The International Forum for Catalan Literature Translators, organized by the Institut Ramon Llull in collaboration with the Institut d’Estudis Catalans (IEC) and the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB), will bring together for the first time in Barcelona nearly 150 translators representing over 30 languages. The event, with Catalan as the vehicular language, will take place from November 23rd to 25th at the IEC and the CCCB.
The event will feature plenary sessions, practical workshops, sectoral debates, and meetings with authors and editors. The aim is to foster the exchange of experiences, update knowledge, and strengthen the international network of Catalan literature translators. The program also includes cultural activities at the Teatre Romea and the Ateneu Barcelonès, and an institutional reception at the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya.
The director of the Institut Ramon Llull, Anna Guitart, highlighted the strong current moment for Catalan literature translations into other languages, citing consistently growing figures and international recognition, such as the ALTA awards for Mara Faye Lethem and the Médicis étranger for Eva Baltasar. Guitart emphasized that translators are a fundamental pillar for the internationalization of Catalan culture.
The director of the Literature Area at the Institut Ramon Llull, Izaskun Arretxe, underscored the translators' high level of preparation and expressed the Forum's goal to provide them with practical tools to continue translating Catalan literature. Mara Faye Lethem, a translator into English of several Catalan authors and a recent recipient of the ALTA award, noted that translation serves to embrace knowledge across cultures and foster human understanding.
The Forum aims to increase the visibility of literary translators' work, recognize their cultural value, and position them as key agents in the international dissemination of Catalan literature. Amidst a context of growing translations (from 174 titles in 2007 to over 380 in 2025), the meeting is intended to be a space for exchange among professionals who often work in isolation.
Children's and young adult literature is driving this growth, with an 876% increase in translated publications. Fiction also shows sustained growth, particularly since Catalonia's participation as guest of honor at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2007. Authors such as Rocio Bonilla, Mercè Rodoreda, and Jaume Copons are among the most translated.
