For the past 44 years, ALTA has brought the literary translation community together once a year for an exciting conference weekend, the largest gathering of literary translators held in the United States. Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we have been able to adapt over the past two years thanks to your support, bringing you a completely virtual conference in 2020 and a joint virtual and in-person conference in Tucson, AZ in 2021. 

This year, after considering the ever-evolving pandemic, attendance at our last two conferences, and survey feedback from ALTA members, ALTA’s Board and staff are bringing you something new: rather than a conference, we will be providing you with an exciting year-round series of virtual programming from ALTA. The theme for ALTA’s 45th year is “Value(s).”

This is, of course, not simply change for change’s sake. We value transparency as an organization: the truth is that ALTA cannot financially sustain an in-person conference with attendance numbers similar to last year’s–not to mention ongoing uncertainty in regard to the safety of travel and meeting in person. We know that some of you will feel disappointed at the prospect of not gathering together in person this fall–we feel that too. But we are delighted to connect with you virtually throughout 2022, and we anticipate that the in-person conference you know and love will return to our hometown of Tucson, AZ in fall 2023. 

This change may come as a surprise to some in our community, but we are looking forward to offering programming throughout the year and connecting with you in a more sustained way, a wish that many of our members have long expressed. We will also be rolling out some exciting new membership benefits! 

Some of the things you can look forward to in 2022, starting next month, include: 

• Monthly Bilingual Readings, paired with an informal social hour for networking
• Bimonthly panels and roundtables on literary translation topics
• Multilingual translation workshops led by experienced translators held twice a year, in April and in August
• Pitch sessions with editors from some of your favorite translation presses, held twice a year in May and in September
• An in-person event in Tucson in the fall, with more details TBA

We’re excited to kick off this year-long series of programming right away: starting today, you can sign up for the first round of Bilingual Readings and multilingual translation workshops, both of which will take place at the end of April. Access tickets to our virtual events on our Eventbrite page. And next month we’ll open the call for sessions, where you can begin submitting proposals for panels and roundtables. In the meantime, you can read more about this year’s theme of “Value(s)” here. Subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to hear about these opportunities, and if you aren’t already, become an ALTA member! 

ALTA members receive a 20% discount off all events, and will have priority selection for this year’s programming. Only ALTA members may propose panels and roundtables. And our ever-popular pitch sessions with translation publishers will be available only to current ALTA members–at no extra charge!

Every year, we continue to be impressed with the passion, engagement, and perseverance of the ALTA community. As always, we look forward to working to uplift the hard work of literary translators and providing a space to foster professional development and mutual support. 

Please consult our website for conference updates, including information about tickets, which are on sale now. Note that we offer an All-Access Registration if you want access to all the programming throughout the year, as well as a new option to purchase single event tickets. Multilingual workshops are priced separately, and spring pitch session signups (free for and exclusive to ALTA members) will be announced soon. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@literarytranslators.org with any questions. 

Sincerely yours,
The ALTA Board and staff