Translators & Illustrators: Youth Literature in Translation

Announced by the University of Pittsburgh:

The relationship between authors and translators are some of the most connected and collaborative relationships in literature. But in books for young people, illustrators too play an extremely important role, communicating emotion and meaning, and informing and elevating translations.

Join our discussion between award winning Persian translator Sara Khalili and Iranian illustrator Nooshin Safakhoo as they explore their crafts and their collaboration, while showcasing their newly published English translation of In the Meadow of Fantasies, written by Hadi Mohammadi.

In the Meadow of Fantasies is a 2022 Batchelder Honor-recipient. A story about dreaming and caring for others, its poetic language and glorious illustrations evoke ancient Persian literature.

This conversation is for adults interested in the crafts of translation & illustration, interested in both youth and Persian literature, or for the simply young at heart. It follows a discussion and workshop for young people on Friday, September 16th. Sara will be on the City of Asylum stage, talking with Nooshin live from her home in Iran.

Presented in partnership with Elsewhere Editions, a children’s imprint from Archipelago Books, devoted to translating imaginative picture books from around the world.

About the artists:

Sara Khalili is an editor and translator of contemporary Iranian literature. Her translations include Moon Brow and Censoring an Iranian Love Story by Shahriar Mandanipour, The Pomegranate Lady and Her Sons by Goli Taraghi, The Book of Fate by Parinoush Saniee, Kissing the Sword by Shahrnush Parsipur, and Rituals of Restlessness by Yaghoub Yadali.

Illustrator Nooshin Safakhoo was born in Tehran in 1980. After teaching, she began a long career of painting precise, lyrical images for children’s books, including The Owl & the Jaybird and Shahname. In the Meadow of Fantasies has earned her numerous awards, including a NAMI Concours Prize. Nooshin has been selected three times to show her work at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.