Exploring the artistic and social impact of literary translation is at the heart of the National Centre for Writing’s mission. We work to contribute to the diversity of literature in English translation and encourage new readers for books in translation.

We work with early-career and established literary translators, recognising them as creative writers in their own right. We aim to reduce barriers to access to the literary translation profession for those currently less represented. We have a developing focus on diaspora and heritage languages through our Visible Communities programme.

We have a partnership with Strangers Press, an imprint of the UEA Publishing Project, publishing short story chapbooks in translation, including Keshiki (Japan), Yeoyu (Korea) and Verzet (the Netherlands).

We work with our partners to offer a range of opportunities for literary translators at different stages in their career.

Want to become a literary translator? Check out our tips for getting started. An excellent source of support for literary translators in the early stages of their career is the Emerging Translators Network.

Early career literary translators or translators wanting to move over to literary translation may be interested in applying to the British Centre for Literary Translation’s International Creative Writing and Literary Translation Summer School.

Emerging translators wanting the support and advice of a mentor to help them move to the next stage in their career could check out NCW’s Emerging Translators Mentoring Scheme.

Our Visible Communities programme offers professional development support for Black, Asian and Ethnically Diverse literary translators based in the UK, from summer school bursaries to mentorships to residencies, both in person and virtual.

The Translators Association (TA) provides a source of expert advice for individual literary translators and is also a collective voice representing the profession as a whole.

We work with English PEN to promote events around International Translation Day every year. We work with the London Book Fair and other partners to co-programme the seminar programme for the Literary Translation Centre at London Book Fair, exploring different aspects of the literary translation profession.

Check out our resources section for more information about these and other translation-focused organisations in the UK.