Translation

I have been translating for well over 10 years and have translated authors including Tamta Melashvili, Nana Ekvtimishvili, Aka Morchiladze, Lasha Bugadze, Teona Dolenjashvili, Archil Kikodze and Shota Iatashvili. My translation of Nana Ekvtimishvili’s novel The Pear Field was longlisted for the International Booker Prize and the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation and shortlisted for the EBRD Literature Prize.

My non-fiction translations include several commentaries on Georgia under the Ottoman and Safavid Empires in Christian-Muslim Relations: A Bibliographical History.  

I also provide editing and proofreading services to publishers, authors, literary agents and translation agencies.

I am available for reader’s reports.

I translate…

Published novels and short stories

Extracts and sample chapters

Poetry

Non-fiction

Articles and essays

Content for Georgian-language publishers

Reviews

I don’t translate…

Contracts and legal documents

Patents

Certificates

Commercial texts

…. but I’ll try to recommend
a colleague who does.

Please get in touch to discuss rates.

Rates vary depending on the length, complexity and urgency of the job.

I will ask to see the text before providing a price for the project.

The Society of Authors guidance will give you some idea of what to expect as a starting point.

Please bear in mind that when translating from Georgian, the word count of the English text is often significantly higher than that of the original. For that reason, I charge a slightly higher rate when quoting on the basis of the Georgian word count.

I accept payment via online bank transfer, PayPal and Wise.

Publications

Reviews

Heighway never puts a foot wrong; moreover she finds English phrases so naturally idiomatic that we forget we are reading a translation.
Prof. Donald Rayfield
Times Literary Supplement.
Elizabeth Heighway and Dalkey are to be congratulated: Georgian writers will be as delighted as their new readers.
Prof. Donald Rayfield
Times Literary Supplement.
[The Pear Field] thrums with a calm assurance, crafted with precision and quiet mastery. The writing is smooth and supple, and the characters are painted with authenticity and tenderness.
Rachel Farmer
Lunate
The Pear Field is a flawless novel that moves forward so effortlessly on the strength of its characters, especially the lovable, hopeful, angry Lela. A tortured, doomed hero, she is a light that guides us through the trauma and tragedy of this novel.
Willow Heath
Books & Bao
[Journey to Karabakh] sucks you in right on the first page.
Nymith
Pseudo-Intellectual Reviews
Elizabeth was one of twelve translators to donate their time and skills to translate a collection of poetry by imprisoned Cameroonian writer Enoh Meyomesse. She delivered powerful translations of three poems in record time, and was quick to respond to the very few queries we had.
Writers
at Risk Programme Manager, English PEN.
Thanks again for your herculean efforts! I hope we’ll be able to collaborate on something else in the not-too-distant future.
Direct client
Thanks for such an incredibly prompt reply. You've been nothing less than fantastic so far, even (and especially) given the size and scope of this project.
Translation agency project manager