Interpreta 2007

I am thrilled to report that our project will be mentioned during the Interpreta 2007 Conference! This is the first independent (non-association) conference in the Americas designed by interpreters for interpreters. Co-presidents Lucille Barnes and José Luis Villanueva-Senchuk decided to create Interpreta in order to offer a platform where interpreters could share and learn from each other in a relaxed setting.

The conference is being held next weekend, July 28-29, 2007. There will be participants attending from Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Panama, US, UK, Spain, Slovakia, South Africa, Mexico, Taiwan and Colombia.

You can read more about it at here, and be sure to take a look at the impressive list of speakers.

And a huge THANK YOU to José Luis and Lucille for expressing an interest in this project and helping us get the word out!

[Images posted here with permission]

More Flurries...

Media Updates:

As Google crawls the web, I'm beginning to see that a larger number of other sites published the release than what I first realized. It was picked up by KRNV-4 (Reno-Tahoe) SciWeb, Netscape, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Las Vegas Business Press, the Sacramento Bee, DrKoop.com, and several others.

People keep sending me new links to places where they've run into either the release or the call for submissions - please feel free to keep doing that. I love to know how individuals are hearing about the project, and I am very pleased to know that even just the press announcement is helping the general public to hear some positive news about interpreters.

Many interpreters are also helping to spread the word via listservs, forums and blogs. Special thanks to Aurora Humarán for spreading the word in Argentina through La Cabina.

Project Updates:

We've already started receiving stories from various places around the world! I am very encouraged by both the quality of the writing, and the care everyone is taking to maintain confidentiality. One story in particular made me laugh out loud, and it did a great job of demonstrating why interpreters are so necessary. I feel very privileged to be on the receiving end of these, and very much look forward to sharing them with everyone through this treasury.

Many people have also been bouncing story ideas off of me via email to see if these would be of interest. I am always happy to give feedback, so please feel free to keep contacting me with questions.

The project website also continues to receive hundreds of unique hits each day. Instead of slowing down after the release went out as I had expected, each day I am pleasantly surprised as there are more and more visitors welcomed to our site.

I really appreciate each and every effort to share information about the project, and will reciprocate by making every effort to ensure the project continues to be deserving of such attention.

Flurry of Activity

Wow! The last 12 hours have been quite a whirlwind!

Media Activity:

• I did an interview with a local reporter who's writing up a story about the project.
• An online travel publication (with 50,000 readers) is interested in publishing an excerpt once we have completed the book, helping travelers to understand the value of interpreters.
  
• The call for submissions has been shared on a site for freelance writers called novelspot.
• Hispanic Business and several other sources picked up the release.
• Bloggers are starting to cover the project, including one blogger based in Brazil whose blog covers false cognates and idiomatic expressions in Portuguese and English.
• Another blog dedicated to health information issues also posted our call for submissions.
• The media coverage has been generating lots of traffic to the website - hundreds of unique hits in the first few hours of "opening shop".
  

General Project Updates:

• Dozens of emails have been coming in through the project website, all of them very positive, supportive and enthusiastic! I feel blessed to have so many people helping to get the word out and encouraging interpreters to participate.
  
• The FAQ section of the website has been updated to include some of the questions that have been asked, and the FAQ document on the Downloads section has also been updated (more on this below).
  
• A colleague in Israel with a wonderful interpreting project gave me a great idea for gathering stories in language pairs that do not include English (ex. Hebrew<>Amharic). I look forward to working with her and hearing the important stories of the interpreters in her group.
  
• The kind folks at the Nebraska Association of Translators and Interpreters have agreed to share project materials at the information table during the upcoming conference to encourage participation.

Project Updates:

• One question I received from various individuals was, "Do you only want happy stories?" The short answer is, "No." We want stories that demonstrate the value of an interpreter, which is the purpose of the project. These may include a range of emotions and outcomes, including ones that are sad or negative - these can be powerful and thought-provoking. The FAQ has now been updated to include this question.
• Another common question asked was, "What about confidential information?" The short answer is, "Don't share it." In summary, all confidential and identifying information should be removed by the contributor prior to submission. Our forms require the author to indicate that this has been done before submitting the story. If this is not done and the story is selected for publication, the story will be edited accordingly. As a reminder, prior to publication, all authors will complete and sign a comprehensive release form. This happens closer to the publication stage. The updated FAQ also reflects this.
• An unexpected question I've heard multiple times is, "Can I share a story if I'm not an interpreter?" The answer is "Yes." We're looking for stories that show the value of interpreters. We may consider having a special section or supplement with these types of stories. Some of my medical education colleagues have suggested that these would be fantastic to show the "lessons learned" from the stories. We'll definitely keep that in mind as a possible follow-up material to provide.

Thanks again to everyone for all of your kind words and support for this project.

News Release

Our press release went out at 7:56 am, and by 9:30, I had already received phone calls from reporters in my local area.

By 11:30 am, I received a WireWatch report that indicated that the release had been picked up by numerous sources, including:

• Yahoo!
• AOL.com
• Forbes.com
• Hoover's
  
• MarketWatch (Dow Jones)
• WPRI (FOX 21 Eyewitness News)
• WCNC (NBC 6)
• KRON (Channel 4 - Bay Area News)
• WFAA (Channel 8 - Dallas/Fort Worth)
• Los Angeles Times
• The Press-Enterprise
• Seattle Post-Intelligencer
• The Seattle Times
• DallasNews.com
• Texas Cable News
• Austin American-Statesman
• Las Vegas Business Press
• AZ Central
• Latin Vision
• NurseWeek
• BizJournals.com

Little by little, the world will learn about the important work interpreters do. My hope is that this project will give interpreters some much-deserved recognition.

Official Launch

Today is the day in which our official media release goes out announcing the book, to coincide with the launch of the publication website.

While all of my other writing projects have been meaningful in different ways, this one is especially important, seeing as how it is a way of giving back to the interpreters I've had the pleasure of interacting with over the years. I look forward to compiling and sharing their stories.

In addition, it truly aims to tell the world about the important work that interpreters do. In their own words.

Yesterday, I let a few close colleagues have a verbal or quick email "sneak preview" regarding the project. The positive response so far has been wonderful - a few colleagues even asked if they could go ahead and submit stories. Already today, several association leaders and individuals from various countries have responded with kind emails and an interest in helping to spread the word.

Another individual offered to share fliers at two important conferences coming up in September, and I will be taking her up on the offer.

And, I received a suggestion regarding a wonderful speaker who recently gave a moving tribute to interpreters at another conference. She has tentatively agreed to write a forward for the book. I could also hear her "light up" when we spoke. I'm very excited that she's interested in participating.

I also was fortunate to receive a quote today from a friend that will be just perfect for the introduction of the book. I won't reveal it just yet, but it talks about the importance of stories in our lives. Perfect for this project.

The news release won't go out for another hour or so, and there are plenty of emails to send out to friends and colleagues to share the basic information on the project. Thanks to everyone so far for all of your support for this project! I look forward to sharing more updates here periodically.