Buy a book, get a cookie: Freek Lankhof’s 25 years of continuous services to translation and interpretation

Freek Lankhof, a passion for T&I

On December 1^st 2012, I wrote a post about a person who is synonymous with translation and interpretation in this country. That person, as many of you may know, is our bookseller – for lack of a better word – and friend Freek Lankhof, owner of InTrans Book Service.  As he has repeatedly pointed out, he cannot compete with giant booksellers that can offer discount prices. However, he offers an invaluable service to the profession that the giants cannot – namely by tracking the many new works in our field and bringing the best and most relevant to our attention (go to his website and sign up for his newsletter to get the latest updates). He has true passion for our profession, being himself a translator. Freek can be found at workshops and conferences across the United States and Canada with a collection of the latest publications in our field, and always with a friendly smile and warm welcome.

It gives me great pleasure to report that Freek’s passion for and service to the profession have been formally acknowledged. During the opening session of its 54^nd annual conference, held in San  Antonio, Texas on November 6-9, the American Translators Association presented Freek a special certificate of recognition and appreciation to underline his presence during 25 consecutive years

25 years of support to T&I

at ATA’s annual conference. 

 
During the ATA conference, the InTrans Book Service booth swarmed with activity. Of course, ATA’s acknowledgment of Freek’s services to our profession may have been part of the reason, but it is worth noting that he hosted book signing sessions with several authors which attracted a good crowd. Book signing sessions included:

Richard Cadena. Diccionario de terminología contable y financiera 

Chris Durban. The Prosperous Translator Advice from Fire Ant and Worker Bee

Judy and Dagmar Jenner. Entrepreneurial Linguist: The Business-School Approach to Freelance Translation 

Rafa Lombardino. Contemporary Brazilian Short Stories

Corinne McKay. How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator

Harry Obst. White House Interpreter: The Art of Interpreting

Siegfried Ramler.  Nuremberg and Beyond: The Memoirs of Siegfried Ramler

Sandro Tomasi. Tomasi’s Law Dictionary.  An English-Spanish Dictionary of Criminal Law and Procedure

Jost Zetzsche. Found in Translation  


InTrans Book Service's busy booth

All of this activity took place in the typically friendly environment that Freek is well-known for creating. He was assisted by his sister Marjan who has, like Freek, been present at ATA conferences most of the 25 years and who, like him, loves baking.  So, stopping by Freek’s booth was an experience where one could meet a renowned author, take a look at recent publications, purchase some of them, and get a yummy artisanal cookie. This is a man from a passionate family whose services deserve to be acknowledged, and I am thrilled that ATA just did so.

Note: I’m not familiar with all of the publications listed above, but am currently reading Nataly Kelly’s and Jost Zetzsche’s Found in Translation and Harry Obst’s White House Interpreter upon recommendation of several colleagues.  Also, I have used Corinne McKay’s How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator in my advanced translation classes at the university level and have Tomasi’s Law Dictionary among my reference resources.