The Los Angeles Review of Books and Yefe Nof present the third year of their joint translation residency. Applications are open to emerging translators who have not yet published a book-length project.

The LARB + Yefe Nof Translation Residency offers a two-week stay at Yefe Nof house in Lake Arrowhead, California, from December 2 to December 16, 2024. During the duration of their stay, the resident will have the opportunity to complete a translation of a short work—a set of poems, a short story, an excerpt from a novel, for example—in consultation with Boris Dralyuk, former LARB editor in chief and winner of the 2022 National Book Critics Circle Gregg Barrios Book in Translation Prize.

Started in 2022, the LARB + Yefe Nof Translation Residency was created to provide more resources and opportunities for translators, a vital part of opening up the world of publishing. Since its inception, Los Angeles Review of Books has celebrated the art of translation and advocated to increase translators’ visibility in the literary landscape. The Yefe Nof Residency, a secluded retreat for emerging writers, endeavors to promote vibrant intellectual discourse and support individuals whose works broaden today’s literary scene. A natural collaboration, the LARB + Yefe Nof Residency seeks to highlight the work of translators and create opportunities for their work to be celebrated. 

Literary translation remains a marginalized genre as translated works represent less than 3% of books published in the United States. As inaugural translation resident Laila Riazi notes, “Translation crosses historical thresholds, in addition to linguistic ones. Translation can function as historical excavation, reviving forgotten works that then ripple out across the translator’s present.” In her stay at Lake Arrowhead, Riazi perfected her translation of Etel Adnan’s little-known novella L’Oeil Noir. On her time at the residency, Riazi remarks that “Yefe Nof afforded me time and space—rare material resources, for translators especially—to sustain this translation project through to its completion.”

To further extend the life and success of the translated work, the translation will later be published in LARB Quarterly. 

Located in the mountains of California, the secluded two-week stay at Yefe Nof provides time, space, and recognition for these translators to dive into their work. Ena Selimović, the 2023 resident and co-founder of Turkoslavia, says of her time at the residency: “I found myself in a Californian village translating stories set largely in Croatian villages … Like a method actor, I felt more ready to take on the work that was to come and am immensely grateful to the LARB team for helping to bring out the best of these little stories.” These little stories are vital insights into all the corners of the world.

Translation is a gift to the world of literature. The ability to bring more voices, experiences, and histories to the forefront is valuable and critical work. As Selimović mentions, “Literary translation needs time and attention and support. This last piece is perhaps the LARB + Yefe Nof Translation Residency’s most important gift of all.”

This residency is made possible by Los Angeles Review of Books and Yefe Nof supporters. Applications are open from August 21 to September 21.

Questions? Email events@lareviewofbooks.org.