Rachel Ward
@racheltranslates.bsky.social
FITI, Literary & creative translator, German & French to English: children's/YA and crime fiction, history; proofreader, bookworm; food, crafts, history; cats; climbing; cycling; she/her; Twitter: @FwdTranslations Mastodon: @FwdTranslations@zirk.us
Reposted by Rachel Ward
Really delighted to find myself on the @societyofauthors.bsky.social Schlegel-Tieck Prize shortlist for both DARKENBLOOM and THE GRANDDAUGHTER! And to see my friends and colleagues @racheltranslates.bsky.social and @roesch6-alex.bsky.social there with me. 🤗
societyofauthors.org/prizes/trans...
societyofauthors.org/prizes/trans...
German - Schlegel-Tieck Prize - The Society of Authors
The Schlegel-Tieck Prize is an annual award for translations into English of full length German works of literary merit and general interest. The winner is awarded £3,000 and a runner-up...
societyofauthors.org
December 1, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Really delighted to find myself on the @societyofauthors.bsky.social Schlegel-Tieck Prize shortlist for both DARKENBLOOM and THE GRANDDAUGHTER! And to see my friends and colleagues @racheltranslates.bsky.social and @roesch6-alex.bsky.social there with me. 🤗
societyofauthors.org/prizes/trans...
societyofauthors.org/prizes/trans...
So delighted to be shortlisted for the Schlegel-Tieck prize with Ewald Arenz (@orendabooks.bsky.social) again, and in such fine company, including @cctranslates.bsky.social (twice!) #TranslationPrizes
December 1, 2025 at 11:33 AM
So delighted to be shortlisted for the Schlegel-Tieck prize with Ewald Arenz (@orendabooks.bsky.social) again, and in such fine company, including @cctranslates.bsky.social (twice!) #TranslationPrizes
Reposted by Rachel Ward
"A new republic of books that transcends boundaries" - today we're announcing the shortlists for our Translation Prizes 2025. Nine prizes will be awarded at the ceremony in February next year, including the inaugural John Calder Translation Prize.
December 1, 2025 at 9:30 AM
"A new republic of books that transcends boundaries" - today we're announcing the shortlists for our Translation Prizes 2025. Nine prizes will be awarded at the ceremony in February next year, including the inaugural John Calder Translation Prize.
Annual reminder that the first day of Christmas is 25 December and the twelfth is 5 January...
December 1, 2025 at 8:58 AM
Annual reminder that the first day of Christmas is 25 December and the twelfth is 5 January...
Reposted by Rachel Ward
what's key is to read the alt text
THREAD.
3 years ago, with no warning, a brilliant orange farm cat wandered over from the draughty barn where he had been living, in rural Cornwall, and decided he wanted to live with us instead.
We decided to call him Jim.
This is the first photo I took of him, on that night: December 1st, 2022.
3 years ago, with no warning, a brilliant orange farm cat wandered over from the draughty barn where he had been living, in rural Cornwall, and decided he wanted to live with us instead.
We decided to call him Jim.
This is the first photo I took of him, on that night: December 1st, 2022.
November 28, 2025 at 10:36 AM
what's key is to read the alt text
Does anyone know if Waterstones black Friday deals are online only, or how long they last? I.e. will I be able to get my mum a half price Mary Berry in store on Monday?! #booksky
November 27, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Does anyone know if Waterstones black Friday deals are online only, or how long they last? I.e. will I be able to get my mum a half price Mary Berry in store on Monday?! #booksky
Reposted by Rachel Ward
Good thread, very informative. NB a key reason the traditional publishers' advance/royalties finance model no longer supports most UK authors is that assumes steady backlist sales but these days publishers don't take returns on titles more than 18 months old, so high street shops don't stock them.
I'm going to do a little thread on how the money from books works for traditionally published authors because people have questions, and this is always useful info to share IMO. First, a big disclaimer that every contract is different, and there are a million factors that can change things. 1/
November 27, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Good thread, very informative. NB a key reason the traditional publishers' advance/royalties finance model no longer supports most UK authors is that assumes steady backlist sales but these days publishers don't take returns on titles more than 18 months old, so high street shops don't stock them.
Reposted by Rachel Ward
Looking for translators with cats! Please help me find my people.
November 26, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Looking for translators with cats! Please help me find my people.
Reposted by Rachel Ward
Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪
November 22, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪
Reposted by Rachel Ward
"Getting a robot to use the treadmill for you at the gym doesn't make you any fitter"
You don't say?
