Howard Curtis (born 1949) is a British translator of French, Italian and Spanish fiction.https://societyofauthors.org/soa-member/howard-curtis/ He studied French at the University of Reading and the University of Dijon, France, and theatre directing at the Drama Centre London.https://www.newitalianbooks.it/the-translators-view/interview-with-howard-curtis-literary-translator-from-italian-french-and-spanish/
He has written for radio and for the theatre. His plays In MourningSaturday Afternoon Theatre, 17 March 1979, directed by Bernard Krichefski, with Dominic Guard as David, Maureen Lipman as his mother, Leonard Fenton as Uncle Lew and Hilda Kriseman as Auntie Gertie and A Place to HideAfternoon Theatre, 27 December 1979, directed by Penny Gold, with Colin Jeavons as Phil, Petra Davies as Mary, Kenneth Cranham as Andy, and Michael McStay as Sergeant Duffy were broadcast on BBC Radio in 1979. His adaptation (in collaboration with Martin Crimp) of the Polish play Love Games by Jerzy Przezdziecki was produced at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond, in 1982.https://www.scribd.com/document/900305051/the-theatre-of-martin-crimp-9781408185841-9781408184417-9781408184998-9781472517012-compress
He has worked as a translator since 1986.https://www.newitalianbooks.it/the-translators-view/interview-with-howard-curtis-literary-translator-from-italian-french-and-spanish/ His numerous translations include works by Georges Simenon and other leading European writers such as Gustave Flaubert, Honoré de Balzac, Luigi Pirandello, Beppe Fenoglio, Leonardo Sciascia and Beppe Fenoglio, as well as contemporary writers Edoardo Albinati, Stefano Benni and Gianrico Carofiglio, and has received many translation awards, including the John Florio Prize, Premio Campiello Europa, and Marsh Award for Children's Literature in Translation.
He has led translation workshops and summer school courses at City University London,https://www.eurolitnetwork.com/translate-in-the-city-at-city-university-london/ Warwick University,https://translationista.com/2019/03/apply-now-for-warwick-translates-summer-school Bristolhttps://www.bristol.ac.uk/sml/translation-interpreting-studies/bristol-translates/previous-summer-schools/2021-in-review/ https://www.bristol.ac.uk/sml/translation-interpreting-studies/bristol-translates/previous-summer-schools/2022-in-review/ and elsewhere, and was a mentor on the British Centre for Literary Translation’s (later the National Centre for Writing’s) translator mentoring scheme.https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/get-involved/translators/etm/alumni/
Selected translations The Outlaw (L'Outlaw) by Georges Simenon: Hamish Hamilton (UK) and Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (USA) 1986 Uncle Charles or Uncle Charles has locked himself in (Oncle Charles s'est enfermé) by Georges Simenon: Hamish Hamilton (UK) and Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (USA) 1988 The Rules of the Game (La boule noire) by Georges Simenon: Hamish Hamilton (UK) and Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (USA) 1989 Letter to a Jewish Friend (Lettre à un ami juif) by Ibrahim Souss: Quartet Books (UK) 1989 Elissa by Fawzi Mellah: Quartet Books (UK) 1990 Judaean Journal (Journal de Judée) by Jacques Pinto: Quartet Books (UK) 1990 Secret Dossier: The Hidden Agenda behind the Gulf War (Guerre du Golfe: Le dossier secret) by Pierre Salinger and Eric Laurent: Penguin Books (UK) 1991 Memoirs from Elsinore (Mémoires d'Elseneur) by Franz Hellens: Peter Lang (USA) 2000 The Officers' Ward (La chambre des officiers) by Marc Dugain: Phoenix House (UK) 2000 and Soho Press (USA) 2001; shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, 2001 Night in the Afternoon (La nuit l'après-midi) by Caroline Lamarche: Grove Press (USA) 2000 Cosette, or The Time of Illusions (Cosette ou le temps des illusions) by François Cérésa: Pan Macmillan (UK) 2003https://archive.org/details/cosetteortimeofi0000cere/page/n7/mode/2up Coming Back: Diary of a Mission to