Please introduce yourself shortly.
I’ve reinvented myself several times, and although at first glance my various professions may seem very different, every new experience has built wonderfully on the last. At twenty, there was no question: I would become a director. So I studied drama and literature in Nuremberg, and then musical theatre directing and dramaturgy in Hamburg. After a period of working in the theatre, my path led to the music industry; I founded a company, and then translating libretti led me to the world of literary translation, which has been my dream career since 1992. In 2009 my passion for the stage led me to co-found the Weltlesebühne; I’ve organized and moderated literary events there ever since, and campaigned for the visibility of literary translators. But I’m also passionate about writing, so I blog – about my work as one half of a translation duo, as well as for the Weltlesebühne – and am active on Facebook. My networks are important to me, so I’ve organized mentoring round tables for BücherFrauen (Women in Publishing), for example, and supported my female colleagues as a mentor.
What career experience do you have in your advising field?
I’ve been a literary translator of Italian, English and French since 1992. In addition to fiction, I’ve enjoyed working on children’s and young adult literature, crime novels and non-fiction. And cookbooks. My experience as an entrepreneur has often proved very helpful, for example in managing the mentoring programme for BücherFrauen and doing project management for the Digitale Weltlesebühne (2020–2023). I really enjoy working on a team (see networks mentioned above), which is why I’ve been co-translating with Barbara Neeb for over fifteen years; sometimes we expand our translation duo into a trio. Since 2020 we’ve been the core of the Digitale Weltlesebühne and, for example, have curated a video series together with the Guest of Honour at the book fairs in 2020–2021, Canada, which led to the production of fifty clips, in which translators present their books.
What are some typical questions that participants might ask you in an advising session?
How do I land my first contract as a newbie translator? How can I present myself as a translator or an author online? Blog writing: what will it do for me and how can I effectively build up a blog? How does successful team translation function? How can I negotiate eye-to-eye with publishers? What do I need to pay attention to on translation contracts? How do I present a book to a publisher? How do translators get publicity?
What are some of your professional achievements?
Through the years I’ve been awarded various work stipends and start-up grants from the Deutscher Übersetzerfonds. Most recently a Brockes grant. With the help of the blog that I run and my publicity work, the Weltlesebühne’s YouTube channel now has nearly 500 subscribers – that’s a lot in the literary world – and offers more than 200 videos featuring interviews, events, translator portraits and book presentations. For several years I curated and moderated an event series for BücherFrauen. Together with Barbara Neeb, I organized a tour of the book fair for up-and-coming individuals in the industry, called ‘BücherFrauen gehen in Führung’ (BücherFrauen Take the Lead). In addition, I’ve shared my experiences with younger colleagues as a mentor.
In welchen Sprachen kannst du Beratungen anbieten?
German, Italian and English.
Wo findet man dich im Netz/auf Social Media?
Here is the website I share with Barbara Neeb: https://www.italienisch-uebersetzung.de/
Here is the Weltlesebühne blog: https://blog.weltlesebuehne.de/
The Weltlesebühne YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Weltlesebuehne
And this is where I can be found on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katharina.schmidt.5836
Welchen Rat gibst du allen Interessierten in deinem Berufsfeld?
As my example demonstrates, even ‘crooked’ career paths can lead to a fulfilling and successful life! Network, network, network! You’re better off asking for advice from too many experienced colleagues than from too few – in this line of work we like to share our knowledge, and do so without any counterproductive competitive mindset!
Was waren deine größten Herausforderungen während der ersten Jahre in deinem Beruf?
Finding my way to ‘my’ career, through various experiences in theatre, business and my studies. And always discovering something new along the way that helped me further. Getting a foot in the door in the publishing world was naturally a great challenge, as well.