September 3, 2024–The American Literary Translators Association is delighted to announce that the 2025 Emerging Translator Mentorship Program submission portals are open!
The ALTA Emerging Translator Mentorship Program is designed to establish and facilitate a close working relationship between an experienced translator and an emerging translator on a project selected by the emerging translator. The mentorship duration is one year. The emerging translator is expected to choose a project that can be completed in that time, and they will only be advised on that particular project. ALTA’s Emerging Translator Mentorship Program was founded by former ALTA Board member Allison M. Charette. Since its inception, the program has supported 71 translators working from 25 languages.
All mentors and mentees meet via video conference at the beginning of their mentorship in February, and continue their work through individual meetings either in person, over Zoom, or by phone. A minimum of six meetings is expected during the first nine months of the mentorship. The mentorship will feature a presentation of the mentee’s work in a reading at the annual ALTA conference in the fall and conclude with the opportunity to submit work to our “First Look” program for possible publication.
For more information, please see our website for details, along with introductions to former mentees and their accomplishments.
The following 18 mentorships are available in 2025:
- Bangla, with mentor Shabnam Nadiya
- Contemporary Literature from Québec, with mentor Madeleine Stratford
- Gujarati, with mentor Jenny Bhatt
- Hindi, with mentor Daisy Rockwell
- Poetry from Hong Kong, with mentor May Huang
- Prose from Hong Kong, with mentor Jennifer Feeley
- Japanese, with mentor Takami Nieda
- Kannada, with mentor Srinath Perur
- Kashmiri, with mentor Kalpana Raina
- Korean poetry, with mentor Jack Jung
- Korean prose, with mentor Janet Hong
- Persian, with mentor poupeh missaghi
- Polish, with mentor Bill Johnston
- Premodern, Classical, or Early Modern Literature from a South Asian language, with mentor Arshia Sattar
- Swedish, with mentor Rachel Willson-Broyles
- Literature from Taiwan, with mentor Lin King
- Telugu, with mentor Afsar Mohammad
- Urdu, with mentor Sana R. Chaudhry
The mentorships are offered by ALTA in partnership with the Literature Translation Institute of Korea, the Mo Habib Prize at the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at the University of Washington, the Polish Cultural Institute New York, Québec Édition, the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Global, the South Asian Literature in Translation (SALT) Project, the Swedish Arts Council, the Taiwan Academy of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles, and the Yanai Initiative.
Applications must be submitted online through our submission platform by November 30, 2024 at 11:59pm PT, and must include:
- CV
- A project proposal of no more than 1,000 words. Projects must be reasonably expected to be completed within the scope of the mentorship. Proposals should include information about the original author and importance of the source text, as well as how the emerging translator would benefit from mentorship.
- A sample translation of 8-10 pages (double-spaced if prose) from the proposed project, along with the corresponding source text IN ONE DOCUMENT.
The program is open to emerging translators at no cost to them. An emerging translator is someone who has published no more than one full-length work of translation. While ALTA’s Mentorship Program is open to all applicants, we especially encourage applications from translators of color, translators with disabilities, LGBTQ+ translators, and those who don’t have an MA, an MFA, or some other equivalent type of training, such as a mentorship from the National Centre for Writing’s Emerging Translator Mentorships (UK). Though English is the target language, the emerging translator need not live in the United States. The selected mentee’s proposed project will be worked on based on availability (applicants are not expected to secure rights for their proposal).
While applicants are encouraged to apply simultaneously to multiple mentorship programs (such as those offered by the National Centre for Writing, LTAC/QWF, etc), please note that successful applicants will only be allowed to pursue one mentorship at a given time. In other words, applicants selected for more than one mentorship will need to choose one to accept. This allows our programs to support the greatest number of emerging translators.
ALTA’s mentees also have the option to take part in our “First Look” program, which allows participating publishers to be the first to read excerpts of the translations mentees have worked on throughout their mentorship, for possible publication. The $1,500 travel stipend covers travel to the ALTA48 conference location and on-site accommodations. ALTA conference registration is also covered for both mentors and mentees. Please note that each of our program funders may have different stipulations regarding travel funding. SALT-funded mentees receive an additional $1,000 travel stipend to attend the 2025 London Book Fair from March 10-12, 2026, contingent upon travel and participation. See our website for more details.
This program is distinct from the ALTA Travel Fellowships. Previous years’ Fellows are welcome to apply for a mentorship. Applicants may apply to both programs in the same year, but only may only receive one award.
The timeline for the Mentorship Program is:
September 3, 2024: Submissions open
November 30, 2024: Submissions close
Late January, 2025: Selected mentees notified
Early February, 2025: Selected mentees announced
Early February, 2025: Mentorship program begins with a virtual meeting
Fall 2025: Mentorship program reading at ALTA’s 48th annual conference (held November 5-8, 2025, in Tucson, AZ)
December 2025-January 2026: First Look Program
Please see our mentorship FAQ for answers to common questions about the program, and direct any additional questions to ALTA Program Director Kelsi Vanada at kelsi@literarytranslators.org.
