Literary & creative translator
Award-winning professional translator working from French, Spanish and Catalan into English, with 18 years experience.
After a decade translating creative texts in gastronomy, arts and culture, advertising, travel & tourism, fashion, and lifestyle, my love of literature drew me to literary translation, with a particular interest in women’s writing and short-form narrative. Over the course of my career, I have translated over a dozen works of fiction and nonfiction and I currently provide translation, editing and proofreading services to a range of clients from publishers, authors or literary agents, to translation agencies and companies.
As a translator, it’s in my nature to want to inhabit many different spaces and roles, not only in literature, but in the world both online and offline…
Since 2020, I have run a fairly popular YouTube channel called Translators Aloud with fellow translator Tina Kover. The aim of the channel is to shine the spotlight on the work of often-invisible literary translators by featuring them reading aloud from their work.
I am also an ‘anywhere person’ living nomadically as a full-time house- and pet-sitter.
Have words, will travel.
Let’s connect: charlie@cmctranslations.com
Clients
COTE Magazine
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Charco Press
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Europa Editions
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Deep Vellum
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Pluto Press
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World Editions
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Gallimard Jeunesse
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Cahiers du Cinema
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Carmen Balcells Literary Agency
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Editions Iconoclaste
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Lunii
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La Redoute
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Wecasa
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Hinge
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Lunii
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Melia Hotels
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Action Against Hunger
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L'Occitane
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El Bulli
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Casanovas & Lynch
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Alain Ducasse
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Pan Macmillan
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Univers Poche
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Wessex Translations
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Reebok
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Susanna Lea Associates
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MB Agencia Literaria
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Nike
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Glossip
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Match.com
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Amazon
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Hero Press
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Huffpost
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SUMAÚMA
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Mother Tongue
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Jan Michalski Foundation
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Evian Masters
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Galaxia Gutenberg
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New Spanish Books
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Nikon
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Restless Books
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COTE Magazine • Charco Press • Europa Editions • Deep Vellum • Pluto Press • World Editions • Gallimard Jeunesse • Cahiers du Cinema • Carmen Balcells Literary Agency • Editions Iconoclaste • Lunii • La Redoute • Wecasa • Hinge • Lunii • Melia Hotels • Action Against Hunger • L'Occitane • El Bulli • Casanovas & Lynch • Alain Ducasse • Pan Macmillan • Univers Poche • Wessex Translations • Reebok • Susanna Lea Associates • MB Agencia Literaria • Nike • Glossip • Match.com • Amazon • Hero Press • Huffpost • SUMAÚMA • Mother Tongue • Jan Michalski Foundation • Evian Masters • Galaxia Gutenberg • New Spanish Books • Nikon • Restless Books •
Awards & residencies
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For a co-translation with Isabel Adey of December Breeze by Marvel Moreno (Europa Editions, 2022)
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Funded residency for a sample translation, Translation House Looren, Switzerland
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For an excerpt ofYou’re Very Quiet Today translated from Ana Navajas’s Spanish text Estás muy callada hoy.
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For the translation from Spanish of Antonio Díaz Oliva’s short story, “Mrs. Gonçalves and the Lives of Others,” (The Southern Review, spring issue 2022)
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Three-week residency in Switzerland, to work on the co-translation with Isabel Adey of Marvel Moreno’s December Breeze
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For the translation from the Spanish of Fish Soup by Margarita García Robayo
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For a translation of an excerpt of Orlando Echeverri Benedetti’s Spanish text Criacuervo.
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For the translation of Margarita Garcia Robayo’s Holiday Heart (Charco Press, 2020)
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For the translation of Abnousse Shalmani’s Khomeini, Sade and Me (World Editions, 2016)
Qualifications & training
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British Centre for International Literary Translation’s & Creative Writing Summer School Online: Training the Trainer
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British Centre for Literary Translation summer school, participant in the Spanish to English workshop with Anne McLean and Felix Bruzzone.
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Participant in the 1-week Spanish translation workshop with Peter Bush, at City University London
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Diploma in Translation from the Chartered Institute of Linguists - Spanish to English - Specialised papers: Social Sciences and Literature (merit) - (2012)
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Gained a 2:1 BA (Hons) degree in Modern Languages & European Studies from the University of Bath (2007)
Services
Literary & creative translation
Established translator of all kinds of literary and creative texts, including fiction, poetry and theatre. My more creative-leaning commercial work over the years has included transcreation and cultural adaptation of advertising copy, slogans, VOs and Supers for adverts, marketing campaigns, hotel websites and travel brochures, fashion catalogues, cookery books, texts for record labels, museums, art galleries, charities, and pieces of environmental journalism.
Translation rate: £0.11 to £0.14 depending on the project
Min charge: £40
Certified translation
Translation of official birth, marriage, death certificates, academic transcripts and degree certificates from French, Spanish and Catalan into English. I have experience of translating certificates for different countries - they vary in terminology.
Cost: £75 per page. Plus £5 printing & postage, and £15 for my signed, stamped self-certification letter, accepted by most UK bodies that request a certified English translation (client is responsible for confirming this).
Post-editing
Given that it has undeniably become part of the translation industry today, I offer post-editing of machine-translated texts, as well as AI-created writing. I’ll be checking for accuracy, improving the style and tone, and breathing human life into writing that can sometimes sound stilted or robotic. I have been doing this kind of work for translation agencies for over half a decade.
Post-editing rate: £0.055 per word
Linguistic consulting & quality assurance
Want to check the quality of an existing translation and ensure it is fit for purpose? I am available to consult on queries related to my languages; I am able to source other freelancers to consult on multiple language combinations through my large network of colleagues, and I can run quality assurance
checks to ensure a translated piece of text is accurate, consistent, and reads
well for the target audience.
Consultancy / QA hourly rate: £40 per hour.
Editing, revision & proofreading
I provide a range of copy-editing services: editing of original English writing, translation revision (checking against the source language) or straight-up final proofreading for spelling and grammatical errors. An eye for detail, a perfectionist streak, and a wealth of experience when it comes to getting a piece of writing sounding just right.
Editing rate: £0.035 per word
Revision rate: £0.035 per word
Proofreading rate: £0.025 per word
Mentoring
With over a decade of experience in the literary translation industry, I offer tailored mentoring sessions for emerging literary translators, as well as editing, proofreading and feedback on translations. I can guide you through starting out as a literary translator, or give advice on a range of topics. Book a session through “buy me a coffee” and let's have a chat.
