Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles has collaborated with the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) for Emerging Translator Mentorship since 2020. ALTA announced Lya Shaffer being chosen for the 2025 Literature from Taiwan mentorship, and she will embark on a nine-month journey with mentor Lin King on the translation of Taiwanese writer Chuanfen Chang’s Hooligan Wang Xinfu (流氓王信福).
Lya found herself intrigued by Chuanfen Chang’s narration of an exquisite little character in the face of the authoritarian system of injustice, and at the same time, presenting the era and social background in a macroscopic way. It deserves to be shared with readers worldwide. Lya is honored to work on the English translation of this book and thrilled that the project will benefit from Lin King’s mentorship. She will present her translation work at the 2025 ALTA Fall Annual Conference.
Founded in 1978, ALTA is an organization in the United States dedicated exclusively to literary translation. ALTA provides translation resources to academic institutions, presses, and individual translators. Through its annual conference, ALTA continues to facilitate cross-cultural dialogue and understanding, fostering connections among translators, publishers, and readers worldwide.
For more information about the mentees and the ALTA Emerging Translator Mentorship Program, please visit: https://literarytranslators.org/awards/2025-mentorships
PHOTO CREDIT: American Literary Translators Association (ALTA)