call for submissions

 

 

DoubleSpeak, Penn’s only literary translation magazine, is now accepting submissions for its 2021-2022 issue!

 

DoubleSpeak features original translations of previously published poetry and prose, as well as original essays on translation. We consider submissions from everyone, whether connected to Penn or not. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis until January 28, 2022, but we encourage you to submit early in order to ensure a spot in the magazine. 

 

You might not consider yourself a translator, or even a writer, but everyone is connected to language, more deeply than we often realize. We at DoubleSpeak are looking for anyone and everyone who loves language as we do. If you speak Swahili, Arabic, Farsi, Russian, Cantonese, or any other language, we want to hear from you. If you have studied one semester or ten years of a language, we want to hear from you.  If you only speak English, we want to hear from you. If you've ever looked up a word in the original language of a poem you love, wondering how else it might be rendered, we want to hear from you. Translate so we can love Forugh Farrokhzad or Federico Garcia Lorca as much as you do. 

 

We also publish brief essays, or musings, in each issue, and we encourage your prose reflections on how questions of translation surface in your life. We'd love to hear your experience of being bilingual, or trilingual, and what it means to translate a life between languages and cultures. 

 

Please reach out to us at staff@doublespeakmagazine.org with questions, to join the fantastic DoubleSpeak staff, or to add your name to the listserv! If you want to translate and submit, but aren’t sure how to begin, definitely reach out. We’re happy to help you get started. Feel free to email our Editor-in-Chief, Kate Jiang, at jzhiqiao@seas.upenn.edu with any questions or concerns too. See our website https://www.doublespeakmagazine.org/ and print issues (available for free at the Kelly Writers House) for past issues.

 

Submission deadline: Rolling until February 14, 2022.

Submit to staff@doublespeakmagazine.org

 

What to include:

 

  • Word or PDF document including your translation and the original work 

  • Poet’s bio: where they are from, why they are important, their reception in their country, etc. ~ 200 words

  • Translator’s bio: contextualize yourself. Brief.  ~ 100 words

  • Note on Translation: discuss why you translated the poem the way you did, specific choices you made, compromises you had to make during the process, etc.  Speak about the process of translation. ~300 words

  • Optional: A photo that you feel relates to the poem (personally taken, or from a friend, not one stripped from online)

 

We look forward to receiving your translations soon!

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