Natalia Postrigan, SLD Assistant Administrator
Registration for the ATA 66th Annual Conference in Boston, MA, is open now! Head to the conference website for updates on registration and the agenda for what promises to be an exceptional gathering of translation and interpretation professionals.
The conference kicks off on Wednesday, October 22nd with:
- AST (Advanced Skills & Training) sessions
- In-person certification exam
- Welcome reception at 5:30 PM
- Divisions & Special Interest Group (SIG) meet & greet, 7-8 PM
Over the following three days, attendees can enjoy multiple sessions alongside exciting networking opportunities including division events, a job fair, after-hours open mic café, book & resource fair, game night, and the annual ATA members meeting. The conference concludes on Saturday evening with a closing session (5:15-5:45 PM) followed by the legendary annual dance party.
SLD Annual Dinner: Our team is currently working on picking a restaurant. Stay tuned for updates! If you can recommend a great venue, please contact Natalia at divisionSLD@atanet.org.
Get Inspired: ATA65 Session Reviews
Need motivation to start planning for Boston? Read Conferences and Marketing on Stephen Rifkind’s blog for ideas on how to maximize the economic benefit of participating in a professional conference.
You can find reviews of sessions presented by SLD members in previous conferences on the SLD blog. For example, “On Interpreting for Russian-Speaking LGBTQ+ Individuals“ (presented by Olga Bogatova and reviewed by Julia LaVilla-Nossova).
Distinguished Speaker Announcement
We are thrilled to announce that our Distinguished Speaker will be Robert Chandler, a literary translator and poet with over 50 years of experience, including highly acclaimed translations of Vasily Grossman and Teffi.
Mr. Chandler began learning Russian at age 15 and spent a transformative year at 20 as a British Council Exchange scholar in Voronezh – the birthplace of Andrey Platonov and the city where Osip Mandelstam was exiled. It was there that he first discovered these writers and began his lifelong journey translating Russian poetry and prose. Currently based in London, he runs translation workshops and mentors emerging translators. We’re honored to welcome him from England and hope you’ll join us in Boston to celebrate his remarkable achievements.
Community Building Initiatives
Polish Certification Study Group
SLD member Katarzyna Kawalec is launching a peer practice group for the Polish<>English ATA certification exam. Inspired by Maria Guzenko and Eugenia Tietz-Sokolskaya’s primarily Russian-language study group of past years, Katarzyna is building a community for feedback exchange on practice texts and mutual support throughout the certification journey. If you’re planning to take the PL>EN or EN>PL exam, contact Katarzyna at kontakt@kawalec-tlumacz-przysiegly.pl.
Turkic Languages SIG
SLD members Shelley Fairweather-Vega and Jamila DelMistro are working on starting a Special Interest Group for Turkic languages within ATA. To learn more or volunteer as a moderator, contact Jamila (jamdmistro@gmail.com) or Shelley (translation@fairvega.com).
Continuing the conversation about AI in translation
The impact of AI on translation remains a hot topic. At ATA65 in Portland, Eugenia Tietz-Sokolskaya and John Riedl presented “I Can’t Place the Accent: Identifying the Characteristic Traits of Computer Translation,” which compared output from newer AI/LLM models to that of older machine translation and human translators. Read Christine Pawlowski’s review on the SLD blog, and access the presentation slides in our Slavic Languages Presentation Archive.
Coming Soon: Slovo podcast editor Halla Goins is preparing an interview with Eugenia and John. Catch up on previous Slovo episodes on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Spotify.
Share Your Voice
Want to contribute to our community discussions? Contact Halla about podcast opportunities or Eugenia about blog contributions and address any general questions and comments to SLD Administrator Steven McGrath and Assistant Administrator Natalia Postrigan by reaching out to divisionSLD@atanet.org.
