With more people than ever picking up and reading books, the Cultural Division of Taipei Representative Office in the UK and the National Museum of Taiwan Literature are teaming up with the British Centre for Literary Translation (BCLT) to help bring the magic of Taiwanese literature to international audiences. Made possible by the support of Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture, this year’s BCLT Summer School will feature a series of online workshops and lectures for translators of Taiwanese Mandarin literature.
Taking place from 19th to 24th July online, the Centre’s long prestigious Summer School involves workshops for a variety of languages – this year, with Chinese as one of them. Five international translators, and an equal number of their Taiwanese counterparts, will be selected by BCLT and the National Museum of Taiwan respectively – receiving a full bursary to participate.
Jeremy Tiang, an experienced translator of Chinese works into English, will be working with the selected applicants in providing consensus translations on the works of Chi Ta-wei (紀大偉), Taiwanese author and scholar of literature. Over the course of the six days in July, attendees will have two to three daily workshops focusing on translation. Other sessions, meanwhile, will be focused on career development and creative writing, providing attendees with a comprehensive perspective on their industry. There will also be social events, as the Summer School would usually have in years previous to being online.
The Taiwanese/Chinese Workshop represents the first official cooperation between the National Museum of Taiwan Literature and a professional British literary institution. The Museum’s Director Su Shuo-bin sees the cooperation’s goal as the cultivation of Taiwan’s skilled literary translators. Whilst this is first time the Museum has collaborated with the British Centre for Literary Translation, he believes the institutions will be working together to promote the international exchange of Taiwanese literature, helping to bring Taiwanese literature to the world’s readers.
Applications
Both the National Museum of Taiwan Literature and the British Centre for Literary Translation have their own application processes. The UK and international applications via the British Centre for Literary Translation are now open, with deadline being 12th April. The selection process for local translators in Taiwan via the National Museum of Taiwan Literature will be announced and open for registration on 1st February.
Those interested in the English translation of Taiwanese literature are welcome to apply and help bring the charm of Taiwan’s literary scene to a global audience.
British Centre for Literary Translation 2021 Online International Literary Translation and Creative Writing Summer School:
http://www.bclt.org.uk/summer-school/apply
National Museum of Taiwan Literature:
https://www.nmtl.gov.tw/information_118_122699.html
