The National Centre for Writing is seeking applications from translators into English for the 2026/27 Emerging Translator Mentorship programme. The language strands and mentors for this year are announced below.
Celebrating its seventeenth anniversary in 2026, 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.
About the programme
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 evidence to date suggests that participation in the scheme represents, in itself, a significant professional development for mentees, with publishers seeing the mentoring cohort as a reliable source of high-quality emerging translators.
Literary translation is often a lonely endeavour, and the world of publishing can seem opaque from the outside. I know how valuable a helping hand can be at the start of this journey, and I’m excited to provide an emerging translator with the support they need to bring more literature from Taiwan into the English-speaking world.
This year’s languages and strands are:
- Danish (mentored by Paul Russell Garrett)
- Dutch (mentored by Jonathan Reeder)
- Italian (mentored by Elena Pala)
- Korean (mentored by Clare Richards)
- Norwegian (mentored by Rosie Hedger)
- Polish (mentored by Sean Gasper Bye)
- Swiss German (mentored by Jamie Lee Searle)
- Literature from Taiwan (mentored by Jeremy Tiang)
- Languages of India (mentored by Mohini Gupta); this mentorship is open to India-based translators only, who have not received any grant from the Charles Wallace India Trust in the last 5 years and who must attend London Book Fair as part of the mentorship (NCW and the Charles Wallace India Trust will be on hand for visa applications).
The deadline for receipt of entries is 11.59pm BST, Monday 24 August 2026.
If confidence is half the battle, then the ETM has given me a sword and a shield. A year ago, I blushed every time I said I was a translator, but now the title finally feels accurate. Not only did I learn more about the craft and ethics of translating through the ETM, but my mentor, Jonathan Reeder, opened his network up to me in a way that advanced my career by years. From meetings with funding agencies to coffees with fellow translators, Jonathan has put a foot in the door for me time and time again, helping me take my practice away from my desk and out into the real world. Through this experience, I’ve become a better translator and writer, and above all else, a better advocate for my work.
Supported by Arts Council England, the Danish Arts Foundation, the Instituto Italiano di Cultura in London, ProHelvetia, the Charles Wallace India Trust, LTI Korea, the Royal Norwegian Embassy in London, NORLA, the Polish Cultural Institute, the National Museum for Taiwan Literature, SALT and the Society of Authors.
You may also like...
Four essential insights from London Book Fair 2026
Marketing & Communications Assistant, Meg, shares four key takeaways currently shaping the UK publishing landscape.
23rd March 2026
Eight emerging literary translators join our international mentorships programme 2025/26
This year’s mentorships will cover a range of languages, including Faroese, Lithuanian, Dutch from Flanders, and Marathi.
30th September 2025