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South Asian Literature in Translation

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South Asian Literature in Translation supports and promotes English-language translations of literature written in the languages of South Asia.

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SALT had a great time at the ALTA conference this year!

Photo 1: SALT mentees Riya Parikh (Children's literature), Akshata Nair (Marathi), Prutha Honrao (Marathi), and Priscilla Jolly (Malayalam).

Photo 2: Sadia Khatri (former SALT mentee) emceeing the mentee reading.

Photo 3: Attendees of the first-ever ALTA caucus dedicated to South Asian languages!

We can't wait for next year! by @saltatchicago

Calling all publishers interested in South Asian literature! 📚

SALT Travel Grants are now open for applications. This program allows publishers to make connections in South Asian literary markets.

For 2026, SALT will be awarding eight travel grants of $1,600 for travel to South Asia. South Asia, for the purposes of this project, includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. However, for this round, publishers will not be allowed to travel exclusively to India. Applicants must currently reside outside of South Asia.

More information at link in bio.

Apply by November 16th! by @saltatchicago

SALT had an amazing time in Nepal!

We collaborated with Kathmandu University to host a three-day international literary translation workshop. Participants focused on honing their translations from Nepali, Maithili, Tibetan, and Nepal Bhasa into English.

Workshops were led by Deepa Bhasthi, Jason Grunebaum, Daniel Hahn, and Daisy Rockwell! by @saltatchicago

In partnership with @saltatchicago, we’re thrilled to announce the shortlisted translators for PEN Presents x SALT, an iteration of our ongoing #PENPresents award which funds the often-unpaid work of creating sample translations and promotes new international projects to Anglophone publishers.

PEN Presents x SALT is open to translators anywhere in the world, for translations of works originally published in any official or unofficial language of South Asia, whose authors are citizens of a South Asian country, resident in South Asia, or of South Asian heritage, and for work of any form, genre, style and era.

The shortlist, selected by an independent Selection Panel of experts from across the sector, features 24 titles from 26 translators and work from 10 languages. This is the first time PEN Presents x SALT has supported a project from Assamese, and the round features second PEN Presents shortlistings for Yashoda Kuppuswamy (2022), Tuhin Bhowal (2025), and Manav Kambli (2025).

➡️ Swipe to discover the full shortlist.
🔗 Follow the link in our bio to read more about the awards.

There are so many of you that we couldn’t tag everyone in the post – shortlisted: @aadritbanerjee @subhashree_translator @rounak.bhat @ush81588 @a.k.h.i.l_j.o.s @shiro_kraai @paperbackdevil @yashodakuppuswamyofficial @safiamahmood @insanshanasi @noorhabib10 @_anannya.said.what_ @shyma_pacha @3rdworld3rdclass @tahaahmarqadeer @bonhi04 @bharathee1 @hammadhrind @rsaadullahk @thebuddhajumps @urf_lehza @gurhi_jalebi by @saltatchicago

We are thrilled to share that Lakeer is the proud recipient of a 2026 SALT Promotional Grant. Lakeer has published over 60 translations in fiction and poetry including writing in Urdu, Punjabi, Gujrati, Welsh, Tamil and Sinhala. With support from SALT Chicago, we are set to hold our very first translations event next month!

#saltchicago #pentranslates #lakeer #lakeermagazine by @saltatchicago

✨ Meet Nadia Urooj, who joined the Multilingual Prose – South Asian Languages strand at BCLT Summer School ✨

Nadia is passionate about bringing South Asian literature to wider audiences, and enjoys exploring the ways that language, culture, and storytelling intersect through both research and translation 📚🌍

Swipe to find out more about Nadia 👉️

With thanks to @saltatchicago for making the Multilingual Prose – South Asian Languages strand at BCLT Summer School possible 💫 by @saltatchicago

Translators Deepa Bhasthi and Arunava Sinha join Jason Grunebaum (@saltatchicago), Tara Tobler (@andotherpics), and Sana Goyal (Chair) to explore the current and future states of South Asian writing in translation.

Using @saltatchicago as a case study for bringing literature from South Asia into the English-language market, the panel will examine how far we have come in nurturing and promoting translations from minoritised, regional languages, and where we can go from here. You don't want to miss it!

Tue 21 July, 2pm BST, online, free. Register now via the link in our bio 🔗

Part of the @bcltuea International Literary Translation and Creative Writing Summer School, in collaboration with @saltatchicago.

#Translation #LiteraryTranslation by @saltatchicago

How often do you get to sit over kai and converse with an International Booker Prize winner whose book you’ve just read at book club?

Some members of our bookclub INK were able to do just that. We continued conversations sparked during our kōrero corner session, facilitated by Ara Alam-Simmons with Deepa Bhasthi. Their discussion explored the many ways Heart Lamp enacted feminist refusals, through the use of language, translators notes and honouring the lineage of how this project evolved. We also learned a little about the people in Deepa’s life that shaped her sense of self and moral compass.

Translated works invite us into fostering solidarities across linguistic and cultural borders. We definitely need more works from South Asia. Thank you to @aklwritersfest and South Asian Literary translations (SALT) @saltatchicago for supporting Deepa’s visit. by @saltatchicago

Calling all publishers and translators of South Asian literature!

The next round of PEN x SALT grants is coming up fast!

PEN Translates x SALT grants are for publishers outside of South Asia who would like to publish a book-length translation from a South Asian language.

PEN Presents x SALT grants fund sample translations from South Asian languages. Translators from anywhere in the world are eligible to apply!

Check out the link in bio for more information. We can't wait to read your applications! by @saltatchicago

Deepa Bhasthi is a writer and literary translator working in Kannada and English. She became the first translator of colour to win the International Booker Prize for her translation of Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq. Join us at the @aklwritersfest next for a conversation on multilingualism, the many Englishes, and the politics of translation.

Saturday 16 May, 2.30pm
Limelight Room, Aotea Centre
Reserve tickets at writersfestival.co.nz by @saltatchicago

We’re thrilled to announce the winning titles for PEN Presents x SALT, an iteration of English PEN’s ongoing #PENPresents award for sample translations.

This round of PEN Presents, in partnership with @saltatchicago, the South Asian Literature in Translation project (SALT), was open to translators anywhere in the world, for translations of works by South Asian writers originally published in any official or unofficial language of South Asia, of any form, genre, style and era.

The 10 winners represent work originally written in 9 languages. They were chosen from a shortlist of 24 projects, whose translators were awarded grants to create samples of their proposed works. The winners have worked editorially with English PEN, and their samples are available to read on the PEN Presents platform, an online catalogue of outstanding, original, and bibliodiverse literature not yet published in English translation.

➡️ Swipe to discover the full list of winners.
🔗 Follow the link in @englishpen_’s bio to read the samples. by @saltatchicago

Friends in Chicago! Come hear SALT's own Daniel Hahn on April 17th at the Franke Institute! by @saltatchicago