Megan McDowell

Megan McDowell (Kentucky, 1978) is an American literary translator.[1] She principally translates Spanish-language works into English.

She is known for her translations of contemporary writers such as Mariana Enriquez, Samantha Schweblin and Alejandro Zambra. Her translations have won the National Book Award for Translated Literature, the English PEN award, the Premio Valle-Inclán, and two O. Henry Prizes, and have been nominated for the International Booker Prize (four times) and the Kirkus Prize. Her short story translations have been featured in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, The New York Times Magazine, Tin House, McSweeney's and Granta, among others.[2]

Personal life

Originally from Kentucky, she studied English at DePaul University in Chicago. Upon graduation, she worked at the Dalkey Archive Press. She then moved to Chile with the intention of learning Spanish and editing translated literature.[3] Three years later McDowell returned to the US to study a master's degree in Liberal Arts focusing on translation at UT Dallas.[4] She then lived briefly in Salt Lake City and Durham. After that, she spent eight months in Portugal and Switzerland. Now, McDowell lives and works in Santiago de Chile.

Career

Her career started with the translation of Alejandro Zambra's The Private Lives of Trees, which she asked the author to translate personally. Since then, she has collaborated with Zambra on the translation of eight more books, including the challenging Multiple Choice (2016).[5] McDowell has expressed her interest in working directly with the writers she translates to provide the most faithful translation possible.[4]

Although McDowell has translated a couple of books from peninsular Spanish — Among the Hedges (2021) by Sara Mesa and Divorce Is in the Air (2016) by Gonzalo Torné — she feels more comfortable translating hispanoamerican authors since she is more familiar, not only with these dialects, but also with cultural references. For this reason, she has repeatedly translated the same handful of authors.

Translations

Recognition and awards

References

  1. ^ laltteam (2022-02-02). ""That visceral experience is what I'm trying to recreate": An Interview with Megan McDowell". LALT. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  2. ^ "meganmcdowellhome". MEGAN MCDOWELL. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  3. ^ ""Los trabajos de la lengua" de Lina Meruane - Latin American Literature Today" (in European Spanish). 2022-02-12. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
  4. ^ a b Cátedra Abierta en Homenaje a Roberto Bolaño (2022-03-16). Megan McDowell y Kristina Cordero - Vivir la otra lengua. Retrieved 2026-03-09 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ McNamara, Nathan Scott (March 29, 2017). "The Making of a Tireless Literary Translator".
  6. ^ "Finalists for 2021 Kirkus Prize Are Revealed". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  7. ^ "The Dangers of Smoking in Bed | The Booker Prizes". thebookerprizes.com. May 2021. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  8. ^ "2020 Literature Award Winners – American Academy of Arts and Letters". Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  9. ^ "Blog - Little Eyes Longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2020". oneworld-publications.com. 27 February 2020. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
  10. ^ "Mouthful of Birds interview | The Booker Prizes". thebookerprizes.com. 7 February 2019. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  11. ^ "News | The Society of Authors". www.societyofauthors.org. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  12. ^ "Fever Dream | The Booker Prizes". thebookerprizes.com. 5 October 2017. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  13. ^ "English PEN Awards for Writing in Translation 2013 Announced - News & Events". English PEN. Retrieved 2026-03-09.
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