Natascha Bruce will serve as the 2027 mentor for the ALTA Literature from Taiwan Mentorship Program. (photo courtesy of ALTA)

To strengthen support for Taiwanese literature and nurture literary translation talent, the Taiwan Academy of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles is partnering with the American Literary Translators Association to offer the 2027 ALTA Emerging Translator Mentorship in Literature from Taiwan. Applications are open through Nov. 30. The program is open to emerging translators who have not yet published a full-length literary translation.

The 2027 Literature from Taiwan mentorship will be led by Natascha Bruce, winner of an English PEN award for her translation of “Lake Like a Mirror.” Bruce has extensive cross-cultural expertise and previously translated screenplays for Taiwanese films. Her mentorship will guide the selected mentee through text translation strategies, pitch preparation and copyright negotiation to help bring Taiwanese literature to international readers. The mentorship program will begin in February 2027, with nine months of professional guidance. The mentee will present their work-in-progress at the ALTA50 conference in Tucson, Arizona, connecting with translators and publishers worldwide.

Founded in 1978, ALTA established the Emerging Translator Mentorship Program in 2015 to cultivate close working relationships between experienced translators and early-career mentees. The program has supported over 100 translators across more than 30 languages.

Several notable Taiwanese works participating in the program have been published, including Fang Si-Chi’s “First Love Paradise” (translated by Jenna Tang), with “The Northwest Rain” (translated by Tony Hao) scheduled for release in late 2027.

For information and to apply, visit literarytranslators.org/2027-alta-emerging-translator-mentorship-program-applications-open.