Through Visible Communities, National Centre for Writing is offering a range of professional development opportunities to UK-based Black, Asian and Ethnically Diverse literary translators, and literary translators working from heritage, diaspora and community languages.
Our Visible Communities programme aims to:
- Diversify access routes to literary translation
- Strengthen links between the literary translation community and diaspora communities in the UK
- Contribute to the debate around decolonising literary translation
- Expand the range of literature published in translation
Call for applications: Visible Communities Residencies 2026
The National Centre for Writing is seeking three UK-based literary translators to join our 2026 Visible Communities programme as virtual residents. In addition, we are offering two short in-person residencies in Norwich as part of the same programme.
Deadline: Mon 13 October 2025.
Residencies
The Visible Communities programme encompasses in-person and virtual residencies for UK-based Black, Asian and Ethnically Diverse literary translators. We work with a wide range of partners and funders to support our residencies and exchanges.
Translation as Archive
Tasting Translation
Voices of Africa: Multilingualism in African Theatre
Violent Phenomena
Translation as Witness
Out in the World
Translation as a Creative Act
Who is This Mythical English Reader?
Imposter Syndrome
Translating Arab graphic novels
This is my ******* country! Bad language and good living in the UK
Commissions & resources
Podcasts with translators in residence
Guides to Norwich UNESCO City of Literature by translators in residence
Articles by translators in residence
‘A Conversation with George Szirtes in Norwich’ by Csilla Toldy
‘Within the Shadow’s Reach’ by Phương Anh
‘Do People Really Talk Like This?’ by JC Niala
Elhum Shakerifar: #ShareTheLight
Sawad Hussain: Catalogue of a Private Life
Five tips for pitching to publishers
Shash Trevett: Translating Sri Lankan Tamil Poetry
Vineet Lal: Emerging Translator Mentorships ten years on
Decolonising translation: a report by Coco Mbassi
Vanilla Sorbet: a commission by Nadiyah Abdullatif
Bubble Said the (Melting) Pot by Shagufta Sharmeen Tania
Lydia Hounat’s Notes on the Azrar
Top tips for navigating rejection and success as a literary translator
The Many-Tongued Rabble by Rabi Thapa
Publications
Violent Phenomena: 21 Essays on Translation
Published by Tilted Axis Press
Edited by Dr. Kavita Bhanot and Jeremy Tiang
Frantz Fanon wrote in 1961 that ‘Decolonisation is always a violent phenomenon,’ meaning that the violence of colonialism can only be counteracted in kind. As colonial legacies linger today, what are the ways in which we can disentangle literary translation from its roots in imperial violence? 21 writers and translators from across the world share their ideas and practices for disrupting and decolonising translation.
Contributors including Khairani Barokka, Anton Hur, Monchoachi (tr. Eric Fishman), Layla Benitez-James, Eluned Gramich, Hamid Roslan, Lúcia Collischonn, Sawad Hussain, Aaron Robertson, Elisa Taber, Tiffany Tsao, Yogesh Maitreya, Shushan Avagyan, Onaiza Drabu, Sofia Rehman, Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi, and Sandra Tamele.
Supported by the Jan Michalski Foundation as part of Visible Communities.
Watch ‘Meet the World: Violent Phenomena’, a talk exploring the themes of the publications, here.
Our partners
The Translators Association and the Society of Authors have published a statement on racial equality in literary translation, with recommended reading and a list of initiatives aimed at inclusion and equitable access to literary translation and publishing.
We would like to thank Arts Council England for supporting the Visible Communities programme, the British Centre for Literary Translation for collaboration on the BCLT Summer School, the Stephen Spender Trust for Multilingual Creators, the Francis W Reckitt Arts Trust for supporting past and present residencies at Dragon Hall, and the Jan Michalski Foundation for their support of Violent Phenomena: 21 Essays on Translation and our virtual residencies, 2021-2023.
