February 2026 News Roundup

Words Without Borders(opens in a new tab) announces Fourth Annual Momentum Grant for Early-Career Translators. Applications are due by February 28, 2026.

New n+1 translation column by Bela Shayevich(opens in a new tab) featuring reviews, previews, puzzles, and more!

Open call for Art Omi: Writers Translation Lab(opens in a new tab) — a 12-day special, intensive residency for five collaborating writer-translator teams in the fall of 2026. The application deadline is March 20, 2026.

Wasafiri Magazine invites proposals from translators specializing in translating from an endangered language(opens in a new tab) from anywhere in the world into English, in any genre for a UK-based Translator in Residence. The submission deadline is February 15, 2026.

International Mother Language Day 2026(opens in a new tab) – Every year, on 21st February Manchester City of Literature recognizes and celebrates multilingual population for UNESCO’s International Mother Language Day. Check their list of events(opens in a new tab) here.

National Book Critics Circle announces Finalists(opens in a new tab) for the Gregg Barrios Book in Translation Prize.

PEN America announces finalists for the 2026 Literary Awards(opens in a new tab). Check the list for Poetry in Translation and book-length translation of prose. The ceremony will be held on March 31, 2026.

English PEN has announced the latest winners of their PEN Translates award(opens in a new tab). Among the recognized titles are Eating Ashes by Brenda Navarro, translated from Spanish by Megan McDowell, and Adrift in the South by Xiao Hai, translated from Chinese by Tony Hao.

White Nights by Urszula Honek, translated from Polish by Kate Webster, listed in Electric Lit’s Winter/Spring translation roundup(opens in a new tab). “Whether suffering through poverty or facing violence, the characters are connected by the overwhelming sense of futility that they all feel. And yet, in the midst of it all, White Nights is also about the hope that keeps us going.”

Interview with Hiromitsu Koiso on Translating Anne Carson and Teju Cole into Japanese on the Asymtote’s website(opens in a new tab). “Translating poems allowed me to engage with the richness of the genre. That experience made me want to devote myself to translating poetry.”