Katy Derbyshire
@katyderbyshire.bsky.social
Literary translator from German to English, occasional publisher, Berlin lover, appreciator of wallets on chains. She/her.
Photo © Nane Diehl
Photo © Nane Diehl
Reposted by Katy Derbyshire
I love Arundhati Roy's courage, integrity, intelligence, and her artistry as a writer of fiction & nonfiction.
Wim Wenders, the jury chair, on being questioned about Gaza, said filmmakers have to stay out of politics. Roy said a genocide demands a response from everyone, artists included. I agree.
Wim Wenders, the jury chair, on being questioned about Gaza, said filmmakers have to stay out of politics. Roy said a genocide demands a response from everyone, artists included. I agree.
Arundhati Roy quits Berlin film festival over ‘stay out of politics’ comment
Author says she is ‘disgusted’ by claim from jury president Wim Wenders that film-makers should remain apolitical
www.theguardian.com
February 13, 2026 at 7:46 PM
I love Arundhati Roy's courage, integrity, intelligence, and her artistry as a writer of fiction & nonfiction.
Wim Wenders, the jury chair, on being questioned about Gaza, said filmmakers have to stay out of politics. Roy said a genocide demands a response from everyone, artists included. I agree.
Wim Wenders, the jury chair, on being questioned about Gaza, said filmmakers have to stay out of politics. Roy said a genocide demands a response from everyone, artists included. I agree.
Art has political influence, don’t pretend otherwise.
www.theguardian.com/film/2026/fe...
www.theguardian.com/film/2026/fe...
Arundhati Roy is right, not Wim Wenders – here are eight films that have changed politics
From ‘honour’ killings to nuclear war, some screen works have led directly legislative action – despite what jury head Wenders suggested at the Berlin film festival
www.theguardian.com
February 13, 2026 at 7:45 PM
Art has political influence, don’t pretend otherwise.
www.theguardian.com/film/2026/fe...
www.theguardian.com/film/2026/fe...
Back in Berlin from London, spreading the joy of friendliness to strangers on the U-Bahn!
February 11, 2026 at 5:23 PM
Back in Berlin from London, spreading the joy of friendliness to strangers on the U-Bahn!
A magazine editor likes one of my (three and a half existing) stories. I am rereading the email obsessively.
I feel like a bit of a cheat but if you count my translations then I’ve actually been writing for about 20 years, so I need to stop feeling that way.
I feel like a bit of a cheat but if you count my translations then I’ve actually been writing for about 20 years, so I need to stop feeling that way.
February 9, 2026 at 12:23 PM
A magazine editor likes one of my (three and a half existing) stories. I am rereading the email obsessively.
I feel like a bit of a cheat but if you count my translations then I’ve actually been writing for about 20 years, so I need to stop feeling that way.
I feel like a bit of a cheat but if you count my translations then I’ve actually been writing for about 20 years, so I need to stop feeling that way.
Sundays seem to be short-story writing days now.
February 8, 2026 at 5:11 PM
Sundays seem to be short-story writing days now.
Yikes! Christa Wolf met her Stasi handlers in an “unofficial room” in the building where I go for physio. I don’t know whether they used du or Sie.
February 7, 2026 at 11:03 AM
Yikes! Christa Wolf met her Stasi handlers in an “unofficial room” in the building where I go for physio. I don’t know whether they used du or Sie.
I’ve written a teeny story for this event, a low-stakes experiment. I’ll be on stage anyway talking about translating Christa Wolf.
sites.google.com/view/mayroec...
sites.google.com/view/mayroec...
Every Day Wolf
CALL FOR SHORT PROSE
On February 21 at Berlin’s Lettrétage, we are putting on a celebration of the controversial German writer Christa Wolf—Christa Wolf in Our Day. There will be an opening discussio...
sites.google.com
February 1, 2026 at 10:08 PM
I’ve written a teeny story for this event, a low-stakes experiment. I’ll be on stage anyway talking about translating Christa Wolf.
sites.google.com/view/mayroec...
sites.google.com/view/mayroec...
