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About Us

DELT supports a professional network of Danish to English literary translators and promotes Danish literature in English, translated by its members.

We are an independent, international network run by translators, for translators, actively promoting links with English-language and Danish publishers and relevant cultural and literary organisations, as well as running networking and professional development events. DELT supports the promotion of Danish literature in English translation worldwide.

The Association of Danish-English Literary Translators (DELT) is a non-profit community of translators. DELT is run by an elected committee and has over 60 members worldwide. DELT is open to literary translators of Danish into English at any stage of their careers.

Management Committee

The committee meets once a month to discuss topics relevant to our members. Committee members take on a range of additional roles, including Social Media, Funding, Membership, Events and Strategy planning. DELT’s committee members are: Paul Russell Garrett (Chair), Ellen Kythor (Treasurer), Sinéad Quirke Køngerskov (Secretary), Misha Hoekstra, Caroline Waight, Nielsine Nielsen and Jennifer Alexander.

Image of current and former committee members by Camila França Photography.

Our Story

A network for literary translators of Danish into English has not always existed! In the past, cultural agencies such as the Danish Embassy in London and the Danish Arts Foundation in Copenhagen found it challenging to reach translators of Danish into English who might be interested in their events or eligible for their grants. Translators, too, inevitably found their circle of contacts was limited to people they already knew.

In 2013, University College London’s Department of Scandinavian Studies and the Danish Arts Foundation announced its first co-funded Impact PhD studentship in Danish Translation. Part of the remit of this PhD studentship was to collaborate with stakeholders to form a network for Danish to English literary translators.

Ellen Kythor was awarded the Impact PhD studentship in Autumn 2013 and immediately organised meetings with translators to discuss what they needed. Ellen hosted in-person meetings with translators in London (UCL), Copenhagen (The Danish Arts Foundation), and New York (Consulate General of Denmark) in late 2013 and early 2014.

As the result of these discussions, the need for two separate online spaces was identified: a closed space for translators to communicate online and become part of the group, and a public website as an online presence to provide information to interested stakeholders about the network, its members and their work.

In May 2014, DENT – the Danish-English Network of literary Translators – was first established online. The website (danishtranslation.org) and private social media community (on Google+!) were both set up in early summer after consultation with translators about preferred options.

During this first year, a US-based coordinator was suggested by The Danish Arts Foundation. The meeting in New York in May 2014 was intended to inspire US-based translators to establish their own network. However, the outcome of this meeting, with agreement of existing DENT members and other stakeholders, was to open the network to translators globally. Members agreed it would be sensible for in-person events to be organised separately for the North American and Europe-based translators, but the online community would be open to all. By the end of 2014, DENT’s online community had 29 members – all active literary translators of Danish into English.

Meetings and events were often organised alongside a cultural or networking opportunity. For example, a Norvik Press book launch, an author-translator panel at the Free Word Centre, the translators’ summer school (organised by the Danish Arts Foundation), the British Centre for Literary Translation Summer School public events, and – still a regular fixture – coinciding with significant annual industry events the London Book Fair and BogForum (Copenhagen).

In 2017, following a meeting at the Danish Embassy in London, a founding committee of six volunteers was established to ensure the future of the network.

In early 2018, the Danish-English Network of literary Translators (DENT) was renamed by the working committee as the association of Danish-English Literary Translators (DELT) in order to emphasise the creative, literary focus of its members.

Following a year as a ‘working committee’ (April 2017- April 2018), the founding committee of DELT was established with the following roles:

  • Ellen Kythor (Chair)
  • Paul Russell Garrett (Treasurer)
  • John Mason (Co-Secretary)
  • Sinéad Quirke Køngerskov (Co-Secretary)
  • Lin Falk van Rooyen (Events and Networking Officer)

DELT (formerly DENT) was (re)launched at a meeting at the Danish Embassy in London exactly a year after the working committee had started collaboration. DELT was formalised and its Constitution was approved at its first AGM in October 2018. The founding committee then worked for another full year to strengthen the future of DELT, receive and manage the association’s funds, and organise events.

The core committee is formed of Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer, with other committee members co-opted for roles such as event planning or other projects. The committee meets online once a month. The online community for members moved from Google+ to a closed Facebook Group at the end of 2018.

”The work done so far by Ellen Kythor has been extremely useful and cannot be underestimated. [T]he network seems to have found a shape and structure, which we are now sure will prove sustainable and will benefit its members. We are confident that [DELT’s] existence will help sustain the “food-chain” of literary translators from Danish to English, as it provides a place for these one-wo/man armies to share experiences, advice and to learn from each other.

Annette Bach, Head of Literature at the Danish Agency for CultureMay 2018

Dr Ellen Kythor was Chair of DELT from its founding until the end of 2019, when she completed her PhD in Danish Translation. In November 2019, Paul Russell Garrett was approved as Chair and the committee and association moved onto the next phase – from founding era to becoming an established organisation!

You can read more about DELT’s events over the years on our News pages.

Get Involved

Join DELT

Become a part of our international network of Danish-English literary translators.

Find a Translator

Browse our members and connect with a Danish-English literary translator.

Take Part

Discover events and professional development workshops for translators.