From Words to Worlds: Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with a Unique Translation Slam

Join award-winning authors Munir Hachemi and Javier Adrada de la Torre, along with translator Katie King, to explore the art of translation and participate in a “Translation Slam with a Twist.”

Step into the fascinating world of translation with Munir Hachemi, the Cheuse Center Writer-in-Residence and author of Living Things, translated from Spanish by Julia Sanches; Javier Adrada de la Torre, author of Title_Essay on an Infinite Onion, translated by Orlando Ocampo; and journalist Katie King, translator of Someone Speaks Your Name by Luis García Montero.

In this special event, the panelists will explore what it means to translate —and to be translated— culminating in a “Translation Slam with a Twist,” where you get to join in. You don’t have to speak Spanish to take part in this challenge, so let yourself be inspired.

Translation is more than just a linguistic exercise; it’s a creative act that connects cultures and ideas. While typical translation slams pit translators against one another, this event isn’t about competition; it’s about celebrating storytelling across languages. Together, we’ll explore the art of literary translation through conversation and a playful challenge focused on a passage from Don Quixote.

The panel

Javier Adrada de la Torre, born in Madrid in 1996, holds a PhD in Translation and Intercultural Mediation from the University of Salamanca. He currently works as a teacher at Rey Juan Carlos University, and his research interests revolve around poetry, translation, and transmedial artforms. He has also been a Visiting Scholar at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and El Colegio de México. He won the MRA Ediciones Novel Prize (La aurora de los girasoles, 2014), the 22nd International Poetry Prize “Martín García Ramos” (Gasolineras, 2024) and the 24th International Poetry Prize “Emilio Prados” (título_ensayo sobre una cebolla infinita, 2024). He is also the author of Luis Cernuda y Friedrich Hölderlin: traducción, poesía y representación and Espejismo de un dios, and he has published his poetry in magazines such as Zéjel, Casapaís, El coloquio de los perros and other literary anthologies.

Munir Hachemi was born in Madrid, Spain, in 1989, His first stories appeared in fanzines, published by the collective Los Escritores Bárbaros. Later on, he published his first novel, Los pistoleros del eclipse, and the second, 废墟. In 2018 he published Cosas vivas and in 2021 he was selected by Granta as one of the “25 best Spanish novelists under 35.” In 2023 he published a poetry collection that received the Ojo Crítico prize and El árbol viene, a science-fiction novel. Cosas vivas will be published next year in English by Fitzcarraldo (UK) and Coach House (US) and an excerpt will appear soon in Paris Review.

After a distinguished career as a correspondent and news editor in Spain and Latin America, Katie King transitioned to literary translation, driven by a passion for sharing essential stories. Her translation of Someone Speaks Your Name (Swan Isle Press, 2023) is listed by the University of Chicago Press as a book to read for Hispanic Heritage Month this year. Her translation of Clavícula by Marta Sanz will be published by Unnamed Press in 2025.

The translators

Orlando Ocampo, translator of Title_Essay on an Infinite Onion, holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from the National University of Tucumán, Argentina, and received his Master’s in Comparative Literature and Romance Languages from the University of Chicago. He is Professor Emeritus at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York, where he taught in the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures until his retirement in 2022. His academic interests encompass both the literature, history, and culture of Spain and Latin America. In translation, he has primarily focused on Spanish poets, particularly the poetry of Aurora Luque.

Julia Sanches, translator of Living Things, is a literary translator specializing in Portuguese, Spanish, and Catalan. Born in São Paulo, Brazil, she has lived in various countries, enriching her understanding of the languages and cultures she translates. A founding member of Cedilla & Co., a collective promoting international voices in English, she also chairs the Translators Group of the Authors Guild. Julia holds a BA in English Literature and Philosophy from the University of Edinburgh and an MA in Comparative Literature and Literary Translation from Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. Previously, she worked as an assistant and agent for authors worldwide but now focuses on translation and advocating for the works she loves. Recent translations include Boulder by Eva Baltasar, shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2023.