David Warriner grew up in the UK and escaped to Quebec after graduating from Oxford. A professional translator for nearly two decades, David nurtures a passion for fiction in French and has translated a range of fiction, nonfiction, and children’s fiction by authors based in Quebec and France for Canadian and UK publishers. David has worked in France and Quebec and now lives in beautiful British Columbia.  

 

In his work with foreign rights as a literary scout, David connects buying and selling publishers and literary agents to bridge the language gap and open doors to new readers and book markets around the world.

 

 

*Cliquer ici pour le site en français*

David Warriner a grandi en Angleterre, où il se passionne pour le français dès son plus jeune âge. Son diplôme de l’Université d'Oxford en poche, il déménage au Québec où il amorce rapidement sa carrière de traducteur. Il cumule une dizaine d'années en tant que traducteur professionnel au sein de grandes entreprises avant de déménager dans l'ouest canadien et lancer sa propre microentreprise en traduction littéraire et créative.  

 

Dans son rôle de scout littéraire dans le milieu des droits étrangers, David travaille en collaboration avec l'Agence #lavraievie à Paris pour faire le pont entre les différents joueurs des mondes de l'édition francophone et anglophone. 

 

Literary translation is an exciting field to work in. So much happens behind the scenes before foreign rights are bought and sold, and before the translation and publishing processes can begin. 

There are many steps to travel on a book's journey from one language to another. First is to ensure that rights are available, then it's all about translating sample chapters for foreign rights catalogues and preparing translation dossiers for authors and literary agents before I can pitch the book to the right publisher at or on the fringe of one of the key translation rights fairs in London, Frankfurt or Montreal.

 

As a literary scout I connect publishers, literary agents and authors to make the right rights deals happen. 

While the number of books I've pitched to 'buying' publishers and agents in the UK, Canada and the US has grown, so have the requests from 'selling' publishers, authors and agents in Quebec, France and Belgium to help them pitch their bestselling titles and secure a foreign rights deal. This is where I step in.

The hallmark of success for many writers in other languages is to see their book published in English.

 

David Warriner's translation of Paul Serge Forest's astonishing debut novel Everything is Ori will be published by QC Fiction in March 2023. Lauded by critics, it's been called 'the most daring reading experience of the year' and 'one of the best Quebec novels of the past ten years.'

   

In 2017, David was thrilled to translate a short story as part of an innovative project by QC Fiction's I Never Talk About It,  a collection of 37 short stories written by Véronique Côté and Steve Gagnon and translated by 37 different translators from around the world to gives readers a flavour of the fresh new writing coming out of Quebec—and a reminder that there are at least 37 different ways to translate an author’s voice.
 
     


 

Literary translation is a broad field, and it's important for translators to work on books they enjoy, right? As a professional literary translator, David Warriner has translated published titles in a variety of fields including short stories, non-fiction and children's books, though his true passion lies in crime fiction, literary mysteries and thrillers.

David Warriner's translation of Quebec author Roxanne Bouchard's literary mystery We Were the Salt of the Sea was published by Orenda Books in 2018 and shortlisted for the Society of Authors Scott Moncrieff Prize for French-English translation in 2019. His translation of 'French Queen of Crime' writer Johana Gustawsson's Blood Song was published by Orenda Books in 2019 and longlisted for the 2020 CWA Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation. David's translation of Roxanne Bouchard's The Coral Bride, winner of the Crime Writers of Canada Award for Best French Crime Book, was then shortlisted for the 2021 CWA Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation. Book 3 in Roxanne's DS Moralès series, Whisper of the Seals, was published to critical acclaim in 2022.

David Warriner's translation of bestselling Icelandic author Ragnar Jónasson's Winterkill (unconventionally, via the French translation, which was published before the original Icelandic) was published in 2020, and shot to number one in the ebook charts in the UK, Canada and Australia. His translation of Johana Gustawsson's The Bleeding, a spell-binding, dazzlingly dark gothic thriller that swings from Belle Époque Paris to 21st-century Quebec, with an extraordinary mystery at its heart, was praised by the Sunday Times as one of the best historical fiction titles of 2022.

 

 

Having a keen young reader at home served as prime motivation for David Warriner to translate children's books and YA titles as well as novels. His first YA translations include Jaume Copons' Alex and the Monsters: Here Comes Mr. Flat! and Alex and the Monsters: Restaurant Rescue, two graphic novels for young readers illustrated by Liliana Fortuny and published by Montreal-based publisher Crackboom! Books. David's early children's book translations include a boxed set of remastered fairy tales and a number of board books and picture books for early readers.

David's translation of Alice Dussutour's Naître fille, an eye-opening graphic fiction title about the feminine condition around the world is forthcoming from Orca Book Publishers.
 

David Warriner has translated an array of nonfiction titles for Vancouver-based publisher Greystone Books. Literary nonfiction titles include Rémy Marion's On Being a Bear - Face to Face with Our Wild Sibling, Guirec Soudée's A Sailor, A Chicken, An Incredible Voyage -The Seafaring Adventures of Guirec and Monique and Jean-François Beauchemin's dreamily poetic Archives of Joy.
 

