Translation

Literary fiction, creative nonfiction, academia, commercial fiction, lifestyle, journalism, marketing.

LITERARY

Literary translation is a hugely varied field, encompassing everything from literary fiction to creative nonfiction, memoir writing and genre fiction. As well as achieving critical acclaim, my literary translations have been a hit with booksellers and readers alike. Working tirelessly to capture the essence of the original, my aim is for English-speaking readers to experience outstanding foreign literature in translation as it was intended - in a ‘voice’ that resembles the original as closely as humanly possible!

ACADEMIC

The thing I love about academic writing is how much it teaches me. I get the chance to do lots of fascinating research and pass this knowledge onto other English speakers through my translations. I work predominantly in the arts and humanities, collaborating closely with academics to produce accurate, readable translations. This requires meticulous investigative skills, as well as the ability to assimilate and convey vast amounts of information in accordance with style guidelines and conventions.

COMMERCIAL

I have worked with a number of major commercial clients over the years, translating and proofreading all kinds of press releases, website content, in-house magazines, confidential information and general marketing. Sectors of particular interest to me include sustainability, climate, lifestyle, music, travel and food. I bring a much-needed human touch to marketing copy, helping brands to produce high-impact communications for the UK market and beyond.

Full-length book translations & publications containing my translations

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Gallery

Giovanna Rivero Fresh Dirt from the Grave Isabel Adey Translator
Rolf Dobelli The Not-To-Do List Isabel Adey Translator
Alfons Kaiser Karl Lagerfeld A Life in Fashion Isabel Adey Translator
Marvel Moreno December Breeze Isabel Adey Charlotte Coombe Translators
EXIT The Book Danger at the North Pole Isabel Adey Translator
La Lucha Latin American Feminism Today Esther Pineda Sexism & Racism Isabel Adey Translator
Giovanna Rivero 98 Seconds Without a Shadow Isabel Adey Translator
Marc Raabe Home Sick Isabel Adey Translator
Ulrike Draesner Giving Voice Isabel Adey Translator
Black and white photograph of a woman standing outdoors against a worn wall, holding an umbrella. The image has text overlaying it: 'Nathalie Herschdorfer', 'Deborah Turbeville', 'Photocollage', and 'Thames & Hudson'.
Cover of a book titled "Tracings: Photography and Thought" by Daniel Schwartz. The background features a black-and-white photograph of a cloudy sky with a large, dark cloud on the left and smaller clouds on the right.
Logo with the text 'Art in Translation' and three interconnected rings in red, orange, and pink on a black background.
Gisela Geiger Heinrich Campendonk Isabel Adey Translator
Book cover titled "Hot Art, Cold War — Southern and Eastern European Writing on American Art 1945-1990," edited by Claudia Hopkins and Iain Boyd Whyte. The cover features colorful, abstract artwork with animals and nature motifs.
Isabel Adey Translator
Book cover titled 'Exit the Book: The Lion of San Marco,' a puzzle novel, with a lion's face statue with a prominent nose, part of a blue background, and text indicating it is a level 1 book for ages 14 and up. Translated by Isabel Adey,
Book cover of 'Balenciaga Kueblin' with a black and white photo of a woman in a dress casting a shadow.

Prizes, advanced training, residencies…

  • The Queen Sofia Translation Prize is a prestigious award honouring the best English translations of works originally written in Spanish. After reading both the original Spanish and the translation, a team of experts chose Giovanna Rivero’s Fresh Dirt from the Grave (Charco Press 2023) to be included on the longlist for the award in 2024.

  • The Queen Sofia Translation Prize is a prestigious award honouring the best English translations of works originally written in Spanish. After reading both the original Spanish and the translation, a team of experts chose Marvel Moreno’s December Breeze (Europa Editions 2022, co-translation with Charlotte Coombe) to be included on the shortlist for the award in 2023.

  • Competitive, fully funded residency to work on Colombian author Marvel Moreno’s novel En diciembre llegaban las brisas (pub. 2022, Europa Editions). Charlotte Coombe and I completed our translation of this epic novel while staying in one of the iconic treehouses at the foot of the Jura mountains.

  • In the early days of my literary translation career in 2014, a highly commended sample translation earned me one of the coveted spots on the Goethe Institut Emerging Translators Programme, resulting in multiple commissions for the Austrian Cultural Forum.

  • Spanish to English workshop with literary translator Anne McLean and author Vera Giaconi.

  • An intensive, partially funded week of translation workshops and feedback sessions at the Ted Hughes Centre under the expert guidance of Maureen Freely and Daniel Hahn.

  • German to English workshop with literary translator Katy Derbyshire and author Rasha Khayat

Logo of the Society of Authors Translators Association with stylized 'A' and 'S' in dark blue, pink, and red.
Logo of the Chartered Institute of Linguists featuring a red line art bird and leaves, with the text "Chartered Institute of Linguists" in gray, the website URL "www.ciol.org.uk" in red, and the words "Chartered Linguist" in bold black.