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| Association of Italian Literary Translators | |
|---|---|
| Name | Association of Italian Literary Translators |
| Type | Non-profit association |
| Region served | Italy |
| Language | Italian, English, other languages |
| Leader title | President |
Association of Italian Literary Translators
The Association of Italian Literary Translators is a professional body representing translators who render literature into and out of Italian. Founded to promote literary translation standards and protect practitioners' rights, the association engages with publishers, cultural institutions, and international partners such as British Centre for Literary Translation, PEN International, European Council networks and national academies including the Accademia della Crusca and the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze.
The association emerged in the late 20th century amid debates sparked by works by Italo Calvino, Umberto Eco, Primo Levi, Elena Ferrante, Alberto Moravia and translations of Marcel Proust, Jorge Luis Borges, Gabriel García Márquez and Toni Morrison. Early meetings involved translators connected with institutions like the Società Dante Alighieri, the Centro per il Libro e la Lettura, the Università degli Studi di Bologna and publishers such as Giulio Einaudi Editore, Mondadori, Feltrinelli and Bompiani. The association responded to legislative and policy developments tied to the European Union Directives on copyright and the Berne Convention by advocating for contracts and fees referenced in agreements with houses including HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, Faber and Faber and national bodies like the Ministero della Cultura.
The association's mission includes defending translators' moral and economic rights and raising standards for translations of authors including Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarca, Giacomo Leopardi, Niccolò Machiavelli and contemporary figures such as Elena Ferrante, Andrea Camilleri and Roberto Saviano. Activities range from policy lobbying vis‑à‑vis entities like the European Parliament, the Italian Parliament, the World Intellectual Property Organization and the International Publishers Association to organizing events with festivals such as the Festivaletteratura, Salone del Libro di Torino, Mantova Festivaletteratura and collaborations with cultural institutes like the Istituto Italiano di Cultura and the Goethe-Institut. The association also issues model contract clauses reflecting standards used by Società degli Autori e degli Editori and international unions such as UNI Europa.
Membership categories typically mirror roles found in groups like the Translators Association (Chartered Institute of Linguists), American Literary Translators Association and Society of Authors (UK). Members include freelancers, in-house staff, editors and academics affiliated with universities such as the Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, Sapienza Università di Roma, Università degli Studi di Milano and research centers like the Institute for Italian Studies (Columbia University). Governance features an elected board, committees for contracts, training and awards, and assemblies patterned after statutes used by associations such as European Literary Translation Network and national guilds in France, Germany and Spain.
The association administers or endorses prizes and recognition connected to translation prizes such as the Premio Strega translation categories, the PEN Translates scheme, the International Booker Prize, the John Florio Prize and national awards like the Premio Napoli and Premio Bagutta. It honors translators who have rendered works by William Shakespeare, Homer, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Marcel Proust, Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, Anton Chekhov, Haruki Murakami, Isabel Allende and Chinua Achebe. The association also maintains fellowships and mentorship recognitions in partnership with institutions such as the British Library, the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library and European cultural funds.
Professional development programs draw on models from the European Commission's lifelong learning initiatives and partner with universities and schools including Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, Università di Torino and conservatories that host seminars with translators of texts by Marcel Proust, Leo Tolstoy, Nadine Gordimer, Homer, Sappho and Goethe. Workshops and masterclasses often feature visiting practitioners linked to the American Literary Translators Association, the PEN American Center and university chairs for translation studies at University of Oxford, University of Cambridge and Columbia University. Training covers contract negotiation practices used by organizations like the Society of Authors (UK) and copyright issues dealt with at the World Intellectual Property Organization.
The association publishes guides, glossaries and critical essays on translation theory informed by scholarship from journals and institutions such as Comparative Literature, Modern Language Association, Routledge monographs, Oxford University Press handbooks and university presses including Cambridge University Press and Harvard University Press. It produces a newsletter, proceedings from conferences held at venues like the Palazzo Vecchio, the Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II and the Scuola Holden, and online resources modeled on platforms run by the European Network of Literary Translators Associations and the International Federation of Translators.
The association engages in advocacy with bodies such as the European Commission, the Council of Europe, UNESCO and national ministries including the Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali. Collaborative projects involve partnerships with festivals like the Edinburgh International Book Festival, publishers including Grupo Planeta and Hachette, rights organizations such as Copyright Clearance Center and cultural foundations like the Fondazione Prada and the Fondazione Feltrinelli. It campaigns on issues linked to remuneration, public lending rights, and translation visibility alongside organizations like the Society of Authors, PEN International and the International Publishers Association.
Category:Translation organizations Category:Italian literary organizations