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By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Deadline for Application: May 31
Applications are being accepted by the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) for its Emerging Translator Mentorship.
The program, now in its third year, according to media materials, “is designed to facilitate and establish a close working relationship between an experienced translator and an emerging translator on a project selected by the emerging translator.” A mentorship is expected to last one year and focus on a book-length project, beginning when the mentor and mentee have an initial meeting at ALTA’s 40th anniversary conference in Minneapolis (October 5-8).
A mentor and mentee’s work together will end with a reading during National Translation Month and magazine editors have agreed to review submissions directly from mentees at the end of their year of work, organizers say.
The award provides the mentorship to emerging translators free of charge, including travel to the ALTA conference.
Language-specific mentorships are available in:
- Catalan, with mentor Mara Faye Lethem
- Korean prose, with mentor Sora Kim-Russell
- Korean poetry, with mentor Don Mee Choi
- Russian, with mentor Marian Schwartz
There also are two non-language-specific mentorships offered, one in poetry with mentor Bill Johnston and one in prose with mentor Steven Bradbury.
In a press statement, eligibility is defined this way: “An emerging translator is someone who has published no more than one full length work of translation. MFA and MA students in translation can apply, but priority may be given to those who do not have access to the kind of guidance already present in a translation degree program. 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).”
Two application forms are to be used.
- For 2017–2018 language-specific mentorship applications, use this form.
- For 2017–2018 non-language-specific mentorship applications, use this form.
The language-specific mentorships are being offered in partnership with the Institut Ramon Llull, the Literary Translation Institute of Korea, and the Russian Federation Institute of Literary Translation.
The non-language-specific mentorships are being offered in partnership between ALTA and AmazonCrossing and the Amazon Literary Partnership.