Meet the Future of Literary Translation!
ICI London is delighted to support this initiative by the National Centre of Writing (NCW) for emerging translators.
Founded by Daniel Hahn in 2010, NCW’s translation mentoring programme aims to develop successive new cohorts of literary translators into English, particularly for languages whose literature is currently under-represented in English translation.
The Emerging Translator Mentorships scheme matches 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 mentor will be a professional literary translator but may not translate from the language supported in the mentorship.
This year’s languages and strands are:
- Danish (mentored by Paul Russell Garrett, funded by Danish Arts Foundation);
- Dutch (mentored by Jonathan Reeder, part of New Dutch Writing, supported by the Dutch Foundation for Literature);
- Italian (mentored by Elena Pala, funded by funded by the Italian Cultural Institute in London);
- Korean (mentored by Clare Richards, funded by LTI Korea);
- Norwegian (mentored by Rosie Hedger, funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy and NORLA);
- Polish (mentored by Sean Gasper Bye, funded by the Polish Cultural Institute);
- Swiss German (mentored by Jamie Lee Searle, funded by ProHelvetia);
- Literature from Taiwan (mentored by Jeremy Tiang, funded by the National Museum of Taiwan Literature);
- Languages of India (mentored by Mohini Gupta, funded by CWIT); this mentorship is open to India-based translators only, who have not received any grant from the Charles Wallace India Trust 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).
Applications for the Emerging Translator Mentorships 2026/27 are now open – APPLY HERE
The DEADLINE for receipt of entries is 11.59pm BST, Monday, 24 August 2026.
To receive more information about the programme and know how to apply, please click on this link.
GOOD LUCK!
National Centre for Writing (NCW) is a contemporary literature house in the heart of England’s first UNESCO City of Literature, committed to the transformative power of stories for personal, social, and community development.
