Overview
I am an experienced literary translator, passionate about my work, detail-oriented and reliable. With each book I translate from English, Spanish or French, I immerse myself fully in its setting, tone and characters to create a German version that is true to the original work. I have translated books by authors such as Priya Guns, Sandra Cisneros, Luis Sepúlveda, Gary Shteyngart, Janet MacLeod Trotter, Pilar Quintana, Kat Gordon, Eloísa Díaz, Diana Evans, Margo Lanagan, Karl Geary, Luiza Sauma, Laurent Binet, Josse Gaëlle and Joe Dunthorne for major German and Swiss publishers like Hoffmann & Campe, Kampa, Rowohlt and Aufbau Verlag.
My interest for different cultures, languages and literatures was kindled at an early age. I was brought up in Latin America and Germany and moved to Barcelona in 2014. Working from an international Coworking space, I am continuously keeping in touch with my mother tongue and the languages I translate from.
My field of expertise are both fiction and non-fiction, with a focus on novels and travel literature. I hold a Diploma in literary translation (equivalent to a Master's degree) from the University of Duesseldorf, have studied Modern English Literature at the University of Westminster in London, audiovisual translation at Trágora Professional School of Translating and Interpreting, Granada, as well as journalistic translation at ISTRAD (Instituto Superior de Estudios Lingüísticos y Traducción), Sevilla.
I am a member of the German Literary Translators' Association (VdÜ) and the Spanish Society of Modern Languages (SELM) and I regularly attend their seminars and webinars in order to stay up to date and to improve my skills in the field of creative translation.
Are you an author, an editor or a book publisher wishing to publish their book in German? I would be delighted to hear from you. You can rest assured that I will treat your book with great care and provide you with a translation that respects and represents the original work.
Services
Fiction
Non-Fiction
Languages
Awards
- Residency program for international writers and translators 2013 and 2016, Art Omi, International Arts Center, New York
- Award / grant for my translation of Laurent Binet's novel HHhH, German Translators' Fund, Berlin, 2010
- Georges-Arthur-Goldschmidt-Program, Grant by Frankfurt International Book Fair and BIEF (Bureau International de l'Édition Française) in Berlin, Paris and Arles, 2007
Certifications
- Postgraduate course in journalistic translation, ISTRAD, Instituto Superior de Estudios Lingüísticos y Traducción, Sevilla, Spain
- Course in audiovisual translation, Trágora Formación, Professional School of Translating and Interpreting, Granada, Spain
- Diploma in Literary Translation, University of Duesseldorf, Germany
- Intensive course in Modern English Literature, University of Westminster, London
- Business French Diploma for Tourism, Catering and Hospitality by Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Work experience
Self-employed
Creative translation and localization (English | Spanish | French to German): literature, journalistic texts, travel reports, audiovisual scripts, marketing collateral, website content and blogs.
Portfolio
Mayela has 3 reviews
Professionalism
Quality
Value
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