Deadline: 31st August 2025, 11:59pm

Applications for the 2025–2026 ETM programme are open!

The 2025–26 languages are:

• Arabic (mentored by Sawad Hussain)
• Faroese (mentored by Marita Thomsen)
• Dutch from Flanders (mentored by Jonathan Reeder)
• Korean (mentored by Clare Richards)
• Lithuanian (mentored by Kotryna Garanasvili)
• Norwegian (mentored by Rosie Hedger)
• Polish (mentored by Sean Gasper Bye)
• Languages of India (mentored by Mohini Gupta); this mentorship is open to India-based translators only, who have not received a Charles Wallace India Trust fellowship in the last five years and who agree to attend London Book Fair as part of the mentorship.

All mentorships are open to translators based anywhere in the world, except for the Languages of India mentorship, which is available only to those based in India.

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 an £800 stipend to cover expenses associated with the mentorship, such as travel, with an uplift of up to £300 if the mentee attends London Book Fair.  (Mentees selected onto the Arabic, Dutch from Flanders and the Languages of India strands will receive additional financial support for travel).

The mentorship will include various online industry events with tailored training and talks, a feature at International Translation Day and attendance of London Book Fair with a networking day 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 their work.  In addition, mentees are offered one year’s membership of the Society of Authors/Translators Association.

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 from October 2025 to March 2026, including an in-person meeting in Norwich or London from 9-12 March 2026. During this time, the mentoring pair will meet at least four times, either in person, by virtual media 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. Please note additional eligibility criteria for some mentorships, however:

• Languages of India (mentored by Mohini Gupta); this mentorship is open to India-based translators only, who have not received a Charles Wallace India Trust fellowship in the last 5 years and who must attend London Book Fair as part of the mentorship (NCW and the Charles Wallace India Trust will be on hand for visa applications).

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, click here:

Apply for a translator mentorship | National Centre for Writing | NCW

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