Literature and Translation

Our digital library Onleihe offers access to more than 20,000 German-language media such as e-books, audio books and music, newspapers, magazines and films, free of charge. 

Through online readings and talks at the intersection of scholarship with the literary scene, as well as book reviews on Instagram, the series intends to open up spaces for texts and readers, different ways of reading and new perspectives on literature. 

Since 2022, the Goethe-Institut London and English PEN have been partnering on a residency programme for international writers. We have supported respite residencies through English PEN’s Writers at Risk Programme, providing authors with the time, space, and funds to relax and work on their own projects. We have also supported broader writing residencies, hosted as part of English PEN’s Literature Programmes.

Discover the latest books out in the Austrian, German and Swiss markets! New Books in German presents reviews of the best current novels as well as articles about the German-language literary scene.

We support non-German publishers in publishing and translating German-language literature to make current works of contemporary literature, books for children and young people, comics and graphic novels as well as academic titles and non-fiction works accessible to a larger audience.

Find out everything about the Goethe-Institut Award for New Translation: prizes, submission deadlines and conditions of participation.

With Artificially correct, we are developing a tool with experts that minimizes the bias in translations. We want to strengthen the position of translators and a conscious approach to translation machines and include the reality of as many people as possible in them.    

What are people reading in Germany and Great Britain these days? We bring together the writers people are talking about.

Is Artificial Intelligence advanced enough to grasp and process literary texts in all their linguistic richness, and translate them into another language? Will it ever be advanced enough? Or will it remain "artificial" instead of "artistic"? Perhaps it doesn't have to be perfect to be useful and can work as a tool to support literary translators in their work – Let's ask some experts! 

Explore upcoming Translation events at Goethe-Institut Glasgow. 

Explore upcoming Translation events at Goethe-Institut London.

How can we celebrate important moments in the midst of a pandemic? As we were not able to award the Goethe Medal to Ian McEwan in a traditional ceremony, we asked three German graphic novel artists to reinvent it through visual storytelling.

Interested in German literature? The “German Riveter” magazine contains a great many recommendations by the European Literature Network! All books mentioned can be found in our library in London or in our digital library – free of charge!