Call for Submissions: Cambridge Journal of Literary Translation

Cambridge Journal of Literary Translation (CJLT) is an open-access, peer-reviewed online-only journal based at the University of Cambridge (UK) aiming to showcase and promote the practice of literary translation across a wide variety of languages and cultures, and to provide a space for reflection on the translator’s craft. The journal will feature translations, research articles, and book reviews.

CJLT's inaugural issue theme is COMMUNITY and they invite submissions in the following two categories: 

TRANSLATIONS

CJLT welcome translations into English from fiction, poetry, drama, or any other literary genre written in any language. They especially encourage translations from recently published works. Contributions should relate to the theme of the first issue, Community. Communities can nurture and support, unite and empower. We need them to thrive and to connect as humans. But, when dysfunctional, communities can also engulf and alienate, restrict and oppress. Community, broadly understood and approached from any perspective, may feature thematically in the source text, and/or relate to the translator’s approach.

Please submit by Friday 10 April 2026:

- Your unpublished English translation. For prose, this can be between 800 and 2000 words. For poetry, up to 600 words.

- The sourcetext

- Translator’s note (700-800 words), written in English and including: 1) brief context to the source text, including how it relates to the theme of Community; 2) discussion of your translation approach, highlighting any specific challenges or creative solutions.

- Biographical profiles for both author and translator, in English (100-120 words each).

- Copyright clearance: you must show evidence that you have contacted the copyright holder/s and that they are, in principle, willing to grant us permission to publish the source text free of charge. If your contribution is accepted for publication, you will then need to send them the required copyright forms (available on their website). Please note that CJLT are unable to consider any submissions for which no evidence of provisional copyright clearance has been provided.

CJLT are unable to offer any payment to contributors, nor cover any copyright clearance costs. They do however promise careful editorial attention to accepted submissions.

RESEARCH ARTICLES

CJLT invite submissions of original, unpublished research articles on any aspect of literary translation. You are free to discuss translation from and into any language, but they ask that you clarify any examples with English-speaking readers in mind. Articles should be written in English and be 5000-6000 words in length, including references and a c. 200-word abstract.

CJLT particularly welcome submissions which relate, more or less loosely, to the theme of the issue, Community. Contributors may want to consider aspects such as:

- Source culture community: the community of people whose language, stories, or oral traditions are being translated, and related questions of representation, responsibility, and preservation of identities.

- Readers and target audience/s: the specific community (as opposed to a ‘general reader’) the translation is aimed at, for instance a linguistic minority, a fan base, a certain demographic or social group.

- The community of translators: the networks of individuals who shape how literary translation is theorized and practised; writers and translators sharing creative norms, ethics, and collaborative practices (e.g. feminist, activist, or scholarly translation circles).

- Translation communities: the role that networks, institutions, associations, publishing initiatives, collectives, volunteers, crowdsourcing, etc. play in promoting and translating foreign literature.

CJLT will also include a section featuring REVIEWS of published literary translations into English, as well as academic books written in any language dealing with any aspect of literary translation. Reviews will be by commission only, but you are welcome to write the editors (CJLTjournal@gmail.com) with suggested titles or to express an interest in reviewing for them.

Read more about CJLT and how to submit here: Cambridge Journal of Literary Translation