You don't say?
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 12:51 PM
"Getting a robot to use the treadmill for you at the gym doesn't make you any fitter"
You don't say?
You don't say?
Is there such a thing as a Wasserhüpfburg in English?! Hüpfburg is bouncy castle. You can have inflatable water slides but I can't think what to call this. It's only a throwaway line, memory of a summer past, don't want to make a big thing of it. They swam "über die Bucht zur großen Wasserhüpfburg".
November 21, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Is there such a thing as a Wasserhüpfburg in English?! Hüpfburg is bouncy castle. You can have inflatable water slides but I can't think what to call this. It's only a throwaway line, memory of a summer past, don't want to make a big thing of it. They swam "über die Bucht zur großen Wasserhüpfburg".
Reposted by Rachel Ward
Hey! Northern hemisphere folks:
this is my annual reminder to myself and perhaps also to you that if you have the schedule autonomy to permit it, get out for a walk or whatever during daylight hours! It's important!
You can work more when it's dark but you need whatever sunlight is available!
this is my annual reminder to myself and perhaps also to you that if you have the schedule autonomy to permit it, get out for a walk or whatever during daylight hours! It's important!
You can work more when it's dark but you need whatever sunlight is available!
November 18, 2025 at 4:39 AM
Hey! Northern hemisphere folks:
this is my annual reminder to myself and perhaps also to you that if you have the schedule autonomy to permit it, get out for a walk or whatever during daylight hours! It's important!
You can work more when it's dark but you need whatever sunlight is available!
this is my annual reminder to myself and perhaps also to you that if you have the schedule autonomy to permit it, get out for a walk or whatever during daylight hours! It's important!
You can work more when it's dark but you need whatever sunlight is available!
Reposted by Rachel Ward
Just arrived - thank you so much @orendabooks.bsky.social - “Sharks” by @ohneklippo.bsky.social (trans @racheltranslates.bsky.social). More Chastity Riley! Due out Feb 2026!
November 17, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Just arrived - thank you so much @orendabooks.bsky.social - “Sharks” by @ohneklippo.bsky.social (trans @racheltranslates.bsky.social). More Chastity Riley! Due out Feb 2026!
Reposted by Rachel Ward
For anyone looking to deepen their craft... check out this Mst in Creative Translation!
We're launching a really exciting new MSt in Creative Translation - details here. Oxford has a wealth of brilliant translator energy and I am excited to see what will come out of this. Please forward to likely sorts! www.mod-langs.ox.ac.uk/news/2025/11...
MSt in Creative Translation
The Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages is delighted to announce the launch of a new course, the MSt in Creative Translation.
www.mod-langs.ox.ac.uk
November 14, 2025 at 3:39 PM
For anyone looking to deepen their craft... check out this Mst in Creative Translation!
I've got a "Darf ich Du sagen?" as a plot point. Can't just skim over it: it comes at a crisis point, followed by "fancy worrying about a thing like that at a time like this". First names don't really work here. Person B has already called A by first name + Sie... Maybe some other etiquette thing?
November 14, 2025 at 2:05 PM
I've got a "Darf ich Du sagen?" as a plot point. Can't just skim over it: it comes at a crisis point, followed by "fancy worrying about a thing like that at a time like this". First names don't really work here. Person B has already called A by first name + Sie... Maybe some other etiquette thing?
OK, I have only the woman in her PJs to go on #HiddenBooksGame and I am totally stumped. Apparently there's a book called Angry White Pyjamas, but it isn't that!
November 13, 2025 at 4:35 PM
OK, I have only the woman in her PJs to go on #HiddenBooksGame and I am totally stumped. Apparently there's a book called Angry White Pyjamas, but it isn't that!
How did I not know it's #HiddenBooksGame day?!
November 13, 2025 at 3:40 PM
How did I not know it's #HiddenBooksGame day?!
Wordle 1,603 1/6*
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
I need another new starting word!
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
I need another new starting word!
November 8, 2025 at 7:33 AM
Wordle 1,603 1/6*
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
I need another new starting word!
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
I need another new starting word!
Reposted by Rachel Ward
“In the end, it takes more time, energy, and could be more costly for clients in the long run to correct something a machine has translated badly.”
