If you speak more than one language, you may find yourself wishing that some of your favorite foreign-language writing could be published in English. Well, you’re in luck! There are many journals out there that solicit and accept translated work.
Even if a journal does not specifically mention translated work, they may still be open to it–don’t be afraid to reach out and ask!
Here is a short list of journals that specifically mention translations in their guidelines. If you know of any others that definitely accept translations, please send me a note, and I’ll add it to this list.
Literary Magazines that Accept Translated Prose and Poetry
(For the purposes of this post, “prose” means BOTH fiction AND nonfiction.)
AGNI Online (Prose, Poetry.)
Bennington Review (Prose, Poetry. Translators should have permission from the copyright holder and a copy of the work in the original language.)
The Common (Prose, Poetry.)
Conjunctions (Prose, Poetry. Translator must have secured the rights.)
The Georgia Review (Prose, Poetry. Translator must have secured the rights.)
Granta | The Home of New Writing (Prose, Poetry. First publication in English.)
Guernica Magazine (Prose, Poetry. First publication in English.)
Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts (Prose, Poetry. Include untranslated original work for poetry. Include original author bio & whether you have translation rights. First publication in English.)
The Massachusetts Review (Prose, Poetry. Include untranslated original work. Translator responsible for acquiring rights. First publication in English.)
Moon City Review (Contemporary Prose, Poetry. Include untranslated original work. Translator responsible for acquiring rights.)
New England Review (Prose, Poetry, Drama. Confirm that translation rights are available upon submission.)
North Dakota Quarterly (Poetry)
One Story (Literary Fiction. Include name of original author, language, and translator.)
The Paris Review (Prose, Poetry. Send original untranslated work alongside translation.)
Ploughshares (Prose, Poetry. Must have permission from original author.)
Redivider (Essays.)
Subtropics (Literary Prose, Poetry.)
West Branch (Prose, Poetry.)
Best Practices for Submitting Translated Writing to Literary Magazines
Even if the journal does not explicitly request it, many will expect you to include in your submission the original author’s name, their bio, and the language you translated the piece from. They will also want to know whether you have acquired translation rights to the piece.
Most magazines do not have a separate portal to which to submit translations, so, in general, you will submit the work to the genre it aligns with (fiction, poetry, essays, etc). Make sure you indicate CLEARLY that the submission is a translation of a work published in another language.
The vast majority of magazines will expect your translation of the piece to be its FIRST translation into English, and most will be interested primarily in contemporary work.
If you have any questions about what a magazine requires for translated work, reach out to them via email or their contact form (if applicable). It is better to ask ahead of time and be sure of the expectations than to submit the work and be told no on a technicality.
Finally, ALWAYS double-check the stated requirements on the magazine’s page, linked above, as submission requirements can change often.