We are delighted to announce the recipient of the Cove Park/Lolli Editions Translation Residency is Martin Aitken.

Martin was born in Carlisle and grew up on the Wirral. He spent several years in Newcastle where he studied creative arts before moving to Denmark. Gaining a PhD in Linguistics, he pursued an academic career lecturing and researching in English language until turning to literary translation. Working mainly from Danish, increasingly from Norwegian, he has translated works by leading contemporary writers such as Karl Ove Knausgaard, Olga Ravn, Peter Høeg, Kim Leine and Hanne Ørstavik. His work has been shortlisted for the major literary prizes, including the 2017 International Dublin Literary Award, a 2018 US National Book Award, and the 2021 International Booker Prize. He received the PEN America Translation Prize in 2019.

This residency is offered through a new partnership with Lolli Editions, an independent publisher based at Somerset House in London. Specialising in literary fiction in translation, we publish innovative literature that challenges existing ideas and breathes new life into the novel form. Our aim is to introduce to the Anglophone world some of the most exciting writers that speak to our shared culture in new and compelling ways, from Europe and beyond. Our series New Scandinavian Literature has introduced to English-speaking readers numerous award-winning and critically acclaimed authors, including Tine Høeg, Jonas Eika, Ursula Scavenius, Olga Ravn, Amalie Smith, Signe Gjessing, and Johanne Bille. Forthcoming writers in the series include Harald Voetmann, Johanne Lykke Holm, Quynh Tran, Kristina Carlson, Johannes Lilleøre, Fine Gråbøl, among others. Across our list, we have the pleasure and honour of working with some of the most talented translators at work today, including Saskia Vogel, Sharon Rhodes, Denise Newman, Misha Hoekstra, Sherilyn Hellberg, Zoë Perry, Martin Aitken, Damon Searls, Jennifer Russell, Sophia Hersi Smith, Johanne Sorgenfri Ottosen, Mikko Alapuro, and Kira Joseffson.

Cove Park’s Literary Translation programme began in 2016 and is an important aspect of our work. The residencies have been developed through several partnerships with organisations such as The National Centre for Writing (Norwich, UK), Literarisches Colloquium Berlin (Germany), Maclehose Press (UK), Publishing Scotland, and the University of Glasgow (Scotland). Former residents include: Anne Brauner, Kate Griffin (2016); Anna Aslanyan, Melissa Bull, Ruth Clarke, Rebecca DeWald, Kari Dickson, Somrita Urni Ganguly, Atar Hadari, Barbara J. Haveland, Sophie Hughes, Andy Jelčić, Laura Maniero, Annie McDermott, Deirdre McMahon, and Deborah Smith (all 2017); Kari Dickson, Erika Fatland (2018), Ghislain Bareau, Polly Barton, Kari Dickson, Stephanie Fernandes, Jozefina Komporaly Katherine Mendelsohn, Bettina Münch, Zoë Perry, Ayça Türkoğlu,  Jozef van der Voort, and Ayça Türkoğlu (all 2019); Annie Rutherford and Jen Calleja (2021), and Polly Barton (2022).

This residency is part of Cove Park’s European Residency Programme, supported by British Council Scotland and Creative Scotland.

Image: Martin Aitken (courtesy of Martin Aitken)