Hebe Powell

Hebe Powell lives and works in London as a freelance translator of Spanish. Born in England, she spent part of her childhood in Argentina and later, took a year to work and travel in Spain. She took up a career in physics, completing a PhD in quantum optics at Imperial College London and then working as a research scientist in this field. She has also worked as a science teacher.

In recent years Hebe has been translating Hispano American fiction. Most recently she was involved in a project with Restless Books: “And We Came Outside and Saw the Stars Again”, a collection of thoughts on the recent pandemic by authors from across the world. She has also co-translated several books and short stories with Nick Caistor including work by the Nicaraguan Sergio Ramirez, Cuban science fiction author Agustín de Rojas, and the Mexican writer Carlos Velázquez. Hebe is also a researcher in the Cultures and Languages department at Birkbeck college where her work in Spanish pragmatics focuses on politeness theory and rapport management in online communication.