Isabel del Rio

Isabel del Rio is a British-Spanish writer, poet and chartered linguist. Born in Madrid, she has lived in London most of her life.

Isabel has a five-year Licenciatura from Universidad Complutense in Madrid, as well other professional qualifications and memberships, including Fellowship of the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIoL) and of the Institute of Translation & Interpreting (ITI). At present she is studying for a PhD in Creative Writing at the University of West London (UWL). For over two decades, she worked as a full-time translator, reviser and terminologist for the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a United Nations specialised agency in London. She has also worked for several media in Spain and the UK, including the BBC World Service, where she was a full-time journalist, broadcaster and producer.

She has extensive experience in several language-related fields: documentary, literary and technical translation; lexicography and terminology; written journalism and scriptwriting; broadcasting, spoken word and performance; language technologies; tutoring, mentoring and lecturing in creative writing and translation. She writes and has published fiction and poetry in both English and Spanish.

Her books include the short story collection 'La duda', shortlisted for two literary awards in Spain, and the bilingual 'Zero Negative-Cero negativo' on the subject of bloodshed. Her other fiction: 'Paradise & Hell', 'Dissent' and 'Una muerte incidental'; and her poetry books: 'Madrid, Madrid, Madrid', ‘Ataraxy’ and 'Punto de fuga'. Her most recent poetry collection is 'Dolorem Ipsum', dedicated to the victims of the 2020 pandemic; her latest literary translation into Spanish is “The Secret Garden” by FH Burnett (2020); and her new book is her memoir ‘A Woman Alone’ (2021).

Isabel is the co-founder of the independent imprint Friends of Alice Publishing (FoA), and she regularly takes part in performance poetry, spoken word and literary events.

Mia Roman

Mia is a Literary Agent, Rights Agent and Founder of Roman Lit where she happily handles a varied list of fiction and nonfiction for all markets.

Previously, she has worked as a journalist in São Paulo, Brazil, where she was born and raised. However, her love of books could not be curtailed, so she moved to New York to pursue her Master of Science in Publishing at Pace University, and started her career in publishing with an internship at Writers House. She also worked in the rights department at New Leaf Literary & Media before moving back to Brazil to open her own agency.

She is passionate about any project or story that promotes underrepresented voices and that focuses on different cultural experiences than her own. Coming from a very different culture and an immigrant herself, she would love to see more people join the publishing industry to have as great opportunities as she has had in the past.

Júlio Moredo

Júlio José Teixeira Duarte Moredo was born in São Paulo in 1991. He holds a BA in Journalism by the Faculdade Cásper Libero in Brazil and is currently a student of History at Universidade Cruzeiro do Sul.

He has worked in many press vehicles as well broadcast companies like Rádio Jovem Pan, Jornal DCI and Editora Custom. He is currently an autonomous editor, columnist and writer. His published works include the novel of O Apátrida.

Chair: 

Elodie Garceau

Elodie works as an Investor Relations Manager for Institutional Investor, a leading company that organises events for investors and delivers investments intelligence to decision-makers globally.

She holds a BA in Spanish Literature and Translation from the University of Pau and Pays de l’Adour (France) and an MA in International Relations and European Studies from University of Aix-Marseille (France). She also studied at the University of Valencia (Spain), the University of Zaragoza (Spain) and the University of Bath (UK).

She is fluent in French, English, Spanish and Italian and conducted a series of translation work as a freelance translator.