Overview
I'm Ed Miles and I've been writing professionally, one way or another, for most of my adult life.
My translation foot-in-the-door was a dream job: in 1999 my wife and I tag-teamed on the script of "Good Bye Lenin!" for Miramax, the film that introduced Daniel Brühl to the world. Since then, I've worked mainly in the film-&-TV and literary fields. Here in Germany, I spent many years translating alongside teaching English, but in 2013 I took the gamble and began translating full-time.
In recent years, I’ve completed more than a dozen novels for AmazonCrossing, with total sales well in excess of half a million books as of 2022. My focus has been on fantasy novels (read Bernhard Hennen's splendid "The Elven") and historical fiction (starting with Petra Durst-Benning's "While the World is Still Asleep," the first in her marvelous "Century Trilogy"). I continue to work in the film and TV sector: screenplays, pitches, dialogue books, treatments, you name it. In 2020-23 (so far) I've translated ten books in the Tom Wagner series by Austrian author duo Roberts & Maclay, and am currently (March 2023) working on editing a novel set in ancient Iraq.
Major commissions have also come from Piper Verlag and Zeitsprung Entertainment, and I've completed countless assignments for private, commercial and industrial clients.
A bit of background: Perth in Western Australia is my hometown, but I've lived, studied and worked for extended periods in Australia, Japan and the United States before moving to Cologne, Germany in 2000. I earned my MFA at the University of Oregon (Go, Ducks!) in 1995, where I majored in fiction writing. At U of O I also worked as an editor on "Northwest Review" literary magazine, and on my return to Oz in 1996 I made the top-3 shortlist for the prestigious Australian/Vogel's Literary Award for Young Writers.
For me, translation is all about the story, far less about one-to-one word correspondence. What good is an English sentence if it sounds like it was written by someone with a tin ear? Rhythm and mood matter at least as much as the actual words.
Deine Geschichte, meine Sprache! Let me bring your words to life—in English.
Services
Non-Fiction
Biographies & Memoirs
Fiction
Fantasy
Historical Fiction
Literary Fiction
Languages
German to English
Awards
- Australian/Vogel's Literary Award, shortlist 1996
Certifications
- Master of Fine Arts (Fiction Writing), University of Oregon, 1995
- BA (Hons) Communication and Cultural Studies, Curtin University of Technology, 1992
Work experience
AmazonCrossing
Feb, 2013 —
Present
For Amazon, I've translated more than a dozen novels. 'My' main authors are Bernhard Hennen (high fantasy, world building on a par with LOTR), and Petra Durst-Benning and Annis Bell, both of whom write historical fiction with female protagonists.
Skills 4 Business
Jun, 2003 —
Jun, 2019
(about 16 years)
Professional English skills consultant for global companies (Bayer, Lanxess, Ford, Mazda): presentations coaching, BEC exam prep; one-to-one experience at senior management level in Bayer AG and Bayer sub-group companies.
action concept
Mar, 2002 —
Present
Action concept have been making action films and series in Germany for decades, and I've been translating scripts, dialogue books, pitches, treatments and various other documents for them since shortly after my arrival in Germany in 2000.
Various
Oct, 1999 —
Present
I've worked with numerous companies and individuals over the years, translating and also proofreading in business, engineering and commercial fields, as well as in the film-and-TV industries. Key and ongoing clients over the last 19 years include Schukat Electronic, Bayer, Nickelodeon, Peter Clausen Film and Television, Zeitsprung, Skills 4 Business, Grundy UFA, Die PR Berater, Jochen Breitenstein, Lanxess AG, Translation Engineering, Piper Verlag and Luther Rechtsanwaltgesellschaft mBH.
