Short Description
Celebrating its sixteenth anniversary in 2025, 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 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.
Eligibility
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 the 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 that are currently underrepresented in the literary translation community.
Submission Requirements
- A one-page 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 (no more than three pages)
- 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 of 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.
How to Apply
Online Application
Program Benefits & Awards
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.
Entry Fee
None
Location
United Kingdom
Timeline
- Application Deadline: 31 August 2025
Website Link: https://nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/get-involved/translators/etm/apply/
