To include translated work in a portfolio, give each translation its own entry that names the original title and author, the source and target languages, the translator, and where and when each version appeared, then link out to the published text rather than copying it. Mark every language correctly in the page code, keep translations in a clearly labelled section, and check your contract before you reproduce any text. In UK law a translation counts as an adaptation of the original work, so permissions matter as much as presentation.

What counts as translated work

Writers, critics and editors come to translation from different directions, and the portfolio entry should make the direction obvious. There are four common cases:

  • You translated someone else's text. You are the translator, and the original author keeps their own rights in the source work.
  • Someone translated your text. You are the author of the original; the translator is the author of the translation and should be credited by name.
  • You translated your own writing. A self-translation, often presented as a bilingual project.
  • You edited or reviewed translated books. Criticism of translated fiction, or editorial work on a translated list, belongs in the portfolio too, but under your role as critic or editor rather than as translator.

Being precise about which case applies prevents the most common confusion editors report: not knowing who actually wrote the words on the page. If you work as a literary translator, the British Centre for Literary Translation at the University of East Anglia (founded in 1989, according to its website) runs workshops, a summer school and residencies, and its programme is a useful guide to how the profession describes its own work.

Set up a clear translation entry

A simple, consistent template does more than a clever layout. For each piece, record:

  • Original title, in the original language and script
  • Translated title
  • Original author, and translator (with "Translated by" before the name)
  • Language pair, for example "from Polish into English"
  • Publication or publisher for each version, with year
  • A link to the published translation, the original, or both
  • A one-line note on what makes the piece notable (a prize shortlist, a first English translation, a commissioned review)

On a page with only a handful of translations, a short list is easier to read on a phone than a wide table. With twenty or more, group entries by language pair or by year, and keep the fields in the same order every time so the page can be scanned.

Put the translator's name next to the title, not in a footer or a hover tooltip. If you translated the piece yourself, say so in plain words: "Translated from the Spanish by the author." The UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 77 gives authors of literary works a moral right to be identified, but section 78 says that right is only infringed once it has been asserted, which is why many book contracts include an assertion clause. On your own portfolio the legal detail matters less than the professional habit: credit every person whose words appear.

Understand the rights before you publish

This is the part many portfolio guides get wrong. Under section 21 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, an "adaptation" of a literary work includes "a translation of the work". Section 16 lists making an adaptation among the acts restricted by copyright, and infringement covers the work as a whole or "any substantial part of it". In practice, translating and publishing someone else's protected text needs the rights holder's permission, and the published translation can carry rights of its own held by you, your publisher, or both.

Three practical checks before you put any text online:

  1. Read your contract. Many publishers and magazines take exclusive rights for a period or in a territory. Under section 90 an assignment of copyright is only effective in writing, signed by or on behalf of the person assigning it, so the signed document is the place to look.
  2. Check the original's status. GOV.UK's guide to how long copyright lasts gives written works protection for 70 years after the author's death. An old original may be out of copyright while a recent translation of it is still protected.
  3. Ask when unsure. A short email to the rights or permissions contact at the publisher usually settles whether you may post an extract, the full text, or only a link.

The UK has no "fair use" doctrine of the American kind, and there is no safe word count. UK law has specific "fair dealing" exceptions instead. GOV.UK's guidance on exceptions to copyright says there is no statutory definition of fair dealing and that it "will always be a matter of fact, degree and impression in each case", with the test being how "a fair-minded and honest person" would have dealt with the work. The quotation exception in section 30 requires the use to be fair dealing, the extent to be no more than the purpose needs, and a sufficient acknowledgement. That supports a short passage quoted in a review; it is not a basis for reposting a whole translated story on a portfolio. This article is general information, not legal advice. If a project depends on a rights question, take advice from your publisher, agent, or a professional body such as the Society of Authors, whose Translators Association represents literary translators.

Decide how to show both versions

Linking to the published translation is the default. It respects the publisher, keeps your page light, and sends readers to the venue that paid for the work. Show the original alongside when the comparison is the point:

  • Poetry and very short prose. A parallel text, original on one side and translation on the other, lets readers see your choices. Stack the two versions on small screens instead of squeezing two columns.
  • Self-translation. Showing both versions demonstrates range in each language, provided you hold the rights to both.
  • Samples written for the portfolio. A sample translation of a public domain text, or of a text whose rights holder has agreed, is a common way for newer translators to show their work.

