Ruth Donnelly

I do this as a translator - I guess it makes absolute sense that writers do it too, but somehow it had never occurred to me!

I really feel like there should be a ban on sending out rejection emails in January. Although I guess that might make 1st Feb pretty bleak…

Photo shows a copy of Jacinda Ardern (former prime minister of New Zealand)’s memoir “A Different Kind of Power”

Well this was an inspiring read to start the year! I’m not usually a big non-fiction reader, but got this for Christmas, and - having spent 2019 and 2020 in NZ - Jacinda has a special place in my heart. It didn’t disappoint. I’m passing it on to my kids, so they can go forth and change the world!

Ooh is it good? I really enjoyed The Wall

A great write-up of a lovely event, thanks @audreyeileenkelly.bsky.social and @ftnetwork.bsky.social

We definitely felt the buzz at #BhamLitFest2025! So happy that the Feminist Translation Network has been supporting the work of @writingwestmids.bsky.social, bringing literature (and literary translation) to audiences in the West Midlands📚📚📚

from Tony No One - Asymptote I. Killing the KingAfterwards I remembered I had seen him before, from the air as I flew from one trapeze to another. I had spotted his eyes absorbed in my flight, in my sure hands, in the glittering ...

Delighted to report that an excerpt of Andrés Montero’s beautiful, award-winning novel, Tony Ninguno, is published in the latest issue of Asymptote, in my translation.

www.asymptotejournal.com/fiction/tony...

Stage 1: Getting close to the source text Translating a book for an academic project allows for a bit of luxuriating in the text. If you’re trying to make a living out of literary translation (emphasis on the “trying” there!), then chances…

And we're off!

ruthdonnellytranslates.co.uk/2025/10/23/s...

Any chance of it coming to Birmingham?

I watched it yesterday - was terrified it wouldn’t live up to the book but actually I thought it was great! Captured that gentle slowness nicely.

This was so much fun!

I realise this comes comedically quickly after my announcement that I made the longlist last year, but I seem to have done it again! V tempted to make a joke about bridesmaids vs brides, but obviously I'm delighted really! Congratulations to all the winners and others on the long and shortlist.

Lots of interesting conversations at this @ftnetwork.bsky.social event at Cork last week!

Back to the PhD… Someone messaged me on LinkedIn today, asking about my PhD and wanting to know whether I was daunted at the prospect, which reminded me I’ve left that last post hanging a bit. So here goes… In shor…

People keep asking me what my PhD project actually is, which reminded me I left that last blog post hanging a bit...
ruthdonnellytranslates.co.uk/2025/09/23/b...

Phil, a black and white cat, asleep on a lap

A Friday helper…

Looking forward to the FTN event at University College Cork next week, part of UCC's "Translation Week" programme for International Translation Day 2025
@olgacastro80.bsky.social @rudotranslates.bsky.social

World Kid Lit Month 2025: Fall Picks for All Ages - Words Without Borders Celebrate #WorldKidLitMonth with thirteen new children's and YA books in translation, from Colombia, the Netherlands, South Korea, and more.

more #kidlit recommendations for #worldkidlitmonth over at @wwborders.bsky.social

wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...

Nordic (not-so) Noir for Kids A round-up of Scandi kid-lit books for teens and middle grades By Ruth Donnelly Nordic Noir is all the rage for grown-ups, but why shouldn’t kids have a share in the fun? With murder mysteries and …

Did I mention it's World Kid Lit month?! If you're looking for some international kidlit inspo, you might want to try one of these Scandi titles I reviewed for the @worldkidlit.bsky.social blog:

worldkidlit.org/2025/09/17/n...

A photograph of a book, La Lucha: Latin American Feminism Today, published by Charco Press

Ooh look what turned up in the post today! Thanks @charcopress.com, can’t wait to get stuck into this…

Thanks for writing it! I really loved it… slightly mental, obviously, but I like that. It never would have occurred to me to think of translation as punk!

Catching Fair (a small interjection on reading other people’s diaries) I know I said my next post would explain a bit more about my actual PhD project, but as the kids have been home over the summer I’ve been finding it harder to focus on the academic reading so have …

Latest blog post (and a slight deviation from the advertised schedule): ruthdonnellytranslates.co.uk/2025/09/04/c...

Bi/Trilingual Picture Books About Indigenous Cultures in Canada and Mexico By Katy Dycus Two bilingual picture books highlighting the Cree and Tla’amin Nations in Canada and one trilingual picture book honoring Aztec culture and language in Mexico give readers special int…

Katy Dycus reviews two bilingual picture books highlighting the Cree and Tla’amin Nations in Canada and one trilingual picture book honoring Aztec culture and Nahuatl language in Mexico

#WorldKidLitMonth

worldkidlit.org/2025/09/03/b...

One overlooked benefit of declaring preferred pronouns as a social norm is that it's not just for LGBTQ but also for people w non-Anglo names. I'm a cishet woman with a very feminine name but nobody's gonna know that if they don't know Chinese.
But the anti-LGBTQ crowd are also anti-immigrant so..

Free tickets for book launch at #BhamLitFest25: tinyurl.com/2f7c8dss

Sat 11 Oct, 2-3.30pm, The Exchange (in-person/online)

With Marilyn Booth, @rudotranslates.bsky.social, Seán McDonagh, @eletenf.bsky.social, Georgia Wall & Anam Zafar

@theemmapress.bsky.social
@writingwestmids.bsky.social

Feminism Matters, or How I Ended Up Doing a PhD When I finished my masters, I told myself and everyone around me that there was absolutely no way I was going to do a PhD. No chance. Not in a month of Sundays. I had absolutely had enough of acade…

Latest blog post (and a slightly alarmingly massive photo of my face):
ruthdonnellytranslates.co.uk/2025/08/20/f...

New book purchases! Now paralysed with indecision about which to read first, obviously…

Winners of the 2023-24 John Dryden Translation Competition - British Comparative Literature Association (BCLA) Please find below the results of the 2024 competition. Many thanks to everyone who entered. The John Dryden Translation Competition is sponsored by the British Comparative Literature Association and t...

*slightly* delayed announcement, but my translation of Camila Valenzuela León’s “Las Durmientes” was long listed for last year’s John Dryden prize! bcla.org/winners-of-t...

Come along to The Exchange, Birmingham on 11th October!

My favourite! Those staircases on wheels 😍😍

Topping and co?