Grace Ting will translate the novel “Island Where the Red Spider Lilies Bloom” into English as part of the program. (photo courtesy of the Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles)

The Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles, in collaboration with the American Literary Translators Association, also known as ALTA, has announced Grace Ting as recipient of the 2026 “Literature from Taiwan” Emerging Translator Mentorship Program.

Ting will receive nine months of professional mentorship from acclaimed translator Lin King to undertake the English translation of “Island Where the Red Spider Lilies Bloom (Higanbana ga Saku Shima),” the Akutagawa Prize-winning novel by Taiwan-born, Japan-based author Li Kotomi. Originally written in Japanese, the novel made history as the first work by a Taiwanese author to win the prestigious prize, and was later translated into Chinese by the author.

Ting, a Taiwanese American scholar specializing in gender studies, has extensive expertise in Japanese literature, queer theory and feminism. Fluent in English, Chinese and Japanese, she is currently pursuing advanced studies in literature, translation and creative writing. Her journey with Li Kotomi’s work began through academic and creative intersections. Set on a fictional island, the story features three distinct invented languages that reflect the story’s gender politics. Translating such a complex linguistic landscape requires immense imagination and creativity. Li’s Chinese translation will serve as a vital reference text for the English interpretation.

Mentor Lin King, a distinguished voice in the new generation of Mandarin-to-English literary translators, received the PEN America Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers. Her translations include “The Boy from Clearwater” and “Taiwan Travelogue.” The latter won the National Book Award for Translated Literature in late 2024 and the ALTA First Translation Prize in 2025.

ALTA is dedicated to promoting literary translation. Since 2020, the Taiwan Academy has partnered with ALTA to mentor emerging translators such as Jenna Tang, a collaboration that previously facilitated the publication of the English edition of Fang Si-Chi’s “First Love Paradise.” Translators play a critical role in bringing Taiwanese literature to the global stage, as every translation is a creative reimagining across languages. The results of the mentorship will be presented at the ALTA annual conference this fall.

For information, visit la.us.taiwan.culture.tw and literarytranslators.org.