Afghanistan (Il ritorno. Diario di una missione in Afghanistan) by Edoardo Albinati: Hesperus Press (UK) 2004; winner of the John Florio Prize, 2004 Sarah by Marek Halter: Bantam Press (UK) & Crown Publishing (USA) 2004 Submission (Entre ses mains) by Marthe Blau: Black Swan (UK) & Atria Books (USA) 2005 Zipporah or Zipporah, Wife of Moses, by Marek Halter: Bantam Press (UK) & Crown Publishing (USA) 2005 The Way of the Kings (La Voie Royale) by André Malraux: Hesperus Press (UK) 2005 Total Chaos (Total Khéops) by Jean-Claude Izzo: Europa Editions (USA) 2005 A Walk in the Dark (Ad occhi chiusi) by Gianrico Carofiglio: Bitter Lemon Press (UK) 2006 Lilah by Marek Halter: Bantam Press (UK) & Crown Publishing (USA) 2006 Chourmo by Jean-Claude Izzo: Europa Editions (USA) 2006 A Private Affair (Una questione privata) by Beppe Fenoglio: Hesperus Press (UK) 2006 Who is Lou Sciortino? (Chi è Lou Sciortino?) by Ottavio Cappellani: Farrar, Straus & Giroux (USA) and Picador (UK) 2007 Solea by Jean-Claude Izzo: Europa Editions (USA) 2007; shortlisted for the annual translation prize of the French-American Foundation, 2008https://www.europaeditions.com/news/355/book-3-in-izzo-s-marseilles-trilogy-selected-among-top-ten-finalists-for-major-translation-prizehttps://www.rochester.edu/College/translation/threepercent/2008/05/15/21st-annual-translation-prizes/ Reasonable Doubts (Ragionevoli dubbi) by Gianrico Carofiglio: Bitter Lemon Press (UK) 2007; shortlisted for the Premio Campiello Europa, 2010 https://www.premiocampiello.org/confindustria/campiello/istituzionale.nsf/($linkacross)/045f1db96be6cbf6c12576c0005318fd?opendocument&language=IT A Florentine Death (Assassini a Firenze) by Michele Giuttari: Abacus (UK) 2007 The Lost Sailors (Les marins perdus) by Jean-Claude Izzo: Europa Editions (USA) 2007 The Past is a Foreign Country (Il passato è una terra straniera) by Gianrico Carofiglio: Old Street Publishing (UK) 2007 The Turn by Luigi Pirandello: Hesperus Press (UK) 2007 Mary of Nazareth (Marie) by Marek Halter: Crown Publishing (USA) 2008 Blackout by Gianluca Morozzi: Bitter Lemon Press (UK) 2008 The Vendetta by Honoré de Balzac: Hesperus Press (UK) 2008 A Sun for the Dying (Soleil des mourants) by Jean-Claude Izzo: Europa Editions (USA) 2008 The Phantom of Rue Royale (Le Fantôme de la rue Royale) by Jean-François Parot: Gallic Books (UK) 2008 Tierra del Fuego by Francisco Coloane: Europa Editions (USA) 2008 Cacao: The Roots of Chocolate by Dominique Persoone: Éditions Françoise Blouard (Belgium) 2009 How to Become a Buddha in Five Weeks by Giulio Cesare Giacobbe: Arcturus Publishing (UK) 2009 Fists (Pugni) by Pietro Grossi: Pushkin Press (UK) 2009: shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, 2010; winner of the Premio Campiello Europa 2010https://www.premiocampiello.org/confindustria/campiello/istituzionale.nsf/($linkacross)/045F1DB96BE6CBF6C12576C0005318FD?opendocument&language=IT The Nicolas Le Floch Affair (L'Affaire Le Floch) by Jean-François Parot: Gallic Books (UK) 2009 Three Tales by Gustave Flaubert: Hesperus Press (UK) 2009; shortlisted for the Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize, 2010 An Education in Happiness by Flavia Arzeni: Pushkin Press (UK) 2009 Under the Mexican Sky (Sotto il cielo del Messico) by Pino Cacucci: Photology (Italy) 2009 A Simple Story and Candido by Leonardo Sciascia: Hesperus Press (UK) 2010 The Saint-Florentin Murders (Le Crime de l'hôtel Saint-Florentin) by Jean-François Parot: Gallic Books (UK) 2010; shortlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association International Dagger, 2011https://www.thebookseller.com/news/cwa-reveals-2011-dagger-shortlists The Light In Between by Marella Caracciolo Chia: Pushkin Press (UK) 2010 Blood Sisters (Una piccola storia ignobile) by Alessandro Perissinotto: Hersilia Press (UK) 2011 The Shadow of What We Were (Sombra de lo que fuimos) by Luis Sepúlveda: Europa Editions (USA) 2011 How I Lost the War (Come ho perso la guerra) by Filippo Bologna: Pushkin Press (UK) 2011 In