Applications are now open for the National Centre for Writing (NCW) Emerging Translator Mentorship Programme 2026/27.

If you are an aspiring translator looking to translate literature into English, this free six-month program matches you with an acclaimed mentor to develop your craft, master the business of translation, and connect directly with publishers.

Deadline: Monday 24 August 2026 at 11.59pm BST
Programme Dates: October 2026 – March 2027

This year’s languages and strands are:

• Danish (mentored by Paul Russell Garrett)

• Dutch (mentored by Jonathan Reeder)

• Italian (mentored by Elena Pala)

• Korean (mentored by Clare Richards)

• Norwegian (mentored by Rosie Hedger)

• Polish (mentored by Sean Gasper Bye)

• Swiss German (mentored by Jamie Lee Searle)

• Literature from Taiwan (mentored by Jeremy Tiang)

• 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 agree to attend London Book Fair as part of the mentorship.

About the programme:

Celebrating its seventeenth anniversary in 2026, the Emerging Translator Mentorship programme was founded by Daniel Hahn in 2010 with the aim of developing successive new cohorts of literary translators into English, particularly for languages whose literature is currently under-represented in English translation.

The scheme matches up experienced translators with emerging translators for a six-month period during which they work together on practical translation projects, developing their craft through working on a chosen text or texts. The mentor acts as an adviser to the mentee on aspects of life as a professional translator, such as time management, meeting deadlines, managing finances and understanding contracts, and as an advocate for their mentee with publishers in search of literary translators. The evidence to date suggests that participation in the scheme represents, in itself, a significant professional development for mentees, with publishers seeing the mentoring cohort as a reliable source of high-quality emerging translators.

What you will receive:

Mentees receive a £800 stipend to cover expenses associated with the mentorship, plus £300 to support expenses associated with attending London Book Fair, if the mentee attends. The Dutch, Norwegian, Literature from Taiwan and Languages of India mentorships include further uplifts to cover travel expenses to and within the UK to attend London Book Fair and facilitate in-person meet-ups.

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 and the Assembly of Literary Translators. The mentees’ work will also be celebrated in a concluding digital showcase and anthology launch with samples of the mentees’ translations to further amplify the translators’ 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 for six months, from October 2026 to March 2027, including in-person meetings during London Book Fair between 15-18 March 2027, and a final showcase on 30 March 2027. During the mentorship, 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).

Please also check the FAQ section on the website for advice on the eligibility of projects for the Literature from Taiwan and other mentorships.

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

How to apply

Applications should be uploaded via a Google Form here. Please note, you will need a Google account (which can be created easily and linked to a non-Google email address) to upload your application documents.

If uploading your application is inconvenient or inaccessible for you, or you require assistance to make the application process more accessible for you, please email translation@nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk with the subject “ETM 26/27” and the language or mentorship strand for which you are applying. Queries can also be sent to the email address above.

The deadline for receipt of entries is 11.59pm BST, Monday, 24 August 2026.

Your application must include the following: 

• A covering letter stating why you believe you would benefit from a mentorship, and what you can bring to the mentor and mentorship 
• Your CV: with a focus on your translation work and experience 
• A one-page sample book proposal: this should demonstrate your understanding of the text, author and source culture, but also of the English language market for the translation and its target readership 
• A sample translation of up to 2,000 words of prose or up to 100 lines poetry or dramatic text: this is ideally taken from your sample book project, but can also be a different text or texts 
• The source text that corresponds to your sample translation 
• Please also complete the brief survey on equality, diversity and inclusion, which is included in the Google Forms link above. For each question, there is an option to select ‘Prefer not to say’ and all answers will be treated 
• Please note: you MUST NOT use artificial intelligence (“AI”) for any part of your application, including the sample translation. The use of AI tools in your application will render it ineligible.  

Applications will be assessed by the relevant mentor. Their assessment will be based on the following criteria: 

• strength of the sample proposal: how well the applicant demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of the text, author, language and possible issues; how original and relevant the text and author are for a translation project into English; the applicant’s awareness of the source language market, and target language market and audience in English 
• strength of the translation: the applicant’s technical competence in handling the grammatical, syntactical and stylistic features of the source text; how well written, creative and enjoyable the translation is; and 
• the mentor’s own suitability to best support an applicant

Successful applicants will be informed by Monday 14 September 2026.

All information can be found here: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/get-involved/translators/etm/

Application details here: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/get-involved/translators/etm/apply/