The Literary Translators Association of Canada and the Quebec Writers’ Federation are proud to announce the creation of the Jean Antonin Billard LTAC/QWF Mentorship in Literary Translation, to be offered in alternate years beginning in 2023. Named for a well-loved member of the LTAC community who passed away in 2016, the mentorship is designed to help promising aspiring and emerging translators make the transition to the next stage of their careers.
Born in 1930 in Tours, France, Jean Antonin Billard began reaching out to voices across borders at an early age. English and Spanish served as his passport; North and South, East and West attracted him. After numerous trips to England and Spain, he settled at the crossroads of the New World: in Quebec, in 1953. Through the films he taught as well as through the books he read, it was always poetry that best translated his desire for an open and expansive life, in a world which increasingly cancels this very desire.
Emerging Canadian translators of literary work into French are invited to apply to be mentored by an established translator over a period of four months (February 1st, 2023 to May 31st, 2023) and to take part in a public reading in Montreal in June.
Established professional Canadian literary translators who wish to be mentors will also be invited to apply. Mentors must be LTAC members in good standing.
Both mentors and a short list of potential mentees will be selected by an independent jury. Selected mentors will be notified by December 15th, 2022, and selected mentees will be notified by December 22nd, 2022. Depending on geographical location and public health requirements in the winter/spring of 2023, the mentorships may be conducted primarily or exclusively by email and Zoom.
The deadline to submit your applications is October 14th, 2022.
For more information on how to apply to be a mentor or a mentee, visit the QWF website!