Frequently Asked Questions
What story should I choose to translate for the Mozhi Prize?
- Select a story that speaks to you, that inspires you to translate with passion.
- Read widely in the source language, to find a match for your taste, to find what is uniquely you. What you translate tells the reader as much about “you” as how you translate.
- A good literary work evokes feelings and emotions, and stirs the imagination; if a story does not shine in the original, it rarely shines in translation.
- Ask yourself how this story adds to the literary wealth of the target language, in the case of the Mozhi Prize, English. Why must it be passed on?
- Finally, at Mozhi, our dream is for our shortlist to develop into a ‘best of’ list of Indian short fiction in translation. So, we’d love for the story you’ve chosen to be a great representative of your source language.
I have a gazillion questions on securing rights. Here goes…
- There’s a story I’d love to translate, do I need permission to translate it?
- Yes, we ask that you should have obtained the rights holder’s permission to translate and publish the story, prior to submission.
- Why do you need us to get the rights to translate the story?
- This will enable us to publish your story on our website / as an anthology should you be shortlisted for the Mozhi Prize.
- Who should I obtain rights from?
- If you’ve chosen the story of a living author, it will be best to contact the author directly. Most authors are more than happy to see their stories translated.
- But the author is deceased!
- In that case, you may contact their next of kin / estate. If you can’t locate either, contact the publisher of the original story who may be able to put you in touch with the rights holder.
- The author lived in the 1800s and I don’t know where to find their next of kin anymore…?
- If more than 60 years have passed since the author’s demise, the story is out of copyright and you’re free to translate it.
- Oh, but it’s so much trouble to contact someone for one story!
- Obtaining rights will be a part of life if you want to pursue translation as a career/art form. So, think of this as a warm-up!
- What if the story I wish to translate was published digitally?
- Even if the original story was published digitally, you’ll still need to obtain the rights to translate.
- This is too much work, and I don’t know know if I’ll make the shortlist.
- Any magazine of repute will require that you have the right to translate the story. So this is not wasted effort! If your story does not make it here, you can submit elsewhere if you have the rights.
- Is there a format for the rights letter?
- Yes, we have a suggested format uploaded here.
- I feel really lost. Who can help me?
- Maybe you could reach out to senior translators in your source language? In our experience, the translation community is ever ready to help each other out.
- I’ve done everything, I’m still not able to obtain the rights
- We advise you to pursue a few authors / stories and submit the one where you’re able to obtain the rights. There’s a wealth of literature waiting to be translated, don’t get wedded to just one!
How do I improve my translation? Do you have any advice on craft?
- Listen to the source text as closely as possible — to the meaning, to the evocations, to the rhythms of the language. Great translators are great listeners first.
- Move from translating content to translating intent (h/t Arunava Sinha). Translating fiction isn’t about translating just the words accurately. It’s about conveying both the said and the unsaid, to deliver the same impact the story had on you as a reader, in a new language.
- Do a quick first draft, then, revise revise revise. Be your best critic when you edit the translation.
- Reading the original and your translation out loud, side-by-side, can go a long way in perfecting your draft.
- Read the final draft as if you don’t know the source language. Does it read like an organic piece of writing in English?
- Be hungry for feedback before you submit. Share with a wide range of people, both familiar and unfamiliar with the original story.
- Footnotes are passe (we hardly use them), but if you believe it’s absolutely necessary, go for it.
- Italics? We don’t have a hard policy, but since we don’t normally italicize pizza and fromage, why italicize idli and paneer? We use italics for emphasis, not to exoticise something.
- We sometimes choose to retain source language words in English for emphasis, flavour, evoking a time and place, and so on, in which case, leaving clues in the text or ‘stealth glossing’, will make the story a self-contained read.
- Then again, there really are no hard and fast rules. Translating is all about making thoughtful choices. So choose whatever you think will represent your story best.
