Policy
Rights and Permissions
What we ask of you, what we do with your work, and your submission rights.
1. What you submit
You may submit an original translation of up to 1,000 words from any source text.
An existing translation of the same text does not disqualify your entry, so long as your version