Acknowledgements

On a warm sunny day in May 2013, just as the second Transfiction conference was winding up in Tel Aviv, and we were still savouring the stimulating discussions and enriching encounters we had had over the course of the previous days, a few of us had the fine idea of hosting the next conference in Montreal in May 2015. And so Transfiction 3, and hence this book, were born. I am indebted to the members of the Scientific Committee who supported me in selecting papers and designing the program for the conference: Véronique Béghain (Université Bordeaux Montaigne); Nitsa Ben-Ari (Tel Aviv University); Patricia Godbout (Université de Sherbrooke); Gillian Lane-Mercier (McGill University); and Xuanmin Luo (Tsinghua University). We were assisted in our tasks by a local Organizing Committee, composed of the Canadian members of the Scientific Committee, along with Concordia representatives Danièle Marcoux, Carmen Ruschiensky, Natalia Teplova and Christine York.

The conference would not have run as smoothly as it did without the assistance of a team of eager, efficient and gracious students, who helped with everything from room bookings, signage and the production of the bilingual website and program to welcoming guests and planning for every coffee break, snack, lunch and dinner. My sincere thanks go out to Mona Sacui Catrinescu, Nathanaël Dagane, Alexandra Hillinger, Anastasia Llewellyn, Caeli Martineau, Katie Moore, Johanne Durocher Norchet, Kelly Oliel, Sylwia Pawlik, Dominique Pelletier and Marie White. Je tiens également à remercier Louis-Frédéric Pagé (alors étudiant à l’Université de Sherbrooke) de l’aide précieuse qu’il a apportée à la révision des textes en français.

Funding for the conference was provided by a variety of partner organizations. I am grateful, first of all, for a significant “Connections” grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Members of the organizing committee assisted in securing the sponsorship of Université de Sherbrooke and McGill University. John Benjamins Publishing and the Presses de l’Université de Laval contributed to the mini-book fair that was held as part of the conference, and the Literary Translators’ Association of Canada sponsored a highly successful poetry reading. Concordia University, finally, was extremely generous in its support through the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies, the Azrieli Institute of Israel Studies, the Département d’études françaises, the Graduate Students Association in Translation, Figura, and Hospitality Concordia. A portion of the funds received were set aside for the purpose of disseminating the conference findings and thus were invaluable in the production of this book.

I would like to express my particular appreciation to the conference participants who created a rigorous yet convivial climate for exchange on such a wide range of fascinating topics relating to translators, translations and translating. I salute, in particular, those who have contributed their reflections to this volume. They have all been extremely cooperative and patient in working toward a collection of essays that is both diverse and coherent.

Lastly, I am pleased to draw attention to the exceptional collaboration of Gillian Lane-Mercier, Patricia Godbout and Carmen Ruschiensky who, from that moment of inspiration in Tel Aviv in 2013 until the summer of 2017, lent their considerable expertise, sound and intelligent advice, and meticulous attention to the successive versions of this manuscript.