry
    10/27/2021 ATA 62nd annual conference
    10/15/2021 ALTA 44th annual conference - online portion
    10/12/2021 Ask the Literary Translators
    09/30/2021 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    09/25/2021 Russian Translation Master Class
    09/17/2021 OSTI 2021 online conference
    08/12/2021 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    07/08/2021 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    06/17/2021 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    04/03/2021 Book talk: "Gaia, Queen of Ants" with author and translator
    03/04/2021 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    01/28/2021 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    01/21/2021 Meet the Translator: Sasha Senderovich
    12/17/2020 Meet the Translator: Becky Crook
    12/10/2020 Meet the Translator: Jenni Salmi RESCHEDULED!
    12/03/2020 David Jacobson: Publishing, translation, poetry
    11/05/2020 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    10/15/2020 Meet the Translator: Allison A. DeFreese
    10/09/2020 Classics of Translation = Translation of Classics
    09/30/2020 ALTA National Conference
    09/19/2020 OSTI Conference Week 2
    09/17/2020 Meet the Translator: Lola Rogers
    09/12/2020 OSTI Conference Week 1
    09/10/2020 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    08/20/2020 Meet the Translator: Shelley Fairweather-Vega
    08/13/2020 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    07/30/2020 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    07/16/2020 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    07/02/2020 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    06/17/2020 OSTI Literary Translation Open Mic
    06/04/2020 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    06/02/2020 Children’s Literature in Translation
    05/21/2020 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    05/07/2020 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    04/23/2020 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    04/19/2020 OSTI Literary Translation Workshop
    04/16/2020 POSTPONED: Spring Translation Slam!
    03/28/2020 POSTPONED Translated book talk: Gaia, Queen of Ants
    03/19/2020 POSTPONED Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    02/20/2020 The Untranslatable: a talk with Allison deFreese
    01/18/2020 Portland literary translation meetup
    01/16/2020 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    01/15/2020 Art of Translation with Veronica Muskheli
    12/19/2019 Poetry translation workshop
    11/21/2019 True Crime: A True Translation Story
    10/29/2019 Colloquium: "Teaching Translation Studies: A Literary Science for a STEM Campus”
    10/17/2019 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    10/06/2019 Portland literary translation meetup
    09/26/2019 Translating Children's Literature
    06/20/2019 Editing literary translations
    05/25/2019 Translation In the Spotlight
    04/18/2019 Lyn Coffin lecture
    03/30/2019 Tavern Books 10th Anniversary Celebration and Translators’ Reading
    03/28/2019 AWP Literary Translation Happy Hour
    03/27/2019 AWP Annual Conference
    03/21/2019 Spring Translation Slam!
    03/02/2019 Portland literary translation meetup
    02/21/2019 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    01/17/2019 NW Literary Translators host Dr. Richard Watts
    12/20/2018 Translating Comics and Graphic Novels
    11/15/2018 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    10/31/2018 ALTA National Conference
    10/18/2018 Conference Prep for Literary Translators
    10/15/2018 Translator Marian Schwartz
    10/12/2018 Talk by author Katarina Marinčič
    09/11/2018 At the Inkwell celebrates National Translation Month: Words and Worlds In Translation
    08/02/2018 HALF OFF THE PRICE!! Maintaining the Author’s Voice in Translation
    06/23/2018 Literary Translators Open Mic Night
    06/09/2018 Literary Translation Workshop: Theory in Practice
    05/17/2018 Literary Translation & the Law
    04/19/2018 Self-publishing 101
    03/29/2018 Memory and Forgetting in Don Quixote
    03/15/2018 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    02/15/2018 Translation for the Opera
    02/11/2018 Slovene Culture Day
    02/09/2018 Translation Practices: Negotiating Difference (Praxis 2018)
    01/18/2018 Literary Translation Tools and Tech
    12/21/2017 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    11/08/2017 Roundtable on Education for Literary Translation
    10/20/2017 USBBY conference
    10/19/2017 Postponed: Game translation as literary translation
    10/05/2017 ALTA National Conference
    09/21/2017 AmazonCrossing Happy Hour and Reading Night
    09/12/2017 Translation reading night
    08/26/2017 Songs of the City
    07/20/2017 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    06/15/2017 Poetry, translation and grants
    05/19/2017 Book talk: "Translation's Forgotten History"
    05/18/2017 Literary translation publishers' panel
    04/20/2017 Spring translation slam
    03/16/2017 Literary Translation Feedback Forum
    02/16/2017 Literary Translation: Pitch Perfect
    01/19/2017 Feedback Forum for literary translators
    12/08/2016 Literary Translation Meetup
    10/10/2016 Translated book talk: Deborah Smith
    10/06/2016 ALTA Annual Conference
    05/21/2016 Spotlight Your Work (NOTIS social event)
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