Lil Reif lives in Vienna, Austria, and translates fiction, childrens‘ literature and poetry from Latvian to German. She holds a university diploma in translation (Russian, Portuguese and Law), a PhD in Sociolinguistics and has worked as a free lance translator and interpreter, including for film and film festivals. From 2005 to 2008, she was a guest lecturer at Ventspils University College with a fellowship from the Robert Bosch Foundation, a period when she started to learn Latvian. Translated works (fragments and full translations from novels, short stories, poems and childrens’ books) from Andris Akmentiņš, Maira Asare, Ingmāra Balode, Māris Bērziņš, Rasa Bugavičute-Pēce, Inguna Cepīte, Kirils Ēcis, Inga Gaile, Madara Gruntmane, Rebeka Lukošus, Ligija Purinaša, Aleksandra Runde, Daina Tabūna, Toms Treibergs, Arvīds Viguls, Lote Vilma Vītiņa, Inese Zandere, Inga Žolude and Juris Zvirgzdiņš. In 2018, she received the translators’ prize of the city of Vienna for the translation of a fragment from the novel „Svina Garša” from Māris Bērziņš. Recent translations are “The bad mother” by Inga Gaile, a theatre play about Asja Lācis, Rasa Bugavičute-Pēce’s novel “The boy who could see in the dark” and Vilis Kasims’ flash fiction “Lysergic Blues”.
Translators’ prize of the city of Vienna in 2018 (historical novel).
Der kleine Dichter und der Duft
Der kleine Dichter und der Duft (Dzejnieks un smarža)
Title
: Der kleine Dichter und der DuftTitle*
: Dzejnieks un smaržaAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Children`s Book
Language
:German
Publisher
:Mirabilis Verlag
Pages
:40
Year
:2023
Copyrights
:The author
Hexen (Auszug aus dem Roman)
Hexen (Auszug aus dem Roman) (Raganas)
Title
: Hexen (Auszug aus dem Roman)Title*
: RaganasAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Fiction
Language
:German
Publisher
:Literarisches Colloquium Berlin
Pages
:10
Year
:September, 2024
LYSERGSÄUREBLUES
LYSERGSÄUREBLUES (Lizergīnblūzs)
Title
: LYSERGSÄUREBLUESTitle*
: LizergīnblūzsAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Fiction
Language
:German
Publisher
:edition.fotoTAPETA
Pages
:114
Year
:2025
Copyrights
:The author
Der Junge, der im Dunkeln sah
Der Junge, der im Dunkeln sah (Puika, kurš redzēja tumsā)
Title
: Der Junge, der im Dunkeln sahTitle*
: Puika, kurš redzēja tumsāAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Fiction
Language
:German
Pages
:224
Year
:2025
Copyrights
:The author
Synopsis
:Jacob is a boy who was born into an unusual family, but he wants to be just like everyone else riding his bike around, taking care of his cat and wearing a nice jacket.
Rigaer Freiheit
Rigaer Freiheit (Brīvībene)
Title
: Rigaer FreiheitTitle*
: BrīvībeneAuthors
:Translated by
:Genre
:Fiction
Language
:German
Publisher
:edition.fotoTAPETA
Pages
:236
Year
:2026
Copyrights
:The author
Synopsis
:An aspiring art student inherits his great-grandfather's restituted house, only to find its long-time tenants living as though history never shifted.