Portfolio
From Book 1: The first in a new series from Petra Durst-Benning, the bestselling author of The Glassblower series.An inspiring historical tale of one woman risking it all for her dreams set in 1890s Berlin.After the tragic death of her little brother, Josephin... read more
The international bestseller and epic adventureA fierce and merciless demon has been unleashed on the world, spreading destruction and bloodshed in both the human and the elven realms. Northlander Jarl Mandred witnesses the ruthless attack on his men, and he s... read more
From Book 1: From bestselling author Petra Durst-Benning comes a sweeping emotional story of courage, triumph, and love against all odds in nineteenth-century Germany.After a long and trying journey from her home, Hannah arrives at a charming village nestled i... read more
From Book 1: The international bestseller and epic adventureA fierce and merciless demon has been unleashed on the world, spreading destruction and bloodshed in both the human and the elven realms. Northlander Jarl Mandred witnesses the ruthless attack on his ... read more
Three companions, three motivations, one goal: Zundaj, capital of the realm. But things already start to go wrong in Terys. But the journey onward turns into a nightmare, with Nikkos companions revealing unexpected sides.The capital only reluctantly welcomes t... read more
Back to Hymal, back to the orcs! And everything ends in disaster again, of course. Could Danuwil really be dead? At least Nikko is able to free a prisoner from the orcs clutches. But who is he?Back home again, everything is even worse. Khondharr marches agains... read more
An unexpected journey turns into a nightmare. Nikko, a simple farm lad, suddenly finds himself running for his life. Dark executioners, orcs, a strange land brimming with danger … and little hope of a happy end in sight! Only with the aid of an extraordinary w... read more
The German No. 1 bestseller, now available for the first time in English:Radically Allowing everything inside us. Everything!Turning gently to our deepest wound, feeling exactly through our pain of abandonment, frees up all of our bound energy and finally lead... read more
The second book in Jonas Winner’s haunting Berlin Gothic series.Ten years after the death of patriarch Xavier Bentheim, long-estranged Till Anschütz returns to Berlin for the wedding of the family’s youngest daughter.Till carries with him the disturbing memori... read more
Long after the Iron Curtain has crumbled, an invisible wall remains between the good citizens of Berlin and those who dwell in the city’s dark underbelly. And one family—the Bentheims—straddles the line between good and evil. The family has graciously taken in... read more
On his death bed, Lord Pembroke took great care to try to ensure the future of his beautiful, unconventional niece, Lady Jane. Her debutante ball would feature the most eligible bachelors of London society. But when the night of the dance arrives, things do no... read more
A desperate letter from her best friend sends Lady Jane rushing from her cozy Cornwall home to the remote reaches of Northumberland. Alison’s frantic plea for help hints that something sinister is going on in the gloomy halls of Winton Park, so Jane braves the... read more
Bestselling author Petra Durst-Benning’s Seed Traders’ Saga continues, as a young woman in nineteenth-century Baden-Baden risks everything to pursue her dream of becoming a florist.Twenty-year-old Flora Kerner has arrived in Baden-Baden, the “Summer Capital of... read more
From bestselling author Petra Durst-Benning comes a sweeping emotional story of courage, triumph, and love against all odds in nineteenth-century Germany.After a long and trying journey from her home, Hannah arrives at a charming village nestled in the foothil... read more
Petra Durst-Benning’s captivating historical novel pays homage to the trailblazing women of the early twentieth century—like Elizabeth Arden and Estée Lauder—who shaped culture, shattered convention, and strived to make the world around them more beautiful.Des... read more
When Isabelle took a chance and eloped with Leon Feininger, her true love, she hadn’t stopped to consider what would happen next. Winter on his family’s isolated vineyard proves tougher than she expected, and Isabelle finds herself daydreaming, envisioning the... read more
The first in a new series from Petra Durst-Benning, the bestselling author of The Glassblower series.An inspiring historical tale of one woman risking it all for her dreams set in 1890s Berlin.After the tragic death of her little brother, Josephine travels to ... read more
From the bestselling author of The Glassblower Trilogy comes an inspiring historical saga of a female photographer who must defy convention to live her dreams in turn-of-the-century Germany.In 1905, on her twenty-sixth birthday, Mimi Reventlow receives a marri... read more
An ancient war reignites as the international bestselling fantasy saga continues…At the height of its power, the elven court of Queen Emerelle revels in the joyful Festival of Light. Yet, as tribes gather to reaffirm their loyalty to the queen, treachery feste... read more
The battle for sovereignty over the realms reaches a devastating turning point as the international bestselling fantasy series continues.All that stands between the advancing army of trolls and the endangered fortress of Phylangan is a coalition force led by A... read more
