Bonjour Hi, my name is...
Gersande La Flèche
I am a
I've worked as an independent content editor & copywriter, and English to French translator since 2016 for clients in Montréal and all over the world. I specialize in drafting, editing, and translating creative and literary content, as well as some technical content especially when relating to computer science, technology, and queer, trans & disability issues and policy. My goal is to continuously simplify the communication of complicated concepts without sacrificing elegance.
In my artistic & writing practices, I am always looking for wonder in the world.
To situate myself in the ongoing colonization of North America, I am a settler of Breton, Italian, Irish-Québecois and Colombian heritage who was born and currently lives in Montréal / Tiohtiá:ke, the unceded territory of the Kanien’kehá:ka nation, traditionally the meeting ground between many nations.
I have also worked as a web developer and a programmer since 2010. Between 2012-2014 I co-founded and worked on the not-for-profit Kids Code Jeunesse here in Canada, where I taught children how to make websites and small web-based videogames. My work on Kids Code Jeunesse meant that I often appeared in the media here in Canada. While I left the "Learn To Code" movement to focus on my university studies, I have still liked to work on the periphery of tech community groups, such as with the now-ended Mont Royal Games Society (MRGS) and the ongoing Game Curious Montréal. I still occasionally dabble in the odd programming project.
In 2016 I completed an undergraduate degree in Creative Writing from Concordia University. I do not have any current plans for pursuing an MFA or another degree, though that can always change in the future.
I also love to take photographs, paint, doodle, go on long walks, and mess around on boats, whenever I can.
Oh, and I was in a Minecraft documentary once!
Thank you @acbui for creating this excellent pixelated pipe-smoking portrait of me!
Speaker and panelist at the Québec première of Netizens, a documentary on cyberviolence, at Cinema Politica Concordia on March 4, 2019.
Speaker at Ctrl-alt-GFV hosted by Groupe Féministe Vidéoludique at the Université de Montréal on October 11, 2017.
Presenter and panelist at the The Building Blocks of Life: A Minecraft Colloquium at Concordia University on February 13, 2015.
Panelist and contributor to the Learning 2030 Conference at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario during September 2013.
Participant of the Take Care Jam on preventing and eliminating cyberviolence hosted by the Atwater Library (Montréal, QC) and funded by Status of Women Canada in February 2016.
Game built to honour Leonard Nimoy's passing during a 48 hours game jam, using a custom-knit hand and Vulcan ear controller and a Makey Makey. The game is coded in Processing. The game, Eat Long and Prosper can be played on itch.io.
A six-week game design and creation incubator put together by the organization Pixelles, in which each participant creates a complete game from scratch, which culminates in a vernissage in coordination with Festival Montréal Joue where each participant showcases their game.
I blog regularly in English and in French about my life, my work, video games, literature, and trying to find wonder in the world.
My 5 most popular blog posts of all time, by a lot, are:
I'm a self-taught programmer who has been making websites since I was a teenager in the mid 2000s. I've also, over the years, dabbled in typography-focused graphic design work. I've got a lot of experience templating and designing websites using Bootstrap 4 (HTML5 + JS + CSS3 web design framework). Lately, I've also been taking more and more layout freelance work to design business brochures and reports.
Please note that I do not translate client testimonials.
Nous avons eu la chance d’être accompagnées par Gersande lors de la rédaction et la traduction de documents. La précision de son travail, sa capacité à être juste dans l’estimation du temps et des montants ainsi que sa grande facilité à comprendre les enjeux et messages importants nous donnent une grande tranquillité d’esprit. Grâce à son aide et son talent, nous sommes en mesure de nous concentrer sur le fond et savons que le reste sera entre bonnes mains.
Gersande m'a été d'une grande aide dans la correction des textes de mes demandes d'admission pour des universités anglophones. En plus de ses suggestions toujours pertinentes et de ses retours rapides, ses méthodes de correction et ses explications m'ont permis de saisir beaucoup de subtilités de la langue anglaise, d'améliorer la qualité de mes écrits, et puis de recevoir des offres favorables des universités en question. Je suis entièrement satisfaite de mon expérience avec Gersande, et je recommanderai très certainement ses services à mon entourage. Encore merci !
Gersande treats the work with the utmost respect and passion for the craft of storytelling. They are a thoughtful, thorough, impassioned, enthusiastic, vibrant, gentle, otherworldly proof-reader and editor.
Gersande a su capter l'esprit de mes poèmes et traduire leur essence avec imagination, précision et subtilité. Je recommanderais ses services sans hésiter!
I sent in a last-minute request for English to French translation for an important grant application for our video game company. Gersande was easy to work with, professional, and swift. We will definitely get in touch with them in the future if we need more translation, since they have the soft skills and technical knowledge to understand and explain our work.
Gersande is a fast and creative translator. They were very quick to communicate and ask questions, and made sure the tone of our project was respected — with a speedy turnaround to boot. Would definitely recommend them to anyone looking for help with their creative works!
Gersande did an incredible job editing my personal statement and proved to me the value of a good editor. I'll definitely be asking Gersande to look over my writing in the future.
Gersande is a talented editor and writer with a remarkable critical mind and a keen eye not just for technical errors, but also word-flow and clarity. They’ve always provided me with excellent constructive feedback on my written work and I highly recommend working with them on all sorts of creative projects.