On 3 November Herzen university hosted another meeting of the Terra Translatologica seminar. The event was called ‘The Obvious, the Unbelievable: literary translation. how to teach and how to publish’   The key speaker of the seminar was Alexander Filippov-Chekhov, the moderator was SCIt director Irina Alexeeva.

Alexander Filippov-Chekhov is a translator of German and English fiction and non-fiction, founder and chief editor of the Libra Publishing House. Alexander also inspired the Peredelkino translation projects and is a curator of the translation workshops and residences in Peredelkino.

The meeting comprised two parts: first Alexander told about the profession of a literary translator, their role in publishing and social life at large, shared his discoveries in translation. He also took questions from the audience about the state of the literary translation market in general, about his personal experience in dealing with the challenges of the professional translation. The second part was devoted to the work of the publishing  house and the presentation of the books, followed by the discussion about the quality of the publishing business today. The guest also spoke about the work of his own publishing house.

There was a lot of interest on the part of the audience to the meeting. All participants were eager to ask questions and got involved in the discussion. The project undoubtedly raises the profile of the translator’s profession, enriches the participants with new insights and knowledge.