Grant to Be Earmarked
to support the ALTA Emerging Translator Mentorship Program, which aims to empower emerging translators as they translate a full book of poetry, prose, or literary nonfiction into English
Tucson, AZ (June 3, 2021)— The Amazon Literary Partnership today announced that the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) received a grant to support its program and operations. ALTA is among the list of 80 Amazon Literary Partnership Grant Recipients for 2021, collectively awarded a total of more than $1 million.
The Amazon Literary Partnership (ALP) supports writers to help tell their stories and find their readers, empowering writers to create, publish, learn, teach, experiment and thrive. Since 2009, ALP is committed to uplifting and amplifying the voices of overlooked or marginalized writers by supporting the literary community through grants to writing programs and nonprofit literary organizations, including groups like ALTA whose mission is to support the work of literary translators, advance the art of literary translation, and serve translators, and the students, teachers, publishers, and readers of literature in translation.
“We are grateful to receive funding from the Amazon Literary Partnership to support emerging translators,” said ALTA Executive Director Elisabeth Jaquette. “The Emerging Translator Mentorship Program provides an entryway into the profession for a diverse cohort of translators who otherwise may not have the support necessary. By promoting the translation and publication of international literature, the program helps bridge cultural communication and understanding among countries and languages. Ultimately, it also enriches the range of literary offerings available to English readers. We look forward to continuing to uplift these voices with the support of the Amazon Literary Partnership.”
This $5,000 grant from the Amazon Literary Partnership will support ALTA’s Emerging Translator Mentorship Program, and the 2021 cohort of eight mentees as they translate works of literature from the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan.
ALTA’s mentorship program is designed to amplify diverse and overlooked voices from around the globe by supporting translators working from historically overlooked and underrepresented languages. Over the course of nine months, mentees learn from their mentor, an experienced translator in the field, and receive high quality, personalized training. Mentees acquire skills in both the craft of literary translation and in navigating the publishing industry. They also finish the program with a translated book ready for publication. Over the past five years, the program has supported 34 translators working from 13 different languages, including Arabic, Catalan, Chinese, Dutch, French, Greek, Indonesian, Kazakh, Korean, Norwegian, Occitan, Polish, and Russian.
“The Amazon Literary Partnership awards grants to innovative groups who create deep impact on the lives of writers and the broader literary and publishing community,” said Alexandra Woodworth, manager of the ALP program. “We are delighted to support all of this year’s grant recipients and commend their continued commitment to nurturing a vibrant and diverse literary landscape.”
About ALTA
The American Literary Translators Association is a nonprofit arts membership association that provides resources, community, and professional affiliation to its members: individual translators, academic institutions, presses, and others working in literary translation. The annual ALTA conference, held in a different location each year, is the largest gathering of literary translators in the United States, and the only one of its kind. It brings together around 500 translators, writers, and editors for an intimate, intense, three-day conversation through panels, workshops, roundtables, and on- and off-site bilingual readings. ALTA also administers awards to recognize excellence in translation, and provides fellowships and mentorships to support emerging translators.
To learn more about ALTA, please visit https://literarytranslators.org/.
About The Amazon Literary Partnership
Since 2009, the Amazon Literary Partnership has provided more than $14 million in grant funding to more than 150 literary organizations, assisting many thousands of writers. Among the organizations Amazon has supported over the years include the National Book Foundation, PEN America, Poets & Writers, Girls Write Now, Graywolf Press, Lamda Literary Foundation, Loft Literary Center, National Novel Writing Month, Words Without Borders, Yaddo, WriteGirl, and many more. Through Amazon’s annual grants, Amazon supports literary centers, writing workshops, residencies, fellowships, literary magazines, independent publishers, and poetry and translation programs. Writers supported by some of these organizations have gone on to become best-selling and award-winning authors.
To learn more about the Amazon Literary Partnership, please visit http://www.amazonliterarypartnership.com