The physio guy forgot we switched to Du last time, until he was in the middle of applying these Hammer horror electric suction cups to my arm.
January 29, 2026 at 3:38 PM
The physio guy forgot we switched to Du last time, until he was in the middle of applying these Hammer horror electric suction cups to my arm.
Reposted by Katy Derbyshire
Don't know why I'm so irrationally annoyed by all the "January is too long, boo hoo" tweets.
Our enemy is not January; our enemy is THE RELENTLESS PASSAGE OF TIME. Do you want to hasten our trajectory towards death? Is that what you want?
Our enemy is not January; our enemy is THE RELENTLESS PASSAGE OF TIME. Do you want to hasten our trajectory towards death? Is that what you want?
January 23, 2026 at 10:01 AM
Don't know why I'm so irrationally annoyed by all the "January is too long, boo hoo" tweets.
Our enemy is not January; our enemy is THE RELENTLESS PASSAGE OF TIME. Do you want to hasten our trajectory towards death? Is that what you want?
Our enemy is not January; our enemy is THE RELENTLESS PASSAGE OF TIME. Do you want to hasten our trajectory towards death? Is that what you want?
Reposted by Katy Derbyshire
WE WANT YOUR PROSE—submit now to read at our Feb 21 Lettrétage event about Christa Wolf (and her post-Wall writing e.g. One Day A Year). Send us some short prose in any language about the day, the daily, the recurring date, everyday politics. We will print a zine!
sites.google.com/view/mayroec...
sites.google.com/view/mayroec...
January 22, 2026 at 2:21 PM
WE WANT YOUR PROSE—submit now to read at our Feb 21 Lettrétage event about Christa Wolf (and her post-Wall writing e.g. One Day A Year). Send us some short prose in any language about the day, the daily, the recurring date, everyday politics. We will print a zine!
sites.google.com/view/mayroec...
sites.google.com/view/mayroec...
Top tip: don’t put kumpir inside your coat to get it home warm in freezing Berlin weather. It doesn’t work AND it leaks.
January 22, 2026 at 12:43 PM
Top tip: don’t put kumpir inside your coat to get it home warm in freezing Berlin weather. It doesn’t work AND it leaks.
Unlocked duzing the physiotherapist ✅
January 21, 2026 at 12:56 PM
Unlocked duzing the physiotherapist ✅
I wrote another short story. So much fun, concentrating on one thing for hours and enjoying where it takes me. I was so happy and excited about it I couldn’t sleep for ages.
January 19, 2026 at 7:11 AM
I wrote another short story. So much fun, concentrating on one thing for hours and enjoying where it takes me. I was so happy and excited about it I couldn’t sleep for ages.
Aber wie kommen wir an die Kartoffeln?
January 16, 2026 at 4:44 PM
Aber wie kommen wir an die Kartoffeln?
Reposted by Katy Derbyshire
Bandcamp has banned AI music.
The company has released a statement which includes the following: "Music and audio that is generated wholly or in substantial part by AI is not permitted on Bandcamp."
stereogum.com/2485199/band...
The company has released a statement which includes the following: "Music and audio that is generated wholly or in substantial part by AI is not permitted on Bandcamp."
stereogum.com/2485199/band...
Bandcamp Bans AI Music
AI music has become a big problem on streaming services. Remember the AI-generated psych-rock band the Velvet Sundown and the AI-generated metalcore band Broken Avenue racking up streams on Spotify? R...
stereogum.com
January 14, 2026 at 2:23 PM
Bandcamp has banned AI music.
The company has released a statement which includes the following: "Music and audio that is generated wholly or in substantial part by AI is not permitted on Bandcamp."
stereogum.com/2485199/band...
The company has released a statement which includes the following: "Music and audio that is generated wholly or in substantial part by AI is not permitted on Bandcamp."
stereogum.com/2485199/band...
Reposted by Katy Derbyshire
Open AI loses copyright case in Germany.
Judge Elke Schwager summarized the case saying that if you want to build something and need components, "then you purchase them and do not use the property of others."
