Signing Up

ALTA holds two rounds of workshops per year, in the spring (April) and summer (August). Slots fill quickly! In order to receive notice of registration dates, make sure to sign up for our newsletter.

summer 2024 workshop signups open May 30! 

While workshops are open to all, ALTA members receive 20% off of all tickets following these steps with the member promo code:

• Members should input the code above the list of tickets, in the box that says Promo Code.
• Click "Apply" to see the price change.
• If you need the code, please search your email for "ALTA member promo code" or write to info@literarytranslators.org.

What to Expect 

Once you register for a workshop, you will receive a confirmation email with the following links:

• Link to upload your one-page workshop text (with corresponding source text) to Dropbox
• Link to view your fellow participants' work prior to the workshop
• Link to join your workshop in Zoom at the appointed day/time

After attending the workshop:

• You will have the opportunity to share feedback in a survey, linked in a separate email. We look forward to hearing from you!

To ensure the best experience, we request workshop participants make the following commitments:

• Please submit a short translation text of yours and its corresponding original source text by the deadline in your confirmation email. Please limit your translation submission to one page. If you submit a longer text, the workshop leaders will only read and comment on the first page. Also, please be aware that if you submit your text after the deadline, your workshop leader may not be able to comment on your text before the workshop. However, you are still welcome to attend the workshop. When you register for a workshop, a link to submit your texts will be sent to you in your Eventbrite confirmation email.
• Please read your peers’ work and be ready to comment on it before your workshop starts (you are not required to give the translator written comments, however). In order to give your workshop leader and fellow participants enough time to read everyone's work prior to the workshop, please be sure to submit your work on time.
• When you submit your translation, you are encouraged to include one paragraph of context summary in the same document. (This does not count against your one-page limit on your translation.) This should be simply a few words about the author and the text, and why you chose this piece.
• Email addresses for the 6 participants in your workshop will be shared with the group in advance of the workshop so that you may contact each other if you like. If you would prefer your email address NOT be shared with your fellow participants, please email ALTA at info@literarytranslators.org to opt out.
• Workshop participants agree to abide by and uphold ALTA's Terms and Conditions and Code of Conduct.
• Please note: all workshops will be captioned using Zoom's automatic transcription feature.

Building Our Future: A Weekend of Virtual Workshops for Emerging BIPOC Translators 

Building Our Future: A Weekend of Virtual Workshops for Emerging BIPOC Translators (Saturday, August 24 & Sunday, August 25, from 9am-12pm PST) is a free, weekend-long, virtual program meant to empower literary translators of color as they begin to navigate the field and to strengthen the relationships between ALTA and other literary arts organizations that serve BIPOC communities. The event invites 6-8 new and emerging BIPOC literary translators to take part in two generative, non-language-specific workshops, to attend a business talk with a literary professional, and to end the weekend with community building at a virtual happy hour. 

On Saturday, Layla Benitez-James will lead the first workshop from 9 to 11 AM. The workshop will be followed by a short break and then a business talk at 11 AM led by Mayada Ibrahim, who will offer an introduction to a career in literary translation.

On Sunday, Candice Whitney will lead the second workshop from 9 to 11 AM. The 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.

How to Apply

To apply, please submit a 1-page literary translation sample (non-genre-specific) from any language into English and a 1-page personal statement as attachments in an email to equity@literarytranslators.org. 

• For the 1-page literary translation sample, please use a standard, legible 12-point font. Please double-space your translation work if it is prose. 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 never published a translation, or 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. Translators who have little or no prior experience with literary translation are encouraged to apply. Applicants will be notified of decisions by Monday, July 22.

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

See below for more information on the translators and organizations involved. 

Bios

Layla Benitez-James is the author of God Suspected My Heart Was a Geode, but He Had to Make Sure, winner of Cave Canem’s 2017 Toi Derricotte & Cornelius Eady Chapbook Prize. A 2022 NEA fellow in translation and a 2022/23 National Book Critics Circle Fellow, her writing and translations have appeared in Poetry Magazine, Black Femme Collective, World Literature Today, Virginia Quarterly Review, and Copper Nickel, among others. Layla is currently an editor at Apartamento Magazine in Barcelona.

Candice Whitney is a writer, leadership coach, and international education professional based in the New York City area. As a Fulbright Scholar to Italy in 2016–17, she wrote about African women's entrepreneurship, racial politics, and privilege. She received her BA in anthropology and Italian from Mount Holyoke College.

Mayada Ibrahim is a literary translator based in Queens, New York, with roots in Khartoum and London. She works between Arabic and English. Her translations have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and published by Willows House in South Sudan, Archipelago Books, Dolce Stil Criollo, and 128 Lit. She is the managing editor at Tilted Axis Press.