Dear JAT members
We hope that you and your loved ones are staying safe during this uncertain and anxious time as the world wrestles with the coronavirus pandemic.
How is the pandemic affecting your lives as translators and interpreters? Have you had more or less work in your in-tray? Has the rapid take-up of video tools and online collaboration platforms such as Zoom, Teams, and Slack affected the way you work and interact with clients and colleagues? If so, is this for the better or worse? Are you now feeling professionally isolated after previously working in a team situation? Have restrictions on movement and other constraints affected your ability to effectively interact with clients? What recent changes do you think will persist after the pandemic is defeated? Will our profession be the same as it was before? We want to hear from you. Not only that, we want to help the whole world hear from you.
What do you find particularly attractive about your profession? What do you find particularly agonizing? What do you wish the rest of the world understood about the work you do? What is the difference between like-having clients and dread having clients? Do you have any hints for other translators/interpreters?
These are just a few of the many, many things you might write about. It is by no means an exhaustive list and is in no way meant to limit you. Write what your heart wants to say.
The six-step process for getting your ideas out and noticed is: (1) you write your essay and send it to [email protected], (2) we compile them and send them to the printer, (3) the printer does the typesetting and lay-out, (4) we send you a proof of your essay and ask you to make sure the printer did not change it, (5) you tell us what, if anything, needs to be corrected (or tell us it is okay as is), and (6) that is what gets published. As you probably noticed, there is no provision for the compilers to edit your essay. That is your responsibility.
Essays should please be up to 600 words in English or up to 1800 characters in Japanese for the body of the essay. The essay should also have a title and your name. Your name may be in either English or Japanese—preferably in the same language as your essay—but should show the reading in either case. In no case may the essay exceed two printed pages. (This is something that will be obvious at step 4, when we will ask you to trim it if it runs over.)
This year’s anthology will again be sent and read worldwide. It is a prime opportunity—available only to JAT members—to get your name and views out there. We look forward to your essay.
Anthology e-mail address: anthology [at] jat.org