The weekend before last, I was up in Taipei to run a two-day workshop at National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU). The workshop was integrated into the NTNU emerging translators’ programme and explored Tâigael: Stories from Taiwanese & Gaelic, the short story collection that I edited along with Hannah Stevens, and that was published by Wind&Bones Books in 2025. We talked about the challenges of translation between minoritised languages, and had two guest sessions from writers Kiú-kiong (玖芎) and Naomi Sím (沈宛瑩).
Kiú-kiong (玖芎) is author of the essay collection I Buried Myself under the Earth (我把自 己埋進土裡), and in 2023 was writer-in-residence at the Taiwan Literature Base. She has an MA from the Graduate Institute of Taiwan Literature and Transnational Cultural Studies at National Chung Hsing University. Her primary writing language is Tâi-gí. She believes that one’s mother tongue is not only the voice of one’s mother, but is also the voice of one’s homeland. Meanwhile, Naomi Sím (沈宛瑩) is a Taiwanese writer with a background in Communication Design. She arrived at the workshop fresh from her first-prize win at the Taiwan Literature in Taiwanese and Hakka Award 2026. Naomi’s work explores themes of identity and culture, and uses humour and satire to examine deeper societal issues.
Alongside workshops on translation in relation to Taiwanese folk religion beliefs (Naomi), the turbulence of translating Taiwanese (Kiú-kiong), and the embodied translator (me), I was delighted to be in conversation also with Professor Kenfang Lee 李跟芳, talking about translation and literature across borders.
The event was organised by the lovely folks at the National Museum of Taiwan Literature. A huge thank you to everyone for joining us and making this such a wonderful few days.
