For Translators

New Books in German wants to help foster a welcoming and supportive network and community for German to English translators at all stages of their careers. Please feel free to drop us a line at any time.

Training and development

We have put together a list of programmes, prizes, scholarships, and residencies available for translators of German into English which we hope you will find helpful. Please get in touch with us if you know of an opportunity not listed here.

New Book in German does not routinely offer any training for translators.

This article ‘So, you want to be a literary translator?‘ answers some questions which crop up frequently.

Reader reports

If you are interested in becoming a reader for New Books in German, please get in touch. Readers help our jury select the titles we recommend by reading a book submitted to us and writing a report on it in English, according to a reporting template we supply. Payment is between £80 and £120 per report (most books are paid at £80). Books are sent out to readers twice a year – we usually have more willing readers than books, so work is not guaranteed.

In an article for New Books in German, writer, and translator Emma Rault explores what makes for a good reader’s report.

In this article , Feline Charpentier reflects on two decades of reader report writing for NBG, and discusses her approach to the task.

Overview of selected publishing houses in Austria, Germany and Switzerland

We publish an overview of publishing houses to champion some hand-picked smaller, boutique, or newer German-language publishers we know who publish engaging titles suitable for international audiences. You can access this here.

This list will help you see what is out there when looking at the market, searching for inspiration for reading or studying, or thinking about texts for sample translations. 

Each entry gives a flavour of each publisher. We note their interests or focus areas, list some of their authors, note any international successes and provide links to any books they publish which are currently covered by the New Books in German funding guarantee. Clicking the publisher’s name takes you to their website.

Publishers are listed alphabetically. We welcome your thoughts on this resource; please feel free to email us.

Sample Translations

We do not commission sample translations, apart from on a very exceptional basis. The ones you see on our website are sent to us by the publishers. Sometimes translators who have prepared a sample at their own instigation will approach a publisher to see if they can get permission for it to be published on the NBG website.

Internships

Our interns come from various backgrounds, and although by no means a prerequisite, many of our former interns are literary translators. You can read interviews with some former interns here.

Internships are a great opportunity to see the New Books in German project firsthand and play a role in supporting the selection of books that we feature. We generally take interns on twice a year, one for the Spring selection round (recruited in October) and one for the Autumn selection round (recruited in April). You can read more information here. We cannot respond to speculative applications at other times.

At the end of each six-month internship, we ask all interns to let us know about their experiences. You can read these interviews here.

Translators Aloud

This YouTube channel states its aim as being to bring ‘literary translators out of the shadows, and into the limelight where they belong. A place for translators to read their own work; a positive space for sharing great literature, read aloud by the translators themselves.’ Translators Charlotte Coombe and Tina Kover set the site up in May 2020. It has already attracted over 1,260 subscribers, with videos regularly attracting hundreds of views.

There is a playlist of translators reading from their samples of books chosen by the New Books in German jury here.

If you have a sample translation on our website and would be interested in making a video, please contact us to find out more about how to go about it. Of course, TranslatorsAloud is happy to hear from all translators interested in having a reading featured on the site. Submission guidelines and a contact address are given here.

News for translators

Browse our most recent recommendations

[book reviews will appear here…]

Translators’ Associations and Organisations

A resource for translators, publishers, editors and writers.

Academic and Practice-based centre at the University of East Anglia, Norwich.

Part of the UK Society of Authors, providing advice, support and information to translators.

The founding centre of PEN International, working to promote free expression, and to remove barriers to literature.

International forum for translators of German-language literature.

Websites about Translated Literature

A virtual and actual network for sharing information about European literature: events, projects, translations and more.

Translating, publishing and promoting contemporary international fiction.

A treasure trove of information and views about fiction in translation.

US-based website about contemporary international fiction.

Translations of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and drama.
 

About New Books in German

Find out more about our work to promote German language literature for translation into English

Find Funding

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News

Delve into articles and interviews about books, publishers, translators, authors and the German language literary field.