Nicky Harman is a UK-based

literary translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

, working from

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

to English and focussing on contemporary fiction, literary non-fiction, and occasionally poetry, by a wide variety of authors. When not translating, she spends time promoting contemporary Chinese fiction to English-language readers. She volunteers fo
Paper Republic
a non-profit registered in the UK, where she is also a trustee. She writes blogs (for instanc
Asian Books Blog
, give talks and lectures, and takes part in literary events and festivals, especially with th
Leeds Centre for New Chinese Writing
She also mentors new translators, teaches summer schools (Norwich, London, Warwick and Bristol), and judges translation competitions. She tweets, with Helen Wang, as the China Fiction Bookclub @cfbcuk. She taught on the MSc in Translation at Imperial College until 2011 and was co-chair of the Translators Association (Society of Authors) 2014–2017.

Life and career

Harman studied Chinese at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

, and first went to China in 1974.

Awards and honors

* Winner of a Special Book Award of China in 2020 * Shortlisted for the 2021 Newman Prize for Chinese Literature, for her co-translation with Natascha Bruce of Xu Xiaobin's work. * Longlisted for the FT/Oppenheimer Funds Emerging Voices Awards 2016, with Xu Xiaobin's ''Crystal Wedding''. * Winner of the Mao Tai Cup People's Literature Chinese-English translation prize 2015. Link here: n Chinese * Longlisted for the 2015 Best Translated Book Award Fiction BTBA Longlist, with Dorothy Tse's ''Snow and Shadow''. * Winner of first prize in the 2013 China International Translation Contest, Chinese-to-English section, with Jia Pingwa's "Backflow River" (贾平凹: 《倒流河》) * Won a PEN Translation Fund Award (2006) for her translation of ''Banished!'' by Han Dong, which was subsequently long-listed for the Man Asian Literary Prize 2008.

Translations

A list of her published translations can be found on he
Paper Republic homepage

References

External links

Nicky Harman profile
at

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

Nicky Harman profile
at

English PEN Founded in 1921, English PEN is one of the world's first non-governmental organisations and among the first international bodies advocating for human rights. English PEN was the founding centre of PEN International, a worldwide writers' associa ...

Nicky Harman profile
a
Paper Republic

Nicky Harman profile
at Free Word Centre
Nicky Harman
on Worldcat
China Fiction Book Club
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harman, Nicky Academics of Imperial College London Alumni of the University of Leeds Chinese–English translators Translators from Chinese British translators Living people Literary translators Year of birth missing (living people)