Submissions
Recommend to us
We are always on the lookout for great non-fiction articles published in languages other than English that we can summarise for our Dispatches or translate in full for the magazine. These are pieces that get behind the headlines and which relate closely to the place where they have been written.
We’re open to recommendations from all over the world, from any language, from any kind of publication – online, in print or in other formats – and you don’t have to be a journalist to recommend to us. Just send us what you have found interesting or important. We’ll do the rest.
For summaries, we’re interested in all kinds of writing: long-form journalism, reportage, reviews, first-person narratives, interviews or analysis that gets behind the headlines.
For pieces we might translate in full for the magazine, we’re interested in local reportage, long-form journalism, first-person narratives or memoirs of 2,000-6,000 words, but also excerpts from non-fiction books not yet translated into English.
Work with us
We aim to ensure that contributors to Translator are paid fairly, whether they are translators or writers, photographers or artists. If you are not (yet) a professional writer or translator, there may still be opportunities for us to work together – read on.
Translate for us
We accept translation pitches for non-fiction writing from around the world. We’re looking for great reportage pieces of 2,000-6000 words, long-form journalism or other narrative non-fiction, published in a language other than English, in print, online or in other formats.
Our rates for professional translators are 14 pence per word for the first 3,000 words, or an agreed fixed fee for a longer text.
Write for us
We commission both specific short pieces for the magazine and longer form pieces: reviews and reported features which relate to language and translation. Our process will always involve at least a couple of rounds of editing.
Street Talk: These are 400-800-word original articles for the magazine about what the hyperlocal story is on everyone’s lips in your hometown/ village/ city/ region outside the Anglosphere that give us a sense of place, time and personality. We welcome pitches from non-professional writers, including in languages other than English. We will work with you on editing and translation. If you have an idea, get in touch and we can send further guidelines. We pay a flat fee of £100.
Longer original articles: Our rates for original articles we commission from professional writers are 25-40 pence per word depending on length and type of article. For example: £150-200 for a 600-word review of a newly translated book into English or a film/ tv series/ podcast in another language; £750-1,000 for a 2,500-word reported feature. Higher rates for longer essays, or pieces which involve more reporting, can be negotiated.
Photograph for us
We commission a photo essay for each paper edition of Translator: across three spreads with two pages either side. We’re looking for photographs that explore a social phenomenon or tell a human story, taken by local photographers outside the Anglosphere, ideally with a close personal familiarity to the phenomenon or story their photographs describe. We’ll pair you with an editor/writer to ensure suitable text to accompany your photographs. We pay £300-500.
Draw for us
We occasionally will work with illustrators to illustrate a particular article, or more generally. If you’d like to be considered to contribute in this way, do let us know.
How to get in touch
If you’d like to recommend articles to us for summarisation or translation, or you’d like to work with us, we’d love to hear from you. Send your pitches to submissions@translatormag.co