Meet the 2023 ALTA Awards Judges!

Meet the 2023 ALTA Awards Judges!

The American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) is delighted to spotlight the judges of the 2023 awards!

We are honored to have these judges serving in 2023 on the panels of the National Translation Awards (NTA) in Prose and Poetry, the Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize, the Italian Prose in Translation Award (IPTA), the Spain-USA Foundation Translation Award (SUFTA), and the ALTA Travel Fellowships.

To learn more about each award and the judges, read below. For individual judges’ bios, photo credits, and image descriptions, click the provided links.


The National Translation Award (NTA) is awarded annually in poetry and in prose to literary translators who have made an outstanding contribution to literature in English by masterfully recreating the artistic force of a book of consummate quality. The NTA considers translations from translators of any nationality. The NTA is the only prize for a work of literary translation into English to include an evaluation of the source language text. 2023 marks the twenty-fifth year of the NTA and the ninth year in which the NTA is awarded separately in poetry and prose. The winners of the National Translation Awards in Poetry and Prose will be awarded a $4,000 prize each.

Image featuring National Translation Award in Prose judge headshots.
Image description: An image with a patterned gold background with the ALTA logo and the header “The 2023 National Translation Award in Prose Judges”. Images below from left to right: Natascha Bruce, Shelley Frisch, Jason Grunebaum, Sawad Hussain, Lytton Smith.

The 2023 National Translation Award in Prose judges are Natascha Bruce, Shelley Frisch, Jason Grunebaum, Sawad Hussain, and Lytton Smith. Learn about them here.

Image featuring National Translation Award in Poetry judge headshots.
Image description: An image with a patterned gold background with the ALTA logo and the header “The 2023 National Translation Award in Poetry Judges”. Images below from left to right: Pauline Fan, Heather Green, Shook.

The 2023 National Translation Award in Poetry judges are Pauline Fan, Heather Green, and Shook. Learn about them here.


Image featuring Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize judge headshots.
Image description: An image with a patterned gold background with the ALTA logo and the header “The 2023 Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize Judges”. Images below from left to right: Soje, Dong Li, Paige Aniyah Morris.

The Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize, which was inaugurated in 2009, recognizes the importance of Asian translation for international literature and promotes the translation of Asian poetry into English. Stryk was an internationally acclaimed translator of Japanese and Chinese Zen poetry, renowned Zen poet himself, and former professor of English at Northern Illinois University. The winner of the Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize will be awarded a $6,000 prize. Both translators and publishers are invited to submit titles.

The 2023 Lucien Stryk Asian Translation Prize judges are Soje, Dong Li, and Paige Aniyah Morris. Learn about them here.


Image featuring Italian Prose in Translation Award judge headshots.
Image description: An image with a patterned gold background with the ALTA logo and the header “The 2023 Italian Prose in Translation Award Judges”. Images below from left to right: Leah Janeczko, Jenny McPhee, Jamie Richards.

The Italian Prose in Translation Award (IPTA), which was inaugurated in 2015, recognizes the importance of contemporary Italian prose (fiction and literary non-fiction) and promotes the translation of Italian works into English. This $5,000 prize is awarded annually to a translator of a recent work of Italian prose (fiction or literary non-fiction). Both translators and publishers are invited to submit titles.

The 2023 Italian Prose in Translation Award judges are Leah Janeczko, Jenny McPhee, and Jamie Richards. Learn about them here.


Image featuring Spain-USA Foundation Translation Award judge headshots.

Image description: An image with a patterned gold background with the ALTA logo and the header “The 2023 Spain-USA Foundation Translation Award Judges”. Images below from left to right: Lisa Dillman, Tiago Miller, G. J. Racz.

The Spain-USA Foundation Translation Award (SUFTA), inaugurated in 2022, is offered by the American Literary Translators Association in conjunction with the Spain-USA Foundation. The award recognizes translations into English of literary prose works written originally by authors of Spanish (Spain) nationality. The source language of the original text may be Spanish, Catalan, Basque, or Galician. The winner of the SUFTA will be awarded a $5,000 prize. Both translators and publishers are invited to submit titles.

The 2023 Spain-USA Foundation Translation Award judges are Lisa Dillman, Tiago Miller, and G. J. Racz. Learn about them here.


Image featuring Travel Fellowships judge headshots.
Image description: An image with a patterned gold background with the ALTA logo and the header “The 2023 Travel Fellowships Judges”. Images below from left to right: Lizzie Davis, Michelle Gil-Montero, Canaan Morse.

Each year, a number of $1,000 Travel Fellowships are awarded to emerging translators to help them participate in the annual ALTA conference. Included in these Fellowships is the Peter K. Jansen Memorial Travel Fellowship, which is preferentially awarded to an emerging translator of color or a translator working from an underrepresented diaspora or stateless language. ALTA Travel Fellows are invited to read their translated work at a keynote event, giving them an opportunity to present their translations to an audience of translators, authors, editors, and publishers from around the world. 

The 2023 Travel Fellowships judges are Lizzie Davis, Michelle Gil-Montero, and Canaan Morse. Learn about them here.

Submissions for ALTA’s awards are open until April 17, 2023 at 11:59pm PT. Submit today!