Course Overview

At UEA we believe Literary Translation is an art. In this MA in Literary Translation course, you’ll use your passion for books and language/s to learn how to write translations that’ll spark your readers’ imagination.

On this course, you’ll focus exclusively on literary translation, combining translation practice with translation theory. You’ll gain the academic qualification needed for a career as a professional translator, while laying the foundation for further academic research. By combining the practice of translation with reflections on stylistic, cultural, and theoretical issues, you’ll be able to realise your professional ambitions, whether this is to become a literary translator, editor or publisher, or to pursue further studies. In the three main modules that make up the course – and in special workshops with professional translators as well as in the British Centre for Literary Translation Summer School – you’ll have plenty of opportunities to network and learn more about what being a translator involves.

You’ll get a taste of the industry with our year-long programme of literary translation workshops by leading translators. You’ll learn how to pitch a book, write a reader’s report, network, and write translations across different genres. Across our modules, you’ll learn what makes a literary translation successful. You’ll learn to craft the right voice for the characters and narrators in your translation, identify what stylistic choices you need to make, and experiment with language and form.

You’ll be based in Norwich, a beautiful historic city and England’s first UNESCO City of Literature. You’ll also be part of Norwich’s vibrant literary culture, from regular readings and events to the well-established programme at the National Centre for Writing. You’ll also have the chance to join the Editorial Team at Egg Box Publishing, and contribute to the publishing and launch of the MA in Literary Translation Anthology.

The course is supported by the British Centre for Literary Translation at UEA and based in the renowned School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing (you can follow our activities on Instagram!). At UEA you’ll have access to a series of lively events, including translation clinics with the Translators-in-Residence at the BCLT, research seminars, and one-to-one tutorials with professional translators working with your languages.

We have been training literary translators from across the world for over 30 years. Our alumni include award-winning translator Don Bartlett (who has translated Karl Ove Knausgård and Jo Nesbø among others), Stefan Tobler (who has translated Clarice Lispector and founded the publishing house And Other Stories), Chantal Wright (translator of Yoko Tawada’s Portrait of a Tongue) and Rosalind Harvey (who is a founding member of the Emerging Translators Network and whose translation of Guadalupe Nettel’s Still Born was shortlisted for the 2023 International Booker Prize). On completion of the course, you may follow in their footsteps by becoming a literary translator, or pursue a wide range of other professions in the creative and cultural industries or beyond.