The edited volume, The Politics of Affect in Literary Translation, by Sofía Monzón from Utah State University and Lucie Spezzatti from the University of Geneva, aims to address the underexplored role of affect in literary translation. While the importance of affect, emotion, and embodiment has reshaped discussions within the humanities and social sciences, its specific implications for translational practice remain relatively neglected.

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This volume poses critical questions about how affect influences literary translation, shaping creative processes, and how it interacts with elements like style, circulation, and reception. It argues that literary translation is not solely a textual or aesthetic practice, but an affective process that impacts bodies, texts, institutions, and audiences. It builds on Kaisa Koskinen’s definition of affect as a “body-mind complex” that motivates changes toward desired outcomes and aligns with Sara Ahmed’s perspective on emotions as forms of cultural politics and world-making.

With Translation Studies increasingly focused on technology, labor, and institutional mediation, the contributors to this volume will examine how affect is represented in texts and how it influences translation practices. Affect conditions various factors, including what is translated, the methods used, and how translations are valued and received. The phrase “politics of affect” highlights the role of literary translation in shaping attachment, exclusion, and forms of cultural circulation.

The volume invites contributions from diverse perspectives, methodologies, and historical contexts that engage with affect as a critical analytical tool in literary and creative translation. Topics of interest include the emotional labor of translators, the affective charge of style, and the social or political consequences of translated literature. Contributions are also encouraged from translators theorizing their own practices, and discussions that intersect with self-translation and multilingual writing.

The focus will be primarily on human literary translation as a creative and relational practice, emphasizing the links between individual and social dimensions. Although technological mediation may be examined, the volume intends to prioritize affect, embodiment, and agency in the literary translation process.

Abstracts of 500-750 words, along with a 150-word author bio, should be submitted by August 15, 2026, to [email protected]. Key dates include:

- August 15, 2026: Abstract submission deadline

- September 15, 2026: Notifications of acceptance

- January 15, 2027: Deadline for chapter submissions of 6000-8000 words

- Estimated publication in Spring 2028.

The study draws on various influential texts and theories, contributing to an understanding of the affective dimensions of translation.