About
Mission
As the only organization in the United States devoted exclusively to literary translators, ALTA’s mission is to support their work, advance the art of literary translation, and connect students, teachers, publishers, and readers of literature in translation.
This mission is realized through its work as a nonprofit arts membership association that provides programs and professional affiliation to the literary translation community. The annual ALTA conference and year-round events are structured around the creation of high-quality art. ALTA also administers awards to recognize excellence in translation and provides fellowships and mentorships to support emerging translators. Both members and nonmembers looking for ways to get involved with ALTA should follow our navigation guide and our calendar.
ALTA values inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility as core strengths and essential elements in the success of its mission. We are committed to ensuring equity and access across the broad range of our activities and initiatives, maintaining a culture in which all members, staff, and conference attendees feel welcome, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, language, sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, ability status, socioeconomic status, immigration status, and other forms of difference, and valuing myriad and differing intellectual and artistic contributions, political and ideological views, and lived experiences for their capacity to enrich ALTA’s work and contribute to its success as a membership organization.
We believe that tangible organizational and personal benefits result from applying a critical lens to ourselves and our environment, individually and collectively examining our biases, assumptions, and worldviews, and challenging and mitigating structural inequities. Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is grounded in our aspiration to affirm the identities of our members, build community, and cultivate leadership that effectively contributes to a fundamentally diverse and globally interconnected world.
ALTA does not issue statements on geopolitical events that are not primarily a matter of literary translation.
ALTA is governed by its Board of Directors. Directors are recruited and elected to the board by the membership of the association. Each summer, eligible voting members will receive, by email, more information on the elections and deadlines. Please see the bylaws and the Amended and Restated Certificate of Formation for more information.
Get Involved
Support Us
Invest in the future of literary translation, which bridges culture, languages, and ideas from around the world! Dues from our membership provide funding for only a portion of the services and activities ALTA undertakes. In order to invest in new initiatives, expand our services, support program development, and grow our endowments, we rely on individual donations from members and nonmembers alike.
Organizations can work with us as advertisers and sponsors! Our services, communication channels, and programs reach hundreds of translators, authors, teachers, editors, and publishers who work in literary translation. Institutions, conferences, publishers, cultural agencies, and other member institutions can also promote their programs or services by sponsoring the ALTA annual conference. With each conference, we offer different sponsorship opportunities, released with the program for that year. See the annual conference for details.
ALTA History
ALTA was founded in 1978 by a cohort of translators at the University of Texas, Dallas to develop cultural communication and understanding through the art and craft of literary translation. ALTA has since expanded into a nonprofit arts membership association that provides resources, community, support, and advocacy to the translation community.
As ALTA approaches its 50th anniversary, we are reflecting on the organization’s legacy through a growing timeline of its history and developing pathways for community members to contribute.