Label the versions in their own languages ("Read in English", "Leer en español") so a reader never has to guess. If one version exists only in print, say where it appeared and give the issue or ISBN rather than leaving a dead link.

Mark up languages for readers and search

Each language on the page should be declared in the code. The W3C's guidance on declaring language in HTML says to "always use a language attribute on the html tag" for the page's main language and to add a language attribute around any passage in another language. MDN's reference for the lang attribute explains that the value is a single BCP 47 language tag, such as en-GB or fr. This is an accessibility requirement as well as good housekeeping: WCAG 2.2 success criterion 3.1.2, Language of Parts, is a Level AA criterion so that assistive technology reads each passage in the right language.

If you publish full language versions of the same page, for example an English portfolio and a separate Spanish one, Google's documentation on localised versions of your pages explains hreflang annotations. Two details are easy to miss: each language version "must list itself as well as all other language versions", and if two pages do not point to each other the tags are ignored. The same page notes that Google does not use hreflang or the lang attribute to detect a page's language; it works that out algorithmically. That means hreflang helps the right version reach the right reader, but it will not rescue a page that mixes languages without labels.

Structured data can describe the relationship between works. Schema.org defines a translator property and the paired translationOfWork and workTranslation properties. A minimal JSON-LD block for a translated story might look like this:

{
 "@context": "https://schema.org",
 "@type": "CreativeWork",
 "name": "Translated title",
 "inLanguage": "en-GB",
 "translator": {"@type": "Person", "name": "Your Name"},
 "translationOfWork": {
 "@type": "CreativeWork",
 "name": "Original title",
 "inLanguage": "es",
 "author": {"@type": "Person", "name": "Original Author"}
 }
}

Treat this as a description for machines, not a route to special search features. Mark up only what is visible on the page.

Choose HTML first and add PDFs only when needed

PDF scans of printed pages preserve the original design, which can matter for a translated poem set by a designer. They are a poor main format, though. In a 2018 post on why GOV.UK content should be published in HTML and not PDF, Neil Williams, then head of GOV.UK, wrote that information in a PDF "is harder to find, use and maintain" and that PDFs "do not change size to fit the browser". His advice for publishers was that if a PDF cannot be avoided, it should ideally sit alongside an HTML version.

For a portfolio that means: an HTML entry with the credits, a short excerpt where you have permission, and a link to the publication; then, if a publisher allows it, a PDF tear sheet as an extra. Give files descriptive names that include the language code, so "author-title-en.pdf" and "author-title-es.pdf" stay distinguishable once downloaded.

Write a bio that names your languages

Your bio is where editors decide whether you can take on a multilingual commission. Name the exact language pair and direction ("translates from Portuguese and Spanish into English") rather than "multiple languages". List the types of text you translate, and link from the bio to the translation section so the evidence is one click away.

Keep a separate line for criticism of translated literature if you write it. A critic who reviews translated fiction is showing a different skill from a translator, and mixing the two can blur both.

Keep records and collect what you are owed

A translation section doubles as your rights log. For each entry, keep the contract, any permission emails, the publication date, and the date any exclusivity ends. That record makes it easy to update the portfolio when rights revert.

It also helps with secondary income. The Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society lists translators among the writers it collects for, and its how to join page says lifetime membership costs £36, taken from your first payment rather than charged upfront (checked October 2026). Members register their works, so an accurate list of translated books and articles saves time when you do.

For more practical guides on author websites and portfolios, browse uniblog.org.

Frequently asked questions

Should I list translations separately from my original work?

Usually yes. A dedicated section, or a filter by role, lets an editor looking for translation samples find them quickly. Cross-link where a piece belongs in both places, such as a self-translated story.

Can I post the full text of a translation I published in a magazine?

Only if your contract allows it or the publisher agrees. Check the rights clause first; if in doubt, post the credits, a short excerpt you have permission to use, and a link.

How do I credit a translator?

Put "Translated by" and the translator's name next to the title of the translated piece, and include the language pair. If you are the translator, say so in the same place.