September 2026 Translation News Roundup

Our monthly roundup of literary translation news and opportunities.

The Kenyon Review is accepting translated work. Submissions close September 30 and should be sent to their corresponding genres (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or the appropriate theme or folio). See guidelines and submit here(opens in a new tab).

Applications are open for the 2027 ALTA Emerging Translator Mentorship Program(opens in a new tab). The mentorship is designed to establish and facilitate a close working relationship between an experienced translator and an emerging translator on a project selected by the emerging translator. The deadline is November 30, 2026.

Applications are open for the BCLT Translator-in-Residence, to run from February 1 to May 31, 2027. A stipend of £3,200.00 (~$4,300) is available as compensation for each residency. The deadline to apply is November 2. Learn more(opens in a new tab).

New England Review is assembling a folio on new writing from Japan in English translation, guest edited by Stephen Snyder and Allison Markin Powell. They’re looking for flash fiction, zuihitsu, short essays, and poetry. The deadline is November 30. Find guidelines and submit here(opens in a new tab).

Two Lines Press’s Mending Bodies, written by Hon Lai Chu and translated by Jacqueline Leung, is on the longlist for ALTA’s National Translation Prize in Prose(opens in a new tab). From the judges: “What makes this political allegory stand out is not only the genius way in which Hon Lai Chu alludes to the heaviness of any kind of cohabitation, but also her evocative, symbolism-rich prose. Translator Jacqueline Leung (who, like the author, lives in Hong Kong) flawlessly translates the between-the-lines subtleties of the language.” See the full longlist here(opens in a new tab).

English PEN have announced the winners for PEN Presents: Brazi(opens in a new tab)l(opens in a new tab), the latest round of the program “funding the often-unpaid work of creating samples, giving publishers access to titles from underrepresented languages and regions, and helping diversify the translated literature landscape.” See the winning translators and their projects here(opens in a new tab).

“A memorable exchange regarding the Splendor poems was when we decided on the pronoun ‘it’ for the human being observed from a jellyfish’s perspective,” Eunice Lee reflects on her translations featured in Splendor: Trans Poets(opens in a new tab), alongside Olivia Lasky and Kit Maude. Read the interview in full here.

Leading up to the Day of Translation, we asked our panelists to put together a reading and watching list filled with articles, books, and videos to introduce their panel’s core themes. From articles that discuss the intersections among disability, translation, and language to a documentary about unionizing an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island, panelists share resources that might deepen your experience during or after this year’s event.

“The latest from Two Lines Press is its fourth book by Spain’s acclaimed Navarro, a story collection infused with disquiet and horror, and a compelling vision. As Sarah Rose Etter writes in the collection’s introduction, Navarro ‘has the incredible ability to show us how inside of love lives the potential for the sinister, inside of best intentions can be a terrible act, a new ghost.’ And yet, ‘even when the worst is about to happen,’ the reader is ‘too entranced to look away.’” Blood Is Dripping onto the Courtyard(opens in a new tab) featured in the LA Times Fall Book preview(opens in a new tab), selected by Oscar Villalon.

“Strange and surreal, Swell(opens in a new tab) is a fascinating exploration of the malleability of storytelling. Son Bo-mi is unconstrained by readers’ expectations, co-opting even the legendary Babe Ruth and changing the details of his life for the sake of art, as if to declare that all the world’s a fiction,” Alice Stephens writes in a review of Swell in the Washington Independent Review of Books(opens in a new tab).

Have Something to Share? 

Are you an organization, venue, funder, publication, educational program, residency, or other group that offers opportunities to literary translators? We are always on the lookout for literary translation news and opportunities to share with our audience. Please reach out to our Engagement Editor, Alana Rodrigues(opens in a new tab), via email or message us on Bluesky(opens in a new tab) or Instagram(opens in a new tab) with the information you’d like us to consider sharing. We love to amplify work that supports the wider literary translation community.