American Literary Translators Association

The American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) bridges cultural communication and understanding among countries and languages through the art and craft of literary translation. The only organization in the United States dedicated solely to literary translation, ALTA promotes literary translation through its annual conference, which draws hundreds of translators and literary professionals from around the world; the National Translation Award, an annual $5,000 prize for the best book-length translation into English of a work of fiction, poetry, or literary non-fiction; the Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize, which awards $5,000 each year for the best book-length translation of an Asian work into English; and the ALTA Travel Fellowships, which are $1,000 prizes awarded annually to 4-6 emerging translators for travel to the annual conference.

The American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) was co-founded by Rainer Schulte and A. Leslie Willson in 1978 at The University of Texas at Dallas. ALTA's own scholarly journal, Translation Review, was also founded in 1978 and has been published regularly ever since. The ALTA Annual Conference has convened every year since 1978 in various locations throughout North America. From 1978 until 2014, ALTA was administratively housed at the University of Texas at Dallas. In late 2013, in advance of the upcoming planned split with UT-Dallas, the ALTA board announced long-term plans to develop ALTA into an independent, non-profit arts organization. As of 2014, ALTA is transitioning from its long-time home at UT-Dallas toward a long-term future as a fully self-sustaining organization.

The annual ALTA conference is a four-day gathering of professional literary translators, translation students and scholars, publishers of literature in translation, and others interested in the study, practice, and promotion of literary translation. Conference events include: panel presentations on a wide range of topics related to literary translation; roundtable discussions of issues relevant to literary translators, scholars, and publishers; bilingual readings of recently published translations or translations in progress; and interactive workshops on translating specific texts. In addition, each conference features keynote presentations by invited speakers; readings by the ALTA Fellows; a book exhibit of recently published literature in translation; announcements of the National Translation Award and the Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize; a multilingual performance of poetry recitation known as Declamación; special events such as film screenings or play stagings; and abundant opportunities for connections among translators, students, scholars, and publishers dedicated to fostering literary translation. In recent years, ALTA conference organizers have selected a conference theme to guide panel, workshop, and roundtable proposals in the direction of a broadly defined aspect of literary translation studies. Themes may address geographies, genres, literary elements, or other angles for approaching literary translation theory and practice.

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