Translation in Motion residencies
Call for applications
The National Centre for Writing is delighted to partner with the RECIT network and the Translation in Motionconsortium to offer a month-long residency in Norwich in May 2023 to one or two literary translators working from English into the languages of the countries of the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia).
These residencies are open to UK and EU translators working from the languages of the Western Balkans into English. We are particularly keen to welcome translators interested in translating contemporary British writing.
The deadline for applications is Monday 9th January 2023.
Please see the RECIT website for details of the Translation in Motion project.
Residencies in Norwich
Norwich is a small, tranquil city with a lively cultural scene two hours by train from London. You can find out more about Norwich UNESCO City of Literature on our website.
The translators from the Western Balkans will be hosted in the Dragon Hall cottage in Norwich for four weeks in May 2023. They will receive a stipend for living expenses for the month, and they will be reimbursed for the cost of economy-class travel to Norwich. The residencies are co-funded by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.
The Dragon Hall cottage is a small house attached to the main Dragon Hall building. Downstairs the cottage has a shared sitting room, study, kitchen, and bathroom. Upstairs there are two bedrooms. Please note that the stairs to the first floor are steep, in typical Norwich style. Outside the cottage, there is a small terrace leading to the Dragon Hall garden.
During their residency, the translators will have the opportunity to work intensively on their literary translation project, using the time to research and translate. This residency offers translators from the Western Balkans an exciting opportunity to find out more about contemporary British writing they may be interested in translating in the future.
We will introduce our residents to local translators, writers, booksellers and the literary community in Norwich. They will be invited to talk about their work at the monthly Dragon Hall Social. We will also arrange a meeting with colleagues at the British Centre for Literary Translation and the University of East Anglia.
We will commission a short piece from our translators in residence about their time in Norwich for the Walking Norwich section of the NCW website.
Interested applicants can find out more about our residency program on the NCW website.
Application process
To apply, candidates are invited to send a letter of interest outlining their reasons for applying for the residency in Norwich; why they want to take part and what they hope to get out of it; a description of the literary translation project they will work on during the residency; and a CV including a list of publications.
Please send your application to residencies@nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk with Translation in Motion residency as the subject of your message. The deadline for applications is Monday 9th January 2023.
The National Centre for Writing and the Steering Committee of the Translation in Motion consortium will make the selection, with results announced by the end of January 2023.
Translation in Motion
Translation in Motion is a program that aims to enrich and intensify the flow of translated literature in contemporary Europe, specifically between Western Balkans countries and EU member states.
Recognizing that literary translators are influential and driven ambassadors of cultural dialogue this program will provide international mobility and professional development. The residencies offer translators time for focused creative work on a literary translation project, the opportunity to immerse themselves in the source language of their translation and carry out research, and to raise their visibility by networking with the local literary sector.
In light of COVID-19, all residency dates are provisional and will depend on the lifting of restrictions on international travel and local lockdowns. Each residency host will ensure that COVID-secure measures are in place, according to the relevant government guidelines.