      
 

 

We Were the Salt of the Sea
Roxanne Bouchard
When the body of a woman is discovered in a fisherman’s net in Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula, new recruit Detective Sergeant Joaquin Moralès is thrown in at the deep end… First in a beautifully written, atmospheric and addictive new series.

The Coral Bride
Roxanne Bouchard
In this beautiful, lyrical sequel to the critically acclaimed We Were the Salt of the Sea, Detective Moralès finds that a seemingly straightforward search for a missing fisherwoman off Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula is anything but…


Whisper of the Seals
Roxanne Bouchard
Detective Moralès becomes immersed in a chilling case set on the icy seas of Quebec’s remote Magdalen Islands, in the midst of a brutal seal hunt. A breathtaking, atmospheric, race-against-the-clock thriller…

Archives of Joy
Reflections on Animals and the Nature of Being
Jean-François Beauchemin
In Archives of Joy, renowned poet, essayist, and novelist Jean-François Beauchemin turns his poetic and playful gaze to memories of animals he has known throughout his life, from fleeting encounters to deep relationships. With each meeting, Beauchemin returns to a simple thought: that joy in nature is an essential counterweight to the inescapable awareness of the brevity of life.

Rethink Chronic Pain:

Relieve Suffering, Heal Your Body, Own Your Health
Dr. Gaétan Brouillard
At a time when as many as 1 in 5 adults suffer from chronic pain, a medical doctor and proven pain expert offers an original guide to healing and recovery. Rethink Chronic Pain identifies the physical and psychological roots of pain and recommends not one single treatment (as the vast majority of advice does) but many: Dr. Gaétan Brouillard incorporates osteopathy, hypnotherapy, acupuncture, nutrition and natural products (including cannabis and CBD) into his tried-and-tested approach. He also draws on years of experience as an emergency room doctor, clinician, and researcher to explain scientific breakthroughs in pain treatment and how to use medicine and surgery when necessary. Readers will come away with new understandings of the body and mind—and new tools for healing chronic pain at its source.

Diary of an Ogre
Valeria Dávila and Mónica López
The world of ogres is endangered and their secrets could disappear with them. This diary unveils the many mysteries of their monstrous life: the famous fight clubs, the belching and spitting classes, never changing underwear―ever. A book that will shift your perception of ogres forever! "Dear Diary, The end is near. Ogres are not what they used to be The world is changing, I fear."

 

 

 

 

Blood Song
Johana Gustawsson
The action swings from London to Sweden, and then back into the past, to Franco’s Spain, as Roy & Castells hunt a monstrous killer … in the latest instalment of Johana Gustawsson’s award-winning series.

 

The Bleeding
Johana Gustawsson
Queen of French Noir,  Johana Gustawsson returns with a spell-binding, dazzlingly dark gothic thriller that swings from Belle Époque France to 21st-century Quebec, with an extraordinary mystery at its heart… FIRST in a bewitching new series.

Winterkill
Ragnar Jónasson
A blizzard is approaching Siglufjörður, and that can only mean one thing… When the body of a nineteen-year-old girl is found on the main street of Siglufjörður, Police Inspector Ari Thór battles a violent Icelandic storm in an increasingly dangerous hunt for her killer … The chilling, claustrophobic finale to the international bestselling Dark Iceland series.


Alex and the Monsters:
Here Comes Mr. Flat!
Jaume Copons & Liliana Fortuny
Alex is a typical kid―funny, curious, a little forgetful, and always hungry. His world is turned upside down when he finds a monster in his bedroom. Where did it come from? From The Book of Monsters, of course! That’s where the little monster lived before the evil Dr. Brut chased him out. Mr. Flat wants to return to the book he came from, but first he must find it! Alex, who has never paid much attention to books, is drawn by his new friend into a captivating world of stories and adventure.
 

Alex and the Monsters:
Restaurant Rescue!
Jaume Copons & Liliana Fortuny
Dr. Brut is back for more evil deeds, including sinking the Nautilus Restaurant. Luckily Chef Roll, the kitchen monster, is on hand to help cook up a plan to stop him. Get ready for more monster mayhem! The Alex and the Monsters series of graphic novels is filled with hilarious illustrations and fantastic stories that mix humor, adventure and literature (yes, literature!).


Diary of a Witch
Valeria Dávila and Mónica López
Do all witches like to scare children, eat toad eyes and ride their brooms when the moon is full? Certainly not all! Peek into the pages of this personal diary and discover the secret thoughts of a witch who dreams of a little change in her life: to dare to wear pink, buy a swimsuit and go on vacation, and maybe just once be part of a fairy tale that ends well! "Dear Diary, I'm writing to tell you I'm weary. I've been a wicked witch for too many years, and it's making me teary."


Diary of a Monster
Valeria Dávila and Mónica López
What are the intimate dreams of monsters? Few people know, for monsters are discreet beings, lurking in the shadows. This diary gives an exclusive insight into the life of a terrible beast. "Dear Diary, it's me the monster in the lake, I'm evil, I'm yucky and I'm scarier than a snake."