Judge Elke Schwager summarized the case saying that if you want to build something and need components, "then you purchase them and do not use the property of others."
Blow for OpenAI in Germany as court rules song lyrics used illegally
A German court ruled on Tuesday that OpenAI violated copyright on nine popular songs in a lawsuit that marked another attempt to prevent the free use of artists' content online. The Munich Regional Co...
www.yahoo.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:49 PM
Open AI loses copyright case in Germany.
Judge Elke Schwager summarized the case saying that if you want to build something and need components, "then you purchase them and do not use the property of others."
Judge Elke Schwager summarized the case saying that if you want to build something and need components, "then you purchase them and do not use the property of others."
Reposted by Katy Derbyshire
The thing that depresses me in the whole AI revolution in my industry (I’m a literary translator and publisher) is that the question is not whether machines can replace human translators, but how will we deal with the fallout after machines are forcibly introduced regardless.
January 10, 2026 at 6:28 AM
The thing that depresses me in the whole AI revolution in my industry (I’m a literary translator and publisher) is that the question is not whether machines can replace human translators, but how will we deal with the fallout after machines are forcibly introduced regardless.
Danced to this top tune for the first time, asked the DJ what it was, came home and realized I have it on an album. #Maytals 1974 version. youtu.be/npcnm9yOQZU?...
The Maytals Fever 1974
YouTube video by TheBudgie29
youtu.be
January 9, 2026 at 11:54 PM
Danced to this top tune for the first time, asked the DJ what it was, came home and realized I have it on an album. #Maytals 1974 version. youtu.be/npcnm9yOQZU?...
You’ve all read this, yes?
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
A moment that changed me: in the bombed-out ruins of an apartment block, I saw a book I’d translated
The sight of my work, torn and singed but still legible, made me realise the importance of translating and protecting stories – so they remain when everything else falls away
www.theguardian.com
January 7, 2026 at 11:41 AM
You’ve all read this, yes?
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
I have a FIRST DRAFT! Of my short story. I’m completely besotted with it. Everybody must love every single word of it, surely.
Now I have to leave it to rest so I can fall out of love and look at it critically.
Now I have to leave it to rest so I can fall out of love and look at it critically.
January 4, 2026 at 11:33 PM
I have a FIRST DRAFT! Of my short story. I’m completely besotted with it. Everybody must love every single word of it, surely.
Now I have to leave it to rest so I can fall out of love and look at it critically.
Now I have to leave it to rest so I can fall out of love and look at it critically.
I have started my attempt to write a short story. It’s so different to translating and writing screenplays — so few constraints. But it’s its own kind of fun. Describing things! Structure! Plot! Not overdoing the adjectives! Finding good verbs (that’s part of translating too though).
January 2, 2026 at 5:24 PM
I have started my attempt to write a short story. It’s so different to translating and writing screenplays — so few constraints. But it’s its own kind of fun. Describing things! Structure! Plot! Not overdoing the adjectives! Finding good verbs (that’s part of translating too though).
In 2026 I’m going to see if I can write a short story.
December 30, 2025 at 10:51 PM
In 2026 I’m going to see if I can write a short story.
By a process of trial and error, I have established that you’re supposed to use the *formal* you with your physiotherapist. Even though they’re touching you the whole time and introduced themself by their first name.
December 17, 2025 at 11:28 AM
By a process of trial and error, I have established that you’re supposed to use the *formal* you with your physiotherapist. Even though they’re touching you the whole time and introduced themself by their first name.
Reposted by Katy Derbyshire
Ich möchte in einer Gesellschaft leben, in der Menschen auf der Flucht geholfen wird und ihnen ermöglicht wird, sich an sicheren Orten niederzulassen. Keine Lager, keine Pushbacks. Sichere Fluchtwege und das Recht zu bleiben.
December 14, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Ich möchte in einer Gesellschaft leben, in der Menschen auf der Flucht geholfen wird und ihnen ermöglicht wird, sich an sicheren Orten niederzulassen. Keine Lager, keine Pushbacks. Sichere Fluchtwege und das Recht zu bleiben.