San Sebastian 2016 and the Etxepare Institute (http://www NULL.etxepare NULL.eus/en) have launched the New Translators project, which aims to teach the Basque language to international literary translators,  and thereby promote Basque literature in Europe.

A total of eight literary translators will be selected to learn the Basque language. Four of those selected, complete beginners in Basque, will come to the Basque Country for six months, and the remaining four, who will join the initiative with beginner’s or intermediate knowledge of Basque, will reside in the Basque Country for a month to improve their competence.

During these residencies, on dates to be established with those selected (sometime between the second fortnight in June 2015 and March 2016) the authors will follow an intensive course at a live-in Basque language school, or barnetegi. Whenever possible, it is hoped that the dates of their stays will coincide, so that they can get to know one another, work together and create networks.

The call is not restricted to enable language-learning, but will also promote the production of  works. The four translators taking the longer course will receive a grant to translate a piece of Basque literature into a language other than Spanish and find a publisher for the result. This will achieve the ultimate goal of the initiative: to disseminate Basque literary creation in Europe and facilitate its access by foreign audiences.

The intention is that, thanks to these residencies, the eight translators will achieve sufficient language skills to use Basque as an intermediate or original language in future translations.

Proposals
The call for proposals will close on 16 May 2015. The required documentation should be sent to: Etxepare Euskal Institutua. Prim kalea 7, 20006 Donostia. Applications can be submitted from Monday to Friday, from 08:30 to 14:00.

Workshops and conference in 2016
The New Translators initiative will also have a second stage in the shape of a workshop with the eight translators in Tabakalera (http://www NULL.tabakalera NULL.eu/), to take place in autumn 2016. At this workshop, organised with the Association of Translators, Correctors and Interpreters, EIZIE (http://www NULL.eizie NULL.eus/es/), the international translators will pair off with Basque writers, whose role will consist of accompanying them and establishing networks between them.

At the end of the workshop, a conference will be organised, open to the public, and a specific programme carried out with the participating translators in collaboration with schools and cultural centres in San Sebastian.