NEA Announces Fellowships to Literary Translators and Prose Writers

Recipients of Literature Translation Fellowships include Jeffrey Angles, who will translate from the Japanese the collected poems of modernist poet Nakahara Chūya, and Nancy Naomi Carlson, who will translation from the French two poetry collections by Congolese author and poet Alain Mabanckou. The NEA's press release announces "a total of $1.2 million in fellowships to creative writers and translators, supporting both the development of new works of American literature and the translation into English of literary prose, poetry, and drama from writers around the world." Picking up from there: 

“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support our nation’s writers and translators and their efforts to expand our literary landscape through their artistry, creativity, and dedication,” said Mary Anne Carter, chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Recently, the National Endowment for the Arts also announced the first round of FY 2020 grants for arts projects, which included 53 grants totaling $1,150,000 for literary publishing projects. Click here for that announcement.

Creative Writing Fellowships
The National Endowment for the Arts will award 36 Creative Writing Fellowships of $25,000 each, for a total of $900,000. Fellowships alternate each year between poetry and prose and this year’s fellowships are to support prose—works of fiction and creative nonfiction, such as memoirs and personal essays. The Arts Endowment received nearly 1,700 eligible applications, which were reviewed anonymously by a panel solely on the artistic excellence of the writing sample submitted. These fellowships allow recipients to set aside time for writing, research, travel, and general career advancement.

Since 1967, the National Endowment for the Arts has awarded more than 3,500 Creative Writing Fellowships totaling over $55 million. Many recipients have gone on to receive the National Book Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry and Fiction, such as Anthony Doerr, Louise Erdrich, Tyehimba Jess, Jennifer Egan, and Juan Felipe Herrera.

Literature Translation Fellowships
In fiscal year 2020, the National Endowment for the Arts will award 24 Literature Translation Fellowships of $12,500 each, for a total of $300,000. These fellowships will support the English translation of works from 19 countries including Brazil, Egypt, and Japan. Most of these fellowships are to translate works of award-winning and bestselling authors, many of whom have not yet been represented in English. Supported projects include a translation by Bill Johnston of the first two books in the novel cycle Nights and Days by Polish writer Maria Dąbrowska and a translation by Nancy Naomi Carlson of two poetry collections by Congolese author Alain Mabanckou.

Since 1981, the Arts Endowment has awarded 504 fellowships to 445 translators, with translations representing 70 languages and 86 countries. Past recipients include Natasha Wimmer, whose fellowship supported her translation of Roberto Bolaño’s 2666, and Jennifer Croft, whose fellowship supported her translation of Nobel Prize-winner Olga Tokarczuk’s Flights.

Visit the National Endowment for the Arts website to learn more about all of the recipients.