Jurgita Mikutytė (born in Vilnius, Lithuania) is a cultural manager and literary translator from German into Lithuanian.

Biography

Graduated from Vilnius University in 1996 (B.A. in German Philology) and in 1998 (M.A. in World Literature). Postgraduate studies, 1998–2001, at the University of Salzburg in Salzburg, Austria.

Lecturer at Vilnius University (Department of Translation Studies and Department of German Philology), 2001–2003; taught literary translation, German-language literature, and related subjects.

Director of International Programs at the Lithuanian Writers' Union, 2003–2004.

Co-founder of the Lithuanian Association of Literary Translators (May 2004); Chair, 2004–2011. Initiated, developed, and implemented an extensive educational program for translators, editors, and other professionals, including workshops, lectures, discussions, conferences, literary translation courses, and international events, as well as the literary translation competition “I Want to Be a Translator,” the annual Best Translated Book awards, the Anti-Prize, workshops on writing translation reviews, and an online bibliographic archive of translation criticism and research. Cooperation with Lithuanian higher education institutions and participation in international translator networks. More >>

Translations include the novels Malina by Ingeborg Bachmann, Mein Name sei Gantenbein by Max Frisch, Die Wand by Marlen Haushofer, Ein Regenschirm für diesen Tag by Wilhelm Genazino, and Alte Meister by Thomas Bernhard; the plays Minetti and Der Theatermacher by Thomas Bernhard, Grillenparz by Thomas Arzt, and Der Märtyrer by Marius von Mayenburg; as well as short stories, novel excerpts, and essays by Georg Heym, Thomas Bernhard, Peter Handke, Peter Stamm, Wassily Kandinsky, and Arno Geiger. Editor of an anthology of contemporary Swiss authors in Lithuanian.

Other publications 

Author of articles on German-language literature (among others, works of Max Frisch, Ingeborg Bachmann, Klaus Mann, Thomas Bernhard, and Norbert Gstrein), and of studies, conference papers, interviews, and methodological texts on literary translation, published in cultural and literary press.

Recipient of the Austrian Federal Chancellery Award for the translation of Malina by Ingeborg Bachmann (2004) and of a Letter of Appreciation from the Rector of Vilnius University for contributions to translation tradition and the training of young translators (2007).

Member of the Lithuanian PEN Centre since 2003.

Coordinator of cultural programs at the Goethe-Institut Vilnius since August 2024.