Fiona Graham

Fiona Graham

Summary

Literary translator (Swedish, German, Dutch, French & Spanish to English), Reviews Editor at 'Swedish Book Review'.

Contact Details

E-Mail: FionaMary63@gmail.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fiona-graham-7a027991/

Biography

I am passionately committed to bringing high-quality literary fiction, children's literature and narrative non-fiction from Sweden, Swedish-speaking Finland and elsewhere into the English-speaking world.

Since gaining a First from Oxford in Modern and Mediaeval Languages (German and French) and an M.A. in Linguistics from Reading, I have made a career in translating and editing for, successively, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the European Parliament and the European Commission.

In 2014 I became Reviews Editor at the 'Swedish Book Review'. Since 2017 I have also contributed regularly to the European Literature Network's 'Riveting Reviews'.

In 2015 I came second in Geisteswissenschaften International's competition for non-fiction translation from German, in 2017 I contributed to a collection of short stories for children, 'Quest: Stories from Journeys Around Europe' (published by Alma Books) and in 2018 I was selected to take part in New Books in German's scheme for emerging literary translators.

I translate samples (fiction and non-fiction) for literary agents and publishers and write book reports for English-speaking publishers. I have also contributed to journals including the Riveter magazine, the Short Story Project, No Man's Land, Litro and the Cordite Poetry Review.

My current translation project (autumn 2019) is Johanna Gillbro's bestselling 'Hudbibeln' (working English title: 'The Skin We're In').

Swedish, Dutch, German, French and Spanish are my source languages.

Selected Publications

The Re-Origin of Species: a second chance for extinct animalsKornfeldt, Torill . The Re-Origin of Species: a second chance for extinct animals.

Scribe, 2018. ISBN 9781925713060.

‘[T]his excellent book, written with a deceptively light touch (in Fiona Graham’s translation) … raises a number of deep questions and paradoxes about our relationship with nature.’ (The Guardian).

1947: When Now Begins Åsbrink, Elisabeth. 1947: When Now Begins.

Scribe UK, 2017. ISBN 978-1-911344-.

'Extraordinarily inventive and gripping, a uniquely personal account of a single, momentous year.' (Philippe Sands, author of 'East West Street'). 'An outstanding work, history as it should be told.' (Salil Tripathi, author of the 'The Colonel who would not Repent'). 'Elisabeth Asbrink writes sentences that make one gasp in admiration. [Much credit is due to her English translator, Fiona Graham.]' (The Sydney Morning Herald). The translation won an English Pen Award.

My European Family: The First 54,000 YearsBojs, Karin. My European Family: The First 54,000 Years.

Bloomsbury Sigma, 2017. ISBN 9781472941497.

“Meticulous, up-to-date, and never tedious, [Bojs] draws from hundreds of scientific results to create a broad-brush picture of human evolution, showing us how DNA research is revolutionizing our knowledge of the past.” – Wall Street Journal “An extraordinary book ... part travel narrative, part family history, part scientific study.” – Financial Times “A rich, detailed and beautifully-written answer to the question 'how did we get here?' My European Family is a vital and timely exploration of the genetic, social and cultural threads that connect and unite us.” – Kat Arney, science broadcaster and author of Herding Hemingway's Cats (2016)

Quest: Stories of Journeys from Around EuropeHahn, Daniel. Quest: Stories of Journeys from Around Europe.

Alma Books, 2017. ISBN 978-I-84688-4.

Short stories by 17 of Europe's best writers for young people, edited by Daniel Hahn for the 2017 Hay Festival in Aarhus.