the Sea There are Crocodiles (Nel mare ci sono i coccodrilli) by Fabio Geda: Harvill Secker/David Fickling Books (UK) and Doubleday (USA) 2011; winner of the 2013 Marsh Award for Children's Literature in Translation. The Break (L'Acchito) by Pietro Grossi: Pushkin Press (UK) 2011 The Baker’s Blood (Le Sang des farines) by Jean-François Parot: Gallic Books (UK) 2012 Lovers (Des amants) by Daniel Arsand: Europa Editions (USA) 2012 Necropolis by Santiago Gamboa: Europa Editions (USA) 2012 About Time (Bastardi senza amore) by Simona Sparaco: Pushkin Press (UK) 2012 Everybody’s Right (Hanno tutti ragione) by Paolo Sorrentino: Harvill Secker (UK) 2012 A Private Venus by Giorgio Scerbanenco: Hersilia Press (UK) 2012 & Melville House (USA) 2014 The Threads of the Heart (Le Cœur cousu) by Carole Martinez: Europa Editions (USA) 2013 Ten (Dieci) by Andrej Longo: Harvill Secker (UK) 2013 Traitors to All, or Betrayal, by Giorgio Scerbanenco: Hersilia Press (UK) 2013 and Melville House (USA) 2014 Garlic, Mint, and Sweet Basil: Marseilles, Noir Fiction, and the Mediterranean (Marseille) by Jean-Claude Izzo: Europa Editions (USA) 2013 The Parrots (I papagalli) by Filippo Bologna: Pushkin Press (UK) 2013 Enchantment (Incanto) by Pietro Grossi: Pushkin Press (UK) 2013 The Silence of the Wave (Il silenzio dell'onda) by Gianrico Carofiglio: Bitter Lemon Press (UK) and Rizzoli (USA) 2013 Saving Mozart (Sauver Mozart. Le Journal d'Otto J. Steiner) by Raphaël Jerusalmy: Europa Editions (USA) 2013 The Castle of Whispers (Du domaine des Murmures) by Carole Martinez: Europa Editions (USA) 2014 The Stein Report (El informe Stein) by José Carlos Llop: Hispabooks (Spain) 2014 Game for Five (La briscola in cinque) by Marco Malvaldi: Europa Editions (USA) 2014 Avenue of the Giants (Avenue des géants) by Marc Dugain: Europa Editions (USA) 2014 The Art of Killing Well by Marco Malvaldi: MacLehose Press (UK) 2014 The Story of Cyrano de Bergerac by Stefano Benni: Pushkin Press (UK) and McSweeney’s (USA) 2014 Invisible Love (Les Deux Messieurs de Bruxelles) by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt: Europa Editions (USA) 2014 Three Card Monte (Il gioco delle tre carte) by Marco Malvaldi: Europa Editions (USA) 2014 The Brotherhood of Book Hunters (La Confrérie des chasseurs de livres) by Raphaël Jerusalmy: Europa Editions (USA) 2014 The Oracle of the Moon (L'Oracle della Luna) by Frédéric Lenoir: Versilio (USA) 2014 Guys Like Me (Les Types comme moi) by Dominique Fabre: New Vessel Press (USA) 2015 https://newvesselpress.com/books/guys-like/ The African Equation (L'Équation africaine) by Yasmina Khadra: Gallic Books (UK) 2015 "The Speed of the Angel" by Gianrico Carofiglio in Cocaine by Massimo Carlotto, Gianrico Carofiglio and Giancarlo de Cataldo: MacLehose Press (UK) 2015 The Cellars of the Majestic (Les caves du Majestic) by Georges Simenon: Penguin Books (UK) 2015 The Judge’s House (La Maison du juge) by Georges Simenon: Penguin Books (UK) 2015 Night Prayers (Plegarias nocturnas) by Santiago Gamboa: Europa Editions (USA) 2016 A Fine Line (La regola dell'equilibrio) by Gianrico Carofiglio: Bitter Lemon Press (UK) 2016 The Angels Die (Les anges meurent de nos blessures) by Yasmina Khadra: Gallic Books (UK) 2016 The Penalty Area by Alain Gillot: Europa Editions (USA) 2016 Madame Maigret’s Friend (L'amie de Mme Maigret) by Georges Simenon: Penguin Books (UK) 2016 Maigret’s Memoirs (Les mémoires de Maigret) by Georges Simenon: Penguin Books (UK) 2016 The Carousel of Desire by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt (co-translated with Katherine Gregor): Europa Editions (USA) 2016 The Snow was Dirty (La neige était sale) by Georges Simenon: Penguin Books (UK) 2016 33 Revolutions by Canek Sánchez Guevara: Europa Editions (USA) 2016 The Principle (Le Principe) by Jérôme Ferrari: Europa Editions (USA) 2017 Maigret’s Mistake (Un erreur de Maigret) by Georges Simenon: Penguin Books (UK) 2017 Maigret and the Dead Girl (Maigret et la jeune morte) by Georges Simenon: Penguin Books (UK) 2017