On the weekend of May 16-18, three CELA translators participated in Hackathon TALE (Technology And Literary Engagement) in Zagreb, Croatia, organised by Booksa in partnership with Immer, The Book Company, and ZICER (Zagreb Innovation Centre). Following their experience, they reflected on the use of technology for expanding the practice of reading, and the input of translators in this process. 

But first of all, what is the rationale behind this event according to Magdalena? 

A hackathon—a design marathon for programmers—probably isn’t the first type of event that comes to mind when translators think about their profession. Nor is it an event where people typically think about translators. Originally, a hackathon is meant to solve a particular design-related problem, with the goal of producing a working application by the end. And while in most cases translation skills fit into programming “like a square peg in a round hole,” the TALE hackathon told a different story. Why? Because the main theme of the hackathon was books!

Us translators spend a disproportionate amount of time with them—sometimes perhaps even more than the authors themselves. We are unique experts who interact with texts on paper, in digital formats, and on the level of language itself—more deeply than most readers. At TALE, we were able to use these superpowers to brainstorm and design new ways of experiencing literature.

The central idea guiding the hackathon’s organizers was to explore new and engaging ways of immersing readers in digital texts. More and more often, we reach for ebooks. But is there a way to make that experience more sensual—akin to holding a real book, feeling its weight, and smelling the pages? Ebooks are a different story altogether, and it turns out their visual and experiential potential is not so much neglected as it is underappreciated.

For Dimana, this process is not without challenges; but that’s precisely what makes it a learning opportunity: 

Since I was participating in the hackathon as a translator with some technical skills, the experience of being part of a tech event was enriching, and it broadened my understanding of how other people see the future of reading. It left me with valuable insights into general hackathon organization and team dynamics, how important the thoughtful participant selection and matching are in the first place, how hard it is to structure and follow collaboration processes, and to establish clear communication channels. While the experience presented challenges at some points, as we had to develop the ideas in constrained timeframes, the significance of inclusive processes and the need to hear each other helped create a meaningful digital solution.

We all know that successful digital solutions emerge from close collaboration between technical developers and individuals with deep understanding of the problem domain. Applications that truly serve specific communities—whether for reading, gardening, birdwatching, hiking—typically reflect authentic input from passionate practitioners from those fields. In our case these are the books and the almost impossible (at least for me) task is to transfer the reading experience to the digital sphere, so I believe our participation was useful for the project.

As a translator who is used to working alone and to taking the time needed to translate, revise and reread the text as many times as I need, it was new to me to pick up technical skills, tools, and solutions in a short timeframe. For me the end-user perspective should be leading in the development process, while in our team technical considerations took precedence during the initial phases. This approach differs from user-centered design methodologies, but it was interesting to listen to the developer’s perspective and to start the project from there.

Even though not everything went smoothly, the experience gained is meaningful to me. I am glad I met mentors with similar interests and attention to the reading / writing process, and people trying to add technology and innovation into it. 

Magdalena shares examples of the hackathon’s outcomes from her own and fellow teams:

The idea that my team developed relied heavily on the translator’s mindset. The mental images we see while reading don’t appear by themselves—our brains translate light waves into specific pictures. The brain translates words into images and sensations. We thought: why not do the same thing externally? Why not translate words into images projected not in the reader’s mind, but in the background of the text itself?

Our inspiration came from the phenomenon of synesthesia—a kind of neurological translation in which one sense is interpreted by another, resulting in seeing sounds or hearing colors. That became the foundation for our app concept: "Sense to Text", an ebook reader that performs live intermedial translation—from language into imagery. The app would detect phrases that refer to the senses and convert them into subtle background visuals, deepening the reader's connection to the text.

What made TALE especially unique was the mix of participants: not just programmers, but also translators, PR specialists, and visual artists. This international, interdisciplinary, and highly creative environment gave rise to a wide array of bold and fascinating ideas. One team developed an ebook reader controlled by eye movement. Another designed a reading experience integrated with a smart light and speaker, so the light and sound would change along with the narrative. There was even a way to physically enter the text using virtual reality goggles.

TALE completely changed the way I think about reading and text. I now understand that reading doesn’t have to be linear, and it doesn’t have to be limited to just the eyes. We can read with our whole bodies.

This physicality of reading and space together with their affective and mental dimensions played a key role for Oleksandra and her team’s prototype:

I mentioned that for me books always were, are and will be a safe place. Literally they are some kind of shelter. From this point our idea of the project became very important and personal for me. 

I used to read in real shelters as when the full invasion in Ukraine started, I was in my native town Kherson. And reading there became a safe island of normal life while all the world around me was falling into parts. I wanted to be taken away from explosions and ruining, so I kept reading and imagining myself in the other dimension. 

So, we came to the idea of creating a special “reading shelter” using VR-technology where everybody can feel safe while walking through the text. It was amazing to see how my teammate Lennart created a special reading world just in a day, while Dimana and I were thinking about the concept and ideas. 

In this space, it is safe to read and create your own world managing colours and music, and there are no boundaries and walls that could fall on you, only to protect you. And no matter if you have had such a traumatic experience or just need a couple of minutes for yourself without others. 

We also got inspired by one of the given book fragments to work with. It is a short episode written by an Ukranian author Eugenia Kuznetsova, who is also a CELA writer for this season. The quote became our logo: “‘Every living being has the right to shelter’, said Miechka, who was driving”. 

Somehow the worst ever experience from my life, which I would like not to have, helped us to create something amazing in such a short period of time. You never know what can inspire you in the creating process.