Hello there! I'm Lauren, but I often go by L. I'm a journalist, editor, Spanish-to-English translator and all-around word person from the US based near Madrid, Spain.

My translation of the experimental, award-winning stage play "La grieta, entre animales salvajes" (The Crack: Among Wild Animals) won the 2020 Plays In Translation Contest, organized by the Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre and the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA). It was supported by a grant from the Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers (SGAE).

My translation of "El paseo de Joe Strummer" (Joe Strummer Takes a Walk) was called "virtuoso" by BroadwayWorld in a review of an off-West End production of the text and was eventually published by Ediciones Antígona in 2021.

In 2022, I was commissioned by the Cervantes Theatre of London to translate the acclaimed play “Juguetes rotos” (Broken Toys) for a full production. And back in 2016, I translated the science fiction novelette “En las fraguas marcianas” (In the Martian Forges) for the anthology "Castles in Spain: 25 Years of Spanish Fantasy and Science Fiction."

My educational qualifications are solid and my lived experience is varied, which makes me a creative and effective translator. I have a master's degree in translation from the Complutense University of Madrid, as well as two bachelor’s degrees with cum laude honors from Boston University: one in journalism and the other in Hispanic language and literatures. I attended the University of Bristol’s summer school for literary translation in 2021. I've moved to several different cities, traveled to two dozen countries and lived permanently in Spain since 2011.

And throughout my life, I've worked as a newspaper reporter, social media and community manager, copy editor, content marketer, English teacher, book reviewer, nonprofit program manager, translator, communications specialist, administrative assistant, food server and more. Currently, I work full-time as the director of the Lingua translation project at nonprofit media organization Global Voices.

I’m a member of the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) and I currently sit on the reading committee of the Plays in Translation Contest, organized by ALTA and Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre. I'm also a member of the Translators Association of the Society of Authors.

Do you need a story edited or translated? Get in touch at lauren@laurenlfinch.com.

CURRICULUM VITAE

For a detailed CV, please see my LinkedIn profile.