Founded in 2010 by translator, writer, and editor Daniel Hahn, the Emerging Translator Mentorships programme pairs early-career translators with experienced mentors for six months of focused development, spotlighting under-represented languages in literary translation.
We have now passed the milestone of 15 years, and, like all teenagers, our mentorship scheme is more energetic and determined than ever!
The National Centre for Writing (NCW) has announced the language offerings for its 2025–26 Emerging Translator Mentorships, including an exciting new strand focused on the Languages of India, launched in partnership with the Charles Wallace India Trust.
Now in its sixteenth year, the programme supports the professional development of emerging literary translators working into English, particularly from languages that are currently under-represented in English-language publishing.
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.
All mentorships are open to translators based anywhere in the world, except for the Languages of India mentorship, which is available only to those based in India.
2025 also marks the second year of a partnership between the Emerging Translator Mentorships and South Asian Literature in Translation (SALT), a mentorship programme for South Asian literary translators hosted by American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) in the U.S. Mentees from both programmes will participate in industry insight sessions, provide peer support, and help grow a vibrant international network of emerging translation talent.
I’ve been back home for a few months now, but I still find myself feeling incredibly grateful for having been part of the mentorship program. Everything I experienced and learned truly feels like a gift that keeps on giving—so much of what was shared by the more experienced translators continues to resonate and sink in. The more it sinks in, the more I admire and appreciate all the work the NCW team put into organizing it.
Founded in 2010 by translator, writer, and editor Daniel Hahn, the Emerging Translator Mentorships programme pairs early-career translators with experienced mentors for six months of focused development. Mentees work on a practical translation project, receive a £800 stipend, and one year’s membership to The Society of Authors/Translators Association, and participate in training weekends, publishing industry events (including International Translation Day and London Book Fair), and a final digital showcase with anthology publication.
To date, the programme has supported 140 translators working from 37 different languages. Alumni have gone on to win major awards and feature on prominent prize lists. Notable successes include Nichola Smalley, who was twice longlisted for the International Booker Prize and whose translation of Wretchedness by Andrzej Tichý won the 2021 Oxford-Weidenfeld Prize; Reuben Woolley, whose translation of Jimi Hendrix Live in Lviv by Andrey Kurkov was also longlisted for the International Booker Prize; and Sophie Hughes, shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in both 2019 and 2020 for her translations of The Remainder by Alia Trabucco Zerán and Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor. She will serve as a judge for the 2026 Prize.
The Emerging Translator Mentorships are free to enter and open to emerging translators who meet the eligibility criteria. The application deadline is 11:59pm BST on Sunday 31 August 2025.
The 2025–26 programme is generously supported by Arts Council England, Charles Wallace India Trust, FarLit, Flanders Literature, the Literary Translation Institute of Korea, Lithuanian Culture Institute, the Polish Cultural Institute, the Royal Norwegian Embassy in London, SALT, the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, and the Society of Authors.
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