Chris Durban offers two workshops in the Netherlands in February 2012

Translation guru Chris Durban and award-winning translator Ros Schwartz will be bringing their much-acclaimed one-day workshop on the nuts and bolts of good writing to Amsterdam on Friday, February 10, 2012. Style Matters is a one-day workshop for English translators: "The ability to produce polished prose, no matter how uneven the original text, is one factor distinguishing top-end translators able to command high fees from bulk providers and bottom feeders." Most examples will come from French, but knowledge of the source language will not be required as the focus will be on writing good, clear English.

The workshop venue is Regardz Zilveren Toren, right next to Amsterdam's main railway station. Please see the Teamwork website for further information and registration: http://www.teamwork-vertaalworkshops.nl/events/evenement.php?id=41.

The following morning, Chris will be in the nearby town of Amersfoort giving two fascinating talks on translators and the translation business. The Mystery Shopper is a report on an experiment where Chris posed as a translation buyer and commissioned a number of short translations from different freelance translators and translation agencies – "one of the highlights of the recent ITI Conference” (Blogging Translator). In Finding and Working with Direct Clients, Chris reveals the secrets of finding better - and more profitable - clients. The talk concludes with a case study and a Q&A session. The workshop venue is Regardz Eenhoorn, just opposite the railway station in Amersfoort. For further information: http://www.teamwork-vertaalworkshops.nl/events/evenement.php?id=46.

There is an early-bird discount for both days, by the way, until Monday 9 January. Both days qualify for PE points for certified translators and interpreters registered with the Bureau BTV in Den Bosch (Netherlands). The two events are being organized by Tony Parr and Marcel Lemmens of Teamwork.