Close Approximations | Asymptote international literary translation contest

The fourth edition of Close Approximations, Asymptote’s international literary translation contest is open to emerging translators. This contest invites translations in two genres: fiction and poetry. The winner and two runners-up in each category will respectively receive 1,000 USD and 250 USD worth of prizes that includes a one-year Asymptote Book Club subscription.

In addition to winning some serious prize money, they will also be featured in our Winter 2019 issue, joining an exceptional roster of translators published in our pages, including J.M. Coetzee, Michael Hofmann, Lydia Davis, Damion Searls, Rosmarie Waldrop, Howard Goldblatt, Ellen Elias-Bursac, and Jennifer Croft.#

HOW TO APPLY

Submit between 5 to 10 pages of translated poetry or between 10 to 25 pages of translated fiction via the 'Contest' option of the Asymptote Submittable page, in the appropriate category by 1 October, 2018, along with your entry fee of 20 USD. To encourage earlier submissions, there is a lower entry fee of 17 USD for submissions on or before 1 September, 2018.

Please see website for all other details of how to submit.

Deadline for entries: October 1st 2018

Winner of the 2015 London Book Fair's International Literary Translation Initiative Award, Asymptote is the premier site for world literature in translation. We take our name from the dotted line on a graph that a mathematical function may tend toward, but never reach. Similarly, a translated text may never fully replicate the effect of the original; it is its own creative act.