Building Our Future

On Friday, there will be an official opening session for the Building Our Future Workshop, and afterward, poupeh missaghi will lead the first workshop from 12:00-2:00pm. The workshop will be followed by a short break and then a business talk at 2:30pm led by Anni Liu, who will offer an introduction to a career in literary translation for about one hour.

On Saturday, Sawad Hussain will lead the second workshop from 12:00-2:00pm. The second workshop will be followed by a virtual happy hour with the opportunity to mingle and chat with fellow translators, workshop leaders, and representatives from the American Literary Translators Association and the Equity Advocates Committee.

Please note that the two translation workshops are designed to workshop the short samples submitted by each student when they apply. Each workshop leader will be workshopping half the number of the students in each session, then the rest of the workshop will be generative sessions.

To apply, please submit a 1-page literary translation sample (non-genre-specific) with a format of standard 12-point font Times New Roman, double-spaced, 1-inch margins, from any language into English and a 1-page personal statement, standard 12-point font, Times New Roman, double-spaced, 1-inch margins, as attachments in an email to Requires JavaScript.

• For the 1-page literary translation sample, please do not send more than 1 page of double-spaced translation. For poetry, we leave formatting up to you, as that will likely be determined by the formatting of the original poem(s). However, if you’re unsure about the formatting, feel free to double-space them and use a serif 12-point font such as Times New Roman.

• For the 1-page personal statement: The guiding question for evaluating applications is “Which applicant would benefit most from the Building Our Future Translation Workshop program?” Applications will be assessed based on the demonstrated literary merit/potential of the sample translation, in addition to the stated program eligibility requirements.

• We strive for inclusivity and diversity in our applicants. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds, regardless of ethnicity, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, ability, status, educational level or professional experience, including those with prior training or experience in non-literary translation. Applicants must identify as BIPOC to apply, and Building Our Future Translation Workshops especially encourage applications from translators with disabilities and LGBTQ+ translators, as well as applications from folks who have not had access to traditional creative writing publishing opportunities or institutional spaces (e.g., MFA programs), have never published a translation, have only very recently started translating, or have never tried literary translation but read/speak a non-English language.

• This workshop is exclusively for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) translators. If you are not BIPOC, we kindly ask that you cede space to your BIPOC colleagues.

• Applications will be accepted until Monday, July 15. Applicants will be notified of decisions by Monday, July 21.

Please only apply if you will be able to attend both the Friday and Saturday sessions.