At Home in Translation

Call for Submissions

Please note the new deadline: April 15, 2014

The Malahat Review invites the world’s writers to Canada through works in translation from a Canadian perspective.

In the fall of 2014, The Malahat Review will celebrate the writing from other countries and in other languages with the publication of an issue wholly devoted to contemporary poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction in English translation. Translations of writing from Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America—and everywhere else in between—are welcome.

Recognizing that Canada is a multilingual society, we also invite submissions of translated works by Québécois and Québécoise writers and of writing from Acadie and elsewhere in French-speaking Canada. We are equally interested in translations of work by Canadian writers in languages other than English and French, including the works of First Nations writers.

We invite Canadian translators, authors, and passionate readers to submit. Excellence in a translation will not be determined by its translator’s professional credentials, but by the quality of the translation itself. A translation must also succeed in English as a work of the imagination.

We also invite thoughtful essays about the process of translation and the importance of translation today as well as reviews of works in translation published by Canadian translators and/or Canadian publishers.

Click here for information on Les poésies francophones du Canada: A Translation Prize.

Guidelines

  • Translators must be Canadians, Canadian residents, or Canadian expatriates.
  • Translators may be trained professionals, knowledgeable authors, or proficient enthusiasts.
  • Writers who translate their own work into English must query the Malahat before submitting. Each query will be assessed. The Malahat does not intend to publish many "self-translated" works.
  • Submissions of contemporary poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and critical prose are welcome. "Contemporary" is defined to mean any work written and/or published since 1970.
  • Submissions of work written prior to 1970 in languages other than English will be solicited only, based on their relevance to the Canadian translation scene. If you're interested in submitting pre-1970 writing, please query first.
  • Submissions of poetry should be comprised of between four to eight poems.
  • Fiction, creative nonfiction, and critical-prose submissions may range from 1,000 to 4,000 words in length.
  • The English translation only, of any work, will be published in our At Home in Translation theme issue.
  • When submitting a translated work, please include a copy of the original text and a copy of a letter of permission from the author and/or first-language publisher. These permission letters often take a while, so don't delay in contacting the author and/or publisher!
  • The translation must be previously unpublished, while the work being translated into English may have previously appeared in print or in electronic form in its original language.
  • Please query all potential book reviews before submitting them.
  • Brief biographical notes for the translator and the author(s) are required.
  • No restrictions as to form or approach apply.
  • Queries may be sent by email to malahat@uvic.ca.
  • Contact information, including an email address, for both the translator and the author (or copyright holder) must be enclosed with all submissions.
  • The Malahat Review pays an honorarium of $40 per printed page. Please note that honoraria for translated work is divided evenly between the author and the translator.
  • Send submissions and queries to:
    • The Malahat Review
    At Home in Translation
    University of Victoria
    P.O. Box 1700
    Stn CSC
    Victoria, B.C. V8W 2Y2
    Canada

    Deadline: March 15, 2014 extended to April 15!