Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp

Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp is a literary translator with a particular interest in children's books, history and nature writing. She has translated over 20 books into English, from Russian, German and Arabic. Ruth has translated children’s and young adult books from Germany, Morocco, Palestine, Russia, Switzerland and Syria. Her co-translation with Sue Copeland of Trees for the Absentees by Palestinian author Ahlam Bsharat was shortlisted for the GLLI Translated YA Prize 2020 and the Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for literary translation from Arabic. Ruth helps coordinate World Kid Lit Month. Every September, this is a global celebration of reading beyond our borders and exploring the richness and diversity of children's books originally written in languages other than English.

Did you know…

  • Ruth used to have a Scottish accent until she was four, but then she moved from Glasgow to Leicester and started to sound more English!

  • Ruth loves music and dancing, and she plays the repinique drum with her local Brazilian samba band in Cheltenham.

  • Ruth's favourite children's book ever is The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson.

Find out more on Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp's website