Razom and ALTA launch programs to support Ukrainian and decolonial literary translation

Razom for Ukraine and the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) announced a partnership establishing two new programs for literary translators — the Razom Mentorship for Decolonial Translation and the Razom Ukrainian Translation Award.

ALTA will administer both programs, which are designed to support emerging translators and recognize excellence in literary translation.

The Razom Mentorship for Decolonial Translation will pair emerging literary translators working with literature from historically marginalized regions and languages with experienced mentors. The program will have a different regional or language focus each year and will be offered annually beginning in 2027.

The first cycle will focus on Ukrainian-language literature, with Dominique Hoffman serving as mentor. Applications open Sept. 1, 2026.

Crimean Tatar is among the languages being considered for a future mentorship cycle, according to the representative. Other languages that have faced systemic marginalization or erasure under Russian imperial or Soviet influence could also be considered in future cycles. 

The second initiative, the Razom Ukrainian Translation Award, will recognize literary translations from Ukrainian and other languages of Ukraine into English. The award will be judged and presented annually beginning in 2027, with submissions scheduled to open in mid-January alongside other awards administered by ALTA.

According to additional information provided to Chytomo, the award is planned for translations from the languages of Ukraine into English.

The two programs have different scopes: while the award is initially planned to focus on translations from the languages of Ukraine into English, the mentorship will have a different regional or language focus each year and is intended to extend beyond Ukrainian in future cycles.

“This partnership with ALTA marks an important step in building lasting infrastructure for Ukrainian literature in translation,” Anna Solovei, interim Connect Program director at Razom for Ukraine, said in the announcement.

Solovei said Ukrainian voices have often been interpreted through frameworks that obscure or diminish them and that the partnership aims to create a more accurate space in English for Ukrainian and other historically marginalized literatures by centering decolonial approaches to translation and investing in both emerging and established translators.

ALTA Executive Director Katrine Øgaard Jensen said the two programs would serve complementary purposes — supporting the next generation of literary translators through mentorship and recognizing outstanding work in the field through the translation award.

The initiatives expand existing efforts to increase the international visibility of Ukrainian literature. Razom Literature, an initiative of Razom for Ukraine, works with publishers, translators, booksellers and readers to promote Ukrainian literature in the English-speaking world. The program also provides a limited number of grants to support translation and the promotion of books before publication.

Russian will not be supported among the languages spoken in Ukraine, as it did not face such oppression and instead served as an instrument of erasure of the word.

As reported earlier, the Ukrainian Book Institute also operates Translate Ukraine, a program that provides financial support to foreign publishers translating, publishing and distributing Ukrainian literature. Under its 2026 program, publishers can receive reimbursement of up to 8,000 euros for eligible expenses, including translation rights, translators’ fees, editorial preparation and publication costs.

Efforts have also focused on making Ukrainian books already available in translation easier to discover internationally. In September 2025, Chytomo and Craft launched Chapter Ukraine, a digital platform bringing together information about Ukrainian books available in foreign-language translations. The platform currently provides information about books available in English, French, German and Spanish, alongside details about publishers, translators, distributors, reviews and awards.

The new mentorship’s focus on decolonial translation also comes amid a broader reassessment of the historical marginalization of Ukrainian literature. Chytomo’s “Erasure of a Word” project has documented mechanisms used to suppress Ukrainian literary culture, from the exile, imprisonment and killing of writers to the destruction of printing houses and libraries and other forms of institutional control.

The Peterson Literary Fund has also supported translations connected with Ukraine through its biennial Translated Book Award, which recognizes recently published fiction and nonfiction translated either into or from Ukrainian. In 2023, the fund awarded five published books and provided grants to 10 ongoing translation projects; in 2025, Kateryna Zarembo’s “Ukrainian Sunrise: Stories of the Donetsk and Luhansk Regions from the Early 2000s,” translated by Tetyana Savchynska, received the award for best translation. 

Razom for Ukraine, founded in 2014, is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization working across areas including health, civil society, advocacy and culture. ALTA is a U.S. nonprofit association serving the literary translation community and administering awards, fellowships, mentorships and professional programs.

Main image: Razom