B.J. Woodstein

B.J. (Epstein) Woodstein joined UEA in 2009 after finishing her Ph.D. in translation studies at Swansea University. She is a senior lecturer in literature and translation at UEA. She is a Senior Fellow in the HEA.

B.J. is also a writer, editor, and translator from the Scandinavian languages to English. She appears regularly in the media. Her most recent translations are of The Book That Did Not Want to Be Read by David Sundin and The Bird Within Me by Sara Lundberg.

In her free time, B.J. volunteers as a breastfeeding counsellor on the National Breastfeeding Helpline and as a peer supporter for Pregnancy Sickness Support. She is also a trained doula and an IBCLC. Most importantly, she loves spending time with her wife, children, and cats.

B.A. Literature and creative writing; Bryn Mawr College, USA (2001)
MFA Creative writing; Queens University, USA (2004)
Ph.D. Translation studies; Swansea University, UK (2009)
MA Higher education practice; UEA (2011)

Translation studies

Children’s literature

LGBTQ studies and literature

Comics and graphic novels

Holocaust literature

Scandinavian literature

Crime fiction

Contemporary literature

Translation studies

Children’s literature

LGBTQ studies and literature

Comics and graphic novels

Holocaust literature

Scandinavian literature

Figurative language

Crime fiction

B.J. Epstein has published monographs on how LGBTQ characters are represented in English-language children’s literature and books for young adults, and on the translation of figurative language in children’s literature. She has also edited two books on translation to and between the Nordic languages and co-edited a book on queer approaches to translation. She is currently researching how the maternal figure is depicted in literature, with a focus on the portrayal of breastfeeding in children’s literature. Besides B.J.’s academic publications, she regularly writes for popular magazines and newspapers; this includes personal essays, book reviews, and research-inspired articles.

Translator from Swedish, Norwegian and Danish to English.

Speaker or workshop-leader at many libraries, primary and secondary schools, and community organisations, usually with literature, writing, and/or translation as the topic.

Author of around 200 articles, book reviews, personal essays, and short stories for a variety of publications, in both English and Swedish, including Kveller, the Conversation, Facköversättaren (the journal of the Swedish Association of Professional Translators), the Wales Arts Review, the Huffington Post, and many more.