Jen Calleja
Jen Calleja is a literary translator of contemporary fiction, non-fiction and YA titles, as well as a writer, editor, literary curator and musician. She studied modern literature and creative writing at Goldsmiths College and gained an MA in German Studies from University College London in 2012, the same year her first book translation was published.
She has twice been acting editor of New Books in German (2013-2014, 2015-2016), is editor of her own Anglo-German journal Verfreundungseffekt and regularly writes on literary translation and literature in translation for severeal publications . She is the inaugural Translator in Residence at the British Library (2017-2018). Jen Calleja lives in London.
Three questions to Jen Calleja
Why did you choose to become a translator?
Being a literary translator is a dream come true. As a writer I'm obsessed with telling stories, and now I get to tell other people's as well as my own. I also consider translation a form of socio-political activism whereby translators help others engage with different cultures and ways of viewing the world.
Which German book do you like the best and why?
Bernhard Schlink's The Reader will always have a special place in my heart for being the first book I ever read in German.
Is there a particular book you would like to translate?
Joachim Meyerhoff's Wann wird es endlich wieder so, wie es nie war (When Will it Be Like it Never Was Again). This book means so much to me and is up to now one of my all-time favourite books.