Hopefully you’re familiar with Translation Journal, the online translation magazine that industry veteran Gabe Bokor has been publishing for (get this…) 16 years. It’s a wonderful source of information about our industry, featuring the legendary Fire Ant and Worker Bee column, plus many interesting feature articles in every issue. Gabe is an incredibly smart and energetic person, but after 16 years at the helm of TJ, he is interested in retiring and passing the magazine on to a new curator. You can read the full announcement on the Translation Journal website, and with Gabe’s permission I’ve included the text here as well. I would hate to see Translation Journal fade away, so please, please, someone else who is smart and energetic, take it over! You can contact Gabe via his site if you’re interested in more information
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Time to Change the Guard
by Gabe Bokor
For more than 16 years, this e-zine has been published regularly without interruption, becoming, in the process, the best-known and most prestigious on-line publication in the international language industry. It has provided free useful and interesting information to translators and interpreters, novices and veterans, full-time professionals, and people simply interested in languages and translation. It has also provided translators and interpreters, regardless of their nationality, religion, or the politics of their country, with a forum, enabling them to showcase and share their unique expertise with colleagues all over the world.
The editor reached retirement age more than a decade ago, and now he is wondering for how much longer he’ll be able to put out a new, content-rich issue every three months. Also, while the TJ is the oldest and considered the best on-line publication for translators and interpreters, it could make better use of new technologies and new trends in the industry. A new management could give it a facelift to make it more attractive aesthetically and add new features to enhance its functionality.
In other words, we’re looking for a new home for the TJ, so it can continue to fulfill its mission, while possibly benefiting from the prestige of a solid institution. While this has not been the focus of its editor for the past 16 years, it could also generate substantial revenues by waging an aggressive campaign to sell advertising on its pages and possibly by adding features to make it even more useful to its readership. A professional editorial team could upgrade its contents and polish the style of its articles.
If you’re seriously interested in taking over the TJ, I’ll be glad to provide you with the information you’ll need to make a decision.
You would probably be a very good candidate Corinne!
That’s very sweet of you to say! You know, I considered it for about 8 seconds, but I’ve also resolved to do a third edition of How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator in 2014, and the ATA Board is also a big responsibility. So not right now…maybe in another 16 years when the new editor is ready to retire?
Thank you for the announcement! This is an incredible opportunity! This website helped me through my M.A. dissertation and it also helped me getting established as a translator. For a while I was almost addicted to it. It is an unbelievable resource for any translator.
I agree, Translation Journal is a gem. We can’t let it die!
Unfortunately it is too expensive for me and I don’t see how I could get my investment back from it. But on the other hand Gabe more than deserves the money he is asking for. He worked for over 16 years on this. Why don’t you ask the ATA board if they want to take it over. They should even give Gabe an award for it.