🤖 ‘They wanted me to make myself obsolete’: #translators find themselves at the sharp end of AI; here, one linguist talks about the challenges of working in an industry most at risk from automation
ft.com/content/50b1...
via @financialtimes.com
ft.com/content/50b1...
via @financialtimes.com
‘They wanted me to make myself obsolete’: translators find themselves at the sharp end of AI
One linguist on the challenges of working in an industry most at risk from automation
ft.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:54 PM
“In the end, it takes more time, energy, and could be more costly for clients in the long run to correct something a machine has translated badly.”
Reposted by Rachel Ward
CAMBRIDGE! We are coming! Come see the wonderful Antti Tuomainen and I this Monday, Nov 10th at 18:30 at Bodies in the Bookshop. Dark Icelandic crime meets funny Finnish thrillers — the north in all its contrasts.
#authorsontour
@orendabooks.bsky.social
#authorsontour
@orendabooks.bsky.social
November 7, 2025 at 1:35 PM
CAMBRIDGE! We are coming! Come see the wonderful Antti Tuomainen and I this Monday, Nov 10th at 18:30 at Bodies in the Bookshop. Dark Icelandic crime meets funny Finnish thrillers — the north in all its contrasts.
#authorsontour
@orendabooks.bsky.social
#authorsontour
@orendabooks.bsky.social
This story came up in my text this morning and I had to look up further details... How Bismarck almost drowned while swimming at Birarritz with his Russian princess mistress: www.theguardian.com/world/2006/a...
The things we learn while translating!
The things we learn while translating!
How France missed a chance to sink Bismarck
New documents found in a dusty town hall reveal that the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck nearly drowned while swimming at the French seaside resort of Biarritz, an event that could have profoundly...
www.theguardian.com
November 7, 2025 at 11:16 AM
This story came up in my text this morning and I had to look up further details... How Bismarck almost drowned while swimming at Birarritz with his Russian princess mistress: www.theguardian.com/world/2006/a...
The things we learn while translating!
The things we learn while translating!
Patronising and infuriating email from school, which basically boils down to "congratulations, your child happens to have been healthy for half a term, well done you."
November 4, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Patronising and infuriating email from school, which basically boils down to "congratulations, your child happens to have been healthy for half a term, well done you."
Reposted by Rachel Ward
In 1107, King Henry's butler founded the abbey of Wymondham, & he donated 2 things to help the monks get by:
1. the right to salvage shipwrecks on a nearby coast
2. a rent of 2,000 eels per year
Time for an eel picnic on the beach!
🗃️🧪
1. the right to salvage shipwrecks on a nearby coast
2. a rent of 2,000 eels per year
Time for an eel picnic on the beach!
🗃️🧪
October 30, 2025 at 4:22 PM
In 1107, King Henry's butler founded the abbey of Wymondham, & he donated 2 things to help the monks get by:
1. the right to salvage shipwrecks on a nearby coast
2. a rent of 2,000 eels per year
Time for an eel picnic on the beach!
🗃️🧪
1. the right to salvage shipwrecks on a nearby coast
2. a rent of 2,000 eels per year
Time for an eel picnic on the beach!
🗃️🧪
Went down a rabbit hole of the German prefix "ver" prompted by "verlieben" and a whole bit of grammar in the middle of my novel translation! #amtranslating
yourdailygerman.com/german-prefi...
yourdailygerman.com/german-prefi...
The meaning of German Prefix "ver" - The 1 Core Idea
'ver' is the most common prefix in German and there seems to be no logic to it. In this article, we'll discover its one core meaning and what we can do with it.
yourdailygerman.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Went down a rabbit hole of the German prefix "ver" prompted by "verlieben" and a whole bit of grammar in the middle of my novel translation! #amtranslating
yourdailygerman.com/german-prefi...
yourdailygerman.com/german-prefi...
Reposted by Rachel Ward
A reminder to fellow NT members - the Restore Trust lot are at it again, trying to insert ideology into NT’s curation of our heritage.
Don’t forget to vote for historical accuracy over politicised nostalgic fantasy
Don’t forget to vote for historical accuracy over politicised nostalgic fantasy
*Calling all members*
Get your votes in for our Annual General Meeting before it’s too late: buff.ly/reNDWPy
Voting closes midnight on 31 Oct.
Get your votes in for our Annual General Meeting before it’s too late: buff.ly/reNDWPy
Voting closes midnight on 31 Oct.
October 29, 2025 at 9:40 AM
A reminder to fellow NT members - the Restore Trust lot are at it again, trying to insert ideology into NT’s curation of our heritage.
Don’t forget to vote for historical accuracy over politicised nostalgic fantasy
Don’t forget to vote for historical accuracy over politicised nostalgic fantasy