ALTA43 Virtual Conference FAQ

ALTA43 Virtual Conference FAQ

Last updated 9.29.2020

Notice: ALTA43 is moving to a virtual platform.
– Click here to read a statement from ALTA Board President Ellen Elias-Bursać (4.13.2020).
– Click here to read a statement from ALTA staff about changes to session and reading proposals (5.7.2020)

FAQ List

General Information

Sessions and Bilingual Readings

Registration and Sponsorship

Staying Connected

General Information

Will ALTA43: In Between be postponed or canceled due to COVID-19? 

As the health and safety of our community is our highest priority, ALTA43: In Between has been moved to a virtual conference. Please refer to a statement from ALTA’s President, Ellen Elias-Bursać, at this link

Will the dates of ALTA43 remain the same?

This year’s virtual ALTA conference will kick off on International Translation Day, September 30, 2020, for two and a half weeks of daily events, culminating in a weekend of all-day programming, when we will gather for two central, celebratory days on October 17-18, 2020. In order to reach as many attendees as possible, the conference schedule includes a blend of synchronous and asynchronous content, at different times of day, to accommodate different time zones, and with very few simultaneous events. A select few events are also be free and open to the public. Please note that all events are listed in the ALTA43 schedule in Eastern Time (ET).

What virtual platforms will be used for the conference?

Our conference will take place on Crowdcast, with certain events available through Zoom. Crowdcast is accessed through your browser, so you do not need to download anything onto your computer. When you access Crowdcast events, a personal profile is created for you. Crowdcast's full privacy policy may be found here. To join Zoom meetings, you can either join from your browser or download the Zoom client. Zoom's full privacy policy may be found here. When registering for the conference, you will be asked to agree to the privacy policies of these two platforms.

How does Crowdcast work?

Please check out Crowdcast's Attendee Quick Reference Guide for tips on how to do everything from how to join events, set up your profile, check your tech setup, and interact during an event.

I'm having issues connecting to Zoom conference events. How do I get in? 

Before joining your Zoom online session on your computer or mobile device, download the Zoom app and make sure you are logged in. Otherwise, you will be prompted to download and install Zoom when you click a join link. https://zoom.us/download.

Can I share my ideas for a virtual conference? 

Yes! A survey was sent out to our community on Friday, April 17, and is still open if you did not yet get a chance to fill it out. You may also email us at info@literarytranslators.org. One small silver lining of this moment is the opportunity to check in with you about what your priorities for the conference are, and for our conference planning to be led by what you’ve told us.

Will the ALTA conference be held in Tucson another year?

We look forward to welcoming you to our hometown next year: ALTA44 has been rescheduled to take place in Tucson, from November 10–13, 2021 (Wednesday–Saturday).

Sessions and Bilingual Readings

How do I submit my pre-recorded reading/session?
Please find a link to our DropBox, as well as tips for making a recording, in our Google Doc here.

Many of the sessions are during my work day.  In order to access the recordings after the sessions have happened, do I need to join the Zoom/Crowdcast session in advance?

You won't need to join in advance. Just navigate to the event you'd like to see the recording of, and put in the Crowdcast password (we will send these out to registrants on September 21). Anything that takes place in Zoom will be recorded and then must be uploaded to Crowdcast, where it will be available to attendees to view. Please be patient with our staff as we upload recordings from Zoom to Crowdcast. There are just a few things that won't be recorded: caucuses, the 6-8 person individual workshops, pitch sessions, and Declamacion.

Should I keep planning my ALTA43 panel, reading, workshop, or roundtable? 

The deadline for proposing a session or workshop was July 6, 2020.

Can I propose a session with more than 4 total presenters (including the conversation moderator)?

This year, in our virtual format, we are asking session organizers to propose no more than 4 presenters, including a moderator. We acknowledge that this is a change from our former 6-presenter maximum at our in-person conferences; this is for a few reasons. First, the virtual platform we are using has a 4-person presenter maximum. As well, limiting presenters to 4 will aid ALTA staff in assisting effectively with the technological challenge of bringing multiple people in different locations online synchronously. Finally, keeping virtual meetings as small as possible allows them to be more accessible to those who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Accepted sessions will be asked to nominate one additional moderator: someone off-camera to monitor the chat feature in our virtual sessions. This can either be someone in the session or someone appointed by ALTA. The chat moderator will monitor the audience discussion in the chat feature, collecting questions to share with the presenters during the Q&A, if applicable. If your session is accepted, conference organizers will be in touch with you about this.

How can I find additional presenters to join my session?

This year, because we have extended our session proposal deadline, ALTA will not be able to publicize a list of sessions seeking additional participants. What you submitted in the revised proposal form will be your final lineup and description. 

Why can't I change my session lineup and description once the session has been accepted?

Because we have extended our session proposal deadline, our timeline for programming the conference is shortened. We are therefore unable to gather your final lineup and the final text of your description in a separate form, as we typically do for sessions accepted for our in-person conferences. What you submit in the revised proposal form will be your final lineup and description.

I want to do a bilingual reading along with the author of the text I have translated. Does the author need to register for the conference?

No, in the case of authors reading short excerpts along with the translator in a bilingual reading, registration for the author is waived. If the author would like to participate in conference events, however, they will need to register. Authors presenting as part of an accepted session are required to register for the conference.

Registration and Sponsorship

How do I register? How much does registration cost?

With the aim of making participation more feasible for more people, we’ve made some changes to registration this year. We’ve reduced rates, set our base registration at an at-cost price of $100, and introduced tiered pay-what-you-can options, from $50-$200. ALTA members receive a 10% discount on all $100-$200 priced tickets. Online registration opens on July 21, 2020. More registration information can be found here. As President Ellen Elias-Bursać mentioned in her statement on the move to a virtual conference, this year’s situation will have a serious financial impact on our organization, and we will be turning to you for your support to help ALTA come through this difficult year.

What are this year’s sponsorship opportunities?

We will offer a variety of digital sponsorship options for this fall’s conference, designed to help you get the word out about your publications, press, or translation program–including advertisements in our digital conference program book. Please check our sponsorships page in the coming weeks for more opportunities to reach ALTA’s audience.

Most of your Crowdcast events seem to require a password. How do I get one?
You must register for the full conference to receive your unique Crowdcast password. Crowdcast passwords were emailed to all registered attendees as of September 21. Anyone registering after September 21 will receive their Crowdcast password directly in their registration confirmation email.

How do I sign up for a Workshop and Pitch Sessions?
Information on how to sign up for Workshops and Pitch Sessions will be emailed to all registrants at the $125 and $200 levels on September 1. Please note that registration at the $125 level closed on August 31. If you are signed up for Pitch Sessions and have a question regarding them, please contact ALTA Secretary Jessica Sue Vocatura.

Staying Connected

How can I get involved?

There are a number of ways you can be involved with ALTA and contribute to the community. Become an ALTA member; consider volunteering to serve as a committee member or National Translation Award expert reader; and please consider making a charitable donation to ALTA.

Where should I look for updates regarding ALTA43? 

Stay tuned on our website, and follow our blog, Facebook, and Twitter feeds to find out about conference updates. 

 

Have a question not answered here? Email us anytime at info@literarytranslators.org. At this time, the ALTA office phone, (520) 621-1757, is not being answered. However, if you leave us a voicemail, we will get back to you.