Deadline: 26th August 2024, 11:59pm

The National Centre for Writing is seeking applications from translators into English for the 2024/25 Emerging Translator Mentorship programme. The deadline for applications is 11.59pm on Monday 26 August 2024.

This year’s mentorship strands are:

• Arabic (mentored by Sawad Hussain)
• Faroese (mentored by Marita Thomsen)
• Italian (mentored by Elena Pala)
• Japanese (mentored by Polly Barton)
• Korean (mentored by Clare Richards)
• Lithuanian (mentored by Kotryna Garanasvili)
• Polish (mentored by Sean Gasper Bye)
• Languages of Singapore (mentored by Jeremy Tiang); this mentorship is open to literary translators working from either or various of the languages of Singapore (Malay, Singaporean Mandarin, Tamil, Kristang or other minority languages) into English. This mentorship is open to all, but preference will be given to literary translators who are Singaporean Citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents, regardless of their actual place of residence.
• Mentorship for a chronically ill translator (mentored by Annie Rutherford); this mentorship is open to UK-based literary translators who identify as chronically ill working from any language into English

What selected mentees will receive

Mentees receive six months of personal mentoring with a mentor in their language or field. They will also be awarded a £800 stipend to cover expenses associated with the mentorship, such as travel. The mentorship will include various online industry events with tailored training events and talks, a feature at International Translation Day and attendance of London Book Fair with a networking day the day before LBF in either Norwich or London. The mentees’ work will also be celebrated in a concluding digital showcase, when a print and digital anthology with samples of the mentees’ translations will be published, to further amplify the translators’ work.

National Centre for Writing will facilitate an initial planning meeting between successful applicants and their mentors to agree on the scope of their project and how they will work together. The mentoring period lasts for six months, from October 2024 to March 2025, including an in-person meeting in Norwich and London from 10-13 March 2025. During this time, the mentoring pair will meet at least four times, either in person, digitally or by phone as appropriate and agreed between them. In between meetings, they will exchange work and comments via email.

Who can apply?

The programme 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 literary 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 programme.

Though English is the target language, the emerging translator need not live in the UK (with the exception of the mentorship for chronically ill translators).

We particularly welcome applications for all mentorships from those groups which are currently under-represented in the literary translation community.

To find out more and read How to Apply, here:

Apply now | National Centre for Writing | NCW

The Emerging Translator Mentorship Programme is supported by the Polish Cultural Institute in London.