In this article the author explores the experiences of the translator/writer-translator. The author argues that by probing the often unsettling effect of translation on translators, fiction writers might offer a contribution to translation theory that has been overlooked in Translation Studies. The author pursues the connection she senses between theôria, as discussed by Nightingale and others, and several fictional representations of translators as theorists. Those representations are tested or contrasted with nonfictional discussions by translators of their work.