Will Firth (born 23 May 1965) is an Australian literary translator who focuses on contemporary writing from the

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian ( / ), also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is a pluricentric language with four mutually i ...

speaking countries and

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

. He graduated in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

(with Serbo-Croatian as a minor) from the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

in Canberra in 1986 (BA). He won a scholarship to read South Slavic studies at the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

in the 1988–89 academic year and spent a further postgraduate year at the Pushkin Institute in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in 1989–90. Subsequently, he qualified as a translator from Croatian, German, Macedonian and Russian with the

National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters The National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters Ltd (known as NAATI) is the national standards and certifying body for translators and interpreters in Australia. NAATI's mission, as outlined in the NAATI Constitution, is to ...

(NAATI) in Australia. Since 1991 he has been living in Germany, where he works as a freelance translator of literature and the humanities. He translates from Russian, Macedonian, and all variants of Serbo-Croatian into

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, occasionally into German. In 2005-07 he worked for the

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was a body of the United Nations that was established to prosecute the war crimes in the Yugoslav Wars, war crimes that had been committed during the Yugoslav Wars and to tr ...

(ICTY). Since the mid-2000s, Firth has largely been translating works of South Slavic literature. He is a member of the professional associations of translators in the UK (

Translators Association The Translators Association (TA) represents literary translators in the United Kingdom. It is part of the Society of Authors (SoA) and is affiliated with the International Federation of Translators (FIT). History The Translators Association (TA ...

) and Germany (VdÜ). Firth has been an

Esperantist An Esperantist () is a person who speaks, reads or writes Esperanto. According to the Declaration of Boulogne, a document agreed upon at the first World Esperanto Congress in 1905, an Esperantist is someone who speaks Esperanto and uses it for ...

since 1985.

Major translations

Translations into English

From Macedonian

* ''Anya's Diary'' (Дневникот на Ања), children's novel by Dimitar Baševski, Slovo,

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

, 2007 * ''Pirey'' (Пиреј), novel by Petre M. Andreevski, Pollitecon Publications,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, 2009 (co-translated with Mirjana Simjanovska) * ''Stolen Thoughts'' (Украдени мисли), bilingual collection of poetry by Dušan Ristevski, Macedonian Literary Association “Grigor Prlichev”, Sydney, 2011 * ''The Sunrise in My Dream'' (Угрејсонце во мојот сон), bilingual collection of poetry by Ivan Trposki, Macedonian Literary Association “Grigor Prlichev”, Sydney, 2013 *''Homunculus'' (Човечулец), short stories by

Aleksandar Prokopiev Aleksandar Prokopiev (; born February 24, 1953) is a Macedonian PhD in comparative literature and literary theory working in the Institute of Macedonian Literature at the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje, the Republic of North Macedon ...

Istros Books Istros books is a London-based independent publisher of writers from South-East Europe and the Balkans, in English translation. It was set up in 2011 by Susan Curtis. Publications Notable publications include: *''Doppelgänger'' by Daša Drndić ...

, London, 2015 * ''The Eighth Wonder of the World'' (Осмото светско чудо), novel by Jordan Plevneš, Plamen Press, Washington, D.C., 2020

From Bosnian/Croatian/Montenegrin/Serbian

*''Hansen's Children'' (Hansenova djeca), novel by Ognjen Spahić, Istros Books,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 2011 * ''The Coming'' (Dolazak), novel by

Andrej Nikolaidis Andrej Nikolaidis (; born May 7, 1974) is a Montenegrin- Bosnian novelist, columnist, and political adviser. His novel ''Sin'' (The Son) won the European Union Prize for Literature in 2011. The English translation was published in 2013 by Istro ...

, Istros Books, London, 2011 * '' Our Man in Iraq'' (), novel by

Robert Perišić Robert Perišić (born 1969 in Split, Croatia) is a Croatian writer. His books are considered as authentic portrayals of society in transformation and its antiheroes. Biography Perišić graduated in Literature and Croatian language from the Uni ...

, Istros Books, London, 2012, and Black Balloon Publishing,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, 2013 * ''A Handful of Sand'' (To malo pijeska na dlanu), novel by Marinko Koščec, Istros Books, London, 2013 * ''The Storm in the Still Life'' (Mrtva priroda i živo srce), epistolary novel by Ivan B. Vodopija, Ex Libris,

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, 2013 * ''The Son'' (Sin), novel by Andrej Nikolaidis, Istros Books, London, 2013 * ''Ekaterini'', novel by

Marija Knežević Marija Knežević (born 29 December 1963) is a Serbian poet, fiction writer, essayist, literary translator and Professor of literature. Knežević was born in Belgrade, Serbia, in 1963. She graduated from Belgrade University with a degree in Comp ...

, Istros Books, London, 2013 * ''The Great War'' (Veliki rat), novel by Aleksandar Gatalica, Istros Books, London, 2014 * ''Till Kingdom Come'' (Devet), novel by Andrej Nikolaidis, Istros Books, London, 2015 * ''Quiet Flows the Una'' (Knjiga o Uni), novel by Faruk Šehić, Istros Books, London, 2016 * ''Journey to Russia'' (Izlet u Rusiju), travelogue by Miroslav Krleža, Sandorf, Zagreb, 2017 * ''Head Full of Joy'' (Puna glava radosti), short stories by Ognjen Spahić, Dalkey Archive Press, Victoria, 2018 * ''Mothers and Daughters'' (Dabogda te majka rodila), novel by Vedrana Rudan, Dalkey Archive Press, Victoria, 2018 * ''A Novel of London'' (Roman o Londonu), novel by

Miloš Crnjanski Miloš Crnjanski ( sr-Cyrl, Милош Црњански, ; 26 October 1893 – 30 November 1977) was a Serbian writer and poet of the expressionist wing of Serbian modernism, author, journalist and a diplomat. Biography Crnjanski was born in Cso ...

, Diálogos, New Orleans, 2020 * ''From Nowhere to Nowhere'' (Nigdje, niotkuda), novel by Bekim Sejranović, Sandorf, Zagreb, 2020 * ''Divine Child'' (Božanska dječica), novel by Tatjana Gromača, Sandorf Passage, South Portland, 2021 * ''Horror and Huge Expenses'' (Užas i veliki troškovi), short stories by Robert Perišić, Sandorf Passage, South Portland, 2021 * ''Sea, Sun, Salt: Short Stories from Montenegro'', various authors, Gligorije Dijak, Podgorica, 2022 * ''Balkan Bombshells: Contemporary Women's Writing from Serbia and Montenegro'', various authors, Istros Books, London, 2023 * ''Take Six: Six Balkan Women Writers'', various authors,

Dedalus Books Dedalus Books is an independent publishing company based in Cambridgeshire, England. Publisher Eric Lane has said, "We like the bizarre, the grotesque, the surreal and the clever, preferably in the same book. We call this kind of book, distort ...

, Sawtry, 2023 * ''Anomaly'', novel by Andrej Nikolaidis,

Peirene Press Peirene Press is an independent publishing house based in Bath. Established by the novelist and journalist Meike Ziervogel, Peirene publishes literary fiction in translation from all over the world. Their books are regularly listed for significa ...

, Bath, 2024

Translations into German

From Macedonian

* ''Der große Koffer'' (Големиот куфер), short stories by Ivan Dodovski, Edition Erata,

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, 2008 * ''Das Buch der Mutter'' (Ервехе. Книга за една мајка), novel by Luan Starova, Wieser Verlag, Klagenfurt, 2010 * ''Das achte Weltwunder'' (Осмото светско чудо), novel by Jordan Plevneš, Leipziger Literaturverlag, Leipzig, 2015

From Bosnian/Croatian/Montenegrin/Serbian

* ''Die göttlichen Kindchen'' (Božanska dječica), novel by Tatjana Gromača, STROUX edition,

München Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

2022

References

External links

*
Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Firth, Will 1965 births Living people Australian translators Russian–English translators Serbian–English translators Translators from Macedonian German–English translators Translators to German