D. P. Snyder

Literary translator (ES<>EN), Editor, Writer

Key values: inclusion, cultural sensitivity, feminism, decolonization, client-focused, on-time performance.

Education: B.A., Yale University. MFA, Sewanee: The University of the South.

Member: The American Literary Translators Association (ALTA), PEN America, The Author’s Guild, The EFA, Latin American Jewish Studies Association (LAJSA).

Website: www.dpsnyder.us

Summary: Bilingual writer, literary translator, and editor specializing in Hispanic literature, language and culture offering a broad range of editorial services. Specialty niches:

• Reader reports for publishers interested in publishing works in translation from Spanish.
• Translation of marketing and foreign rights materials (summaries, chapter samples) for Spanish language publishers
• Curriculum creation for educational companies  with focuses on Spanish language, world literature, American literature, and Hispanic culture.
• Voiceover: Recording voiceovers of commercial and literary materials (ebooks, samples, etc.) in my home studio.
• Transcription and translation of audio in Spanish.
• Subtitling and translation from Spanish for electronic media.

Literary Translator from Spanish 

Fiction, non-fiction (essays, literary and social criticism), and non-scientific writing from Mexico, the Caribbean, Colombia, and Spain.

My translations have appeared in The Sewanee Review, Exile Quarterly, Two Lines Journal, The Southern Review, World Literature Today, and Latin American Literature in Translation, among others. Recognitions: “La puerta secreta” finalist 2020 San Miguel Writers Conference International Short Story Competition; “The Hot Pink Forest” (flash), nominated, Best Small Fiction 2023; translation of Mexican writer Mónica Lavín’s essay, “Coyoacán a la carte”, nominated, 2023 Pushcart Prize. Book-length translations: “Meaty Pleasures”, short fiction by Mónica Lavín (Katakana Editores 2021); “Arrhythmias”, creative essays by Mexican Jewish writer Angelina Muñiz-Huberman (Literal Publishing & Hablemos, escritoras 2022); “Scary Story” by Mexican writer Alberto Chimal (Pamenar Press 2023).

Editor

Short fiction, novels, texts in translation

I edit works in translation from Spanish and prose written originally in English. I am most interested in fiction, criticism, and memoir by women and by Hispanic writers and/or related to Latin America and Spain. I have edited books for The University of Nebraska Press, The University of Georgia Press, and The University of Michigan Library, among others.

Writer

Bilingual ES&EN. Short fiction, essays,  book reviews

I write fiction, essays, and book reviews in Spanish and English. I am a contributor to Public Seminar (at The New School) and a contributor and Editorial Board Member at Reading in Translation at Oberlin College. I’ve studied narrative art with Mexican writers David Huerta, Mónica Lavín, and Jaime Mesa and British novelist, Adam Foulds, Adrianne Harun, Michael Griffith, and Holly Goddard Jones. Recognition for writing: “La puerta secreta” (The Secret Door), finalist, 2020 International Short Story Competition of the San Miguel Writers Conference; bilingual essay “Historía ósea/The Bone’s Story”, Finalist, 2021 Medium Writer’s Challenge; “The Hot Pink Forest” (flash), nominated, Best Small Fiction 2023. A former professional musician, I aim for prose that is both musical and precise.

Curriculum creator

I’ve taught Spanish language at The New School, Princeton Adult School, Einstein College of Medicine) and a number of companies (General Motors, IBM), and non-profit organizations (El Taller LatinoAmericano, U.S. Lactation Association). I’ve written precise and creative Spanish curriculum materials, both print and online, for many large clients including Scholastic, Berlitz International and Holt, Rinehart & Winston. I also wrote two study guides for Red Letter Press’s client, Learning Express: CLEP guides for Spanish Levels 1 & 2 and American Literature.

Philosophy:

I’m passionate about reading, writing, nature, sustainability, music, and, above all, the art of the well-told story. I believe that editorial projects can be fun; artful collaboration produces the best results; the well-crafted sentence is a thing of beauty; and great stories can change the world.

Recommendations:

“A pleasure and rare gift to have Dorothy Potter Snyder’s fierce creative sensitive intelligence focused on my novel, City of Cats. The experience of her copyediting, her passionate attention to words, sentences, story (i.e., poetics), is joyful — words fall away, and the whole, shaken out, is revealed in a fresh light. In excitement, the novel becomes what it is meant to be.”  — Max Diksztejn, author of “City of Cats.”

“If you’ll forgive the cliched phrase, you really went above and beyond with this project, putting in some extra care and effort that I know the authors sincerely appreciate. Relatedly, they’ve requested we add your name into their Acknowledgments…” — Amanda K., Senior Digital Publishing Coordinator, Michigan Publishing Services, University of Michigan Library.

“I have had the wonderful pleasure of working with Dorothy on a long-term project for which she was our Spanish Editor. Her attention to detail and the intricacies of the language are unmatched! In any language, Dorothy is communicative, prompt, and careful in all she does. I never doubted for a second that my content was in excellent hands. Her ability to work with writers of all levels and coax them into producing quality content was an extraordinary help. I look forward to working with her again on my next project and can not recommend her highly enough.” — Danielle Chouhan, Learning Solutions Manager, edX

I have had the wonderful pleasure of working with Dorothy on a long-term project for which she was our Spanish Editor. Her attention to detail and the intricacies of the language are unmatched! In any language, Dorothy is communicative, prompt, and careful in all she does. I never doubted for a second that my content was in excellent hands. Her ability to work with writers of all levels and coax them into producing quality content was an extraordinary help. I look forward to working with her again on my next project and can not recommend her highly enough. — Danielle Chouhan, Freelance Project Manager, Lumina Datamatics, Ltd.

“I hired Dorothy to edit a rather large-scale Spanish program that I managed…Not only was she able to grasp our method and master all of the idiosyncrasies of presentation and editorial templates that she had to contend with, but she also proved herself to be an extremely detail-oriented and dependable editor in general. Throughout the course of the project, Dorothy managed the work of a number of different writers, as well as reviewers, specialists, and copy editors. Dorothy was at the apex of the pyramid of contributors, and from her, I wanted to achieve a single editorial voice and stylistic consistency. With so many contributors, this was of course no small task. Dorothy was more than up to the task, delivering work of the highest quality, on time, and with a smile. It is no exaggeration for me to write that I would work with her again in a heartbeat.” — Christopher Warnasch, The Language Garage

 

Hillsborough, NC
US

Home phone: 718-304-3383
Business phone: 718-304-3383
Cell phone: 718-304-3383

Email: dorothyswords@gmail.com

http://www.dpsnyder.us

More information: View PDF file

Years in the field: 27
Years freelancing: 27