Banff International Literary Translation Centre (BILTC) 2010

“Le programme du BILTC est absolument remarquable. Il permet non seulement de travailler à une oeuvre mais aussi de faire des contacts et de développer son réseau. Il permet au traducteur de sortir de sa solitude et d’échanger. ”

Blandine Pélissier, BILTC 2009 

“Le programme du BILTC est fabuleux ! En tant qu’étudiant, il m’a donné la chance de rencontrer des traducteurs professionnels et avisés qui m’ont aidé dans ma traduction en cours et m’ont fourni mille et un conseils !”

Daoud Najm

“My residency at the BILTC in 2009 has enriched and rewarded me far beyond my expectations, owing in large measure to the excellence and generosity of the director and translator-advisors, but also to an extraordinary bonding among the residents (who represent 12 languages).”

Patricia Claxton

Inspired by the network of international literary translation centres in Europe, the Banff International Literary Translation Centre (BILTC) is the first of its kind in North America. The primary focus of the residency program is to afford literary translators a period of uninterrupted work on a current project, within an international community of translators. Translators may request a joint residency (of up to one week) with a writer, allowing the translator to consult and deepen his or her knowledge of the writer’s intentions and the context of the work being translated. Consultation with the program director and experienced translators in residence as faculty will be available. Three or four times a week participants gather for readings by invited writers and informal presentations by faculty, or simply to exchange information and discuss their work in progress.

The program is open both to literary translators from Canada, Mexico, and the United States translating from any language, and international translators working on literature from the Americas (both the North and South American continents). Since the inaugural program in 2003, the Centre has hosted translators from 26 countries translating work involving 36 languages. Writers from Canada, the United States, and Mexico (among others) have been invited to spend a week in residence to consult with their translators from abroad.

Literary translators are also invited to apply year round for independent residencies in The Banff Centre’s Leighton Artists’ Colony.

Extend your stay after this program and continue your work at the Centre. Self-directed writing residencies run year-round, and provide you with the time and space for focused work. For more information, see Self-directed residencies.

The Banff Centre would like to recognize Canada Council
for their generous support of this program