ALTA Conference and Events

ALTA Conference and Events

Annual Conference

The ALTA conference isn’t quite like any other. If you’ve never been, please take a look at our Guide for First-Time ALTA Conference Attendees. 

For over forty years, the ALTA conference has provided the largest gathering dedicated exclusively to the work of literary translation. Each year, around 500 ALTA members, literary translators, writers, students, readers, teachers, publishers, and other professionals from all regions of the United States and abroad gather for a vibrant three days in continually changing venues across the country, and, occasionally, in Canada and Mexico. We hope to see you at the next conference!

The wide range of activities that attendees can participate in includes:

  • Panels and workshops on all aspects of literary translation
  • The Annual Alexis Levitin Bilingual Reading Series, which includes recently published translations and translations-in-progress
  • Presentations by translation publishers and a chance to network
  • Workshops that focus on translation strategies and techniques for specific languages and genres, e.g., Spanish poetry
  • Cherished evening activities such as Translation Trivia and Declamación

Additionally, conference attendees are invited to attend the keynote speaker presentation(s); the ALTA Awards Ceremony and reception where the winners of the National Translation Awards in Poetry and Prose, Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize, Italian Prose in Translation Award, Spain-USA Foundation Translation Award, and ALTA First Translation Prize are announced; the ALTA Travel Fellows reading; the ALTA Emerging Translator Mentorship presentations; and other events. Attendees take advantage of the many opportunities to network and get to know each other, including at the much-beloved Declamación, a night of performance featuring the recitation of literary translations from memory (more or less!).

In short, the ALTA Annual Conference remains a refreshingly collegial gathering of amateurs and professionals alike, both within the profession and outside it, all wholeheartedly committed to fostering, furthering, and supporting the practice of literary translation.

 
Upcoming Conferences
Past Conferences

View past conference materials in the Conference Archive. 

Attendee Terms & Conditions

Please click here to view the ALTA conference Attendee Terms & Conditions.

Code of Conduct

Please click here to view ALTA's Code of Conduct.

 

Other events
 
Virtual

Since 2020, ALTA's programming has expanded to include virtual events. We are proud to connect the literary translation community around the world! Below, please find information about our virtual event options (click the links to read more), as well as our archive of past event recordings.

Multilingual Translation Workshops (Spring and Summer)

Read the World Social Media Bookfair (May 13-21, 2024)

Write the World: A Day of Translation (Join ALTA online on May 21, 2024)

Editor-Translator Pitch Sessions (Spring and Fall) 

Past Event Recordings

 
In-Person

ALTA @ the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference (AWP)  (Spring)