[Tucson, AZ]—The American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) has been approved for a $30,000 Grants for Arts Projects award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support ALTA’s fall conference, ALTA46: The Place of Translation, and the Emerging Translator Mentorship Program. ALTA’s project is among 1,130 projects across the country, totaling more than $31 million, that were selected during this second round of Grants for Arts Projects fiscal year 2023 funding.

“The National Endowment for the Arts is pleased to support a wide range of projects, including ALTA’s fall conference and mentorship program, demonstrating the many ways the arts enrich our lives and contribute to healthy and thriving communities,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “These organizations play an important role in advancing the creative vitality of our nation and helping to ensure that all people can benefit from arts, culture, and design.”

“We are proud to receive funding from the NEA to support emerging translators and provide a way for our community to gather together and celebrate their work,” said ALTA Executive Director Elisabeth Jaquette. “This is the largest Grants for Arts Projects award that ALTA has ever received from the NEA, and we are especially grateful to receive such substantial support. This crucial funding will help us uplift our current cohort of eight emerging translator mentees. It will also enable us to offer a full-scale, in-person conference this fall in ALTA’s hometown of Tucson, Arizona.”

ALTA’s annual conference is the only one in the United States dedicated exclusively to literary translation. It brings together between 500-650 professional literary translators, editors, educators, students, publishers, and literary arts professionals to discuss the art, practice, and publication of works of literary translation into English. This year’s program will take place from November 8-11 in Tucson, AZ, and will include panels, roundtables, readings, and special events. This grant also supports ALTA’s Emerging Translator Mentorship Program, which facilitates a close working relationship between an experienced translator and an emerging translator. This year’s program features eight mentees whose work spans the globe.

For more information on other projects included in the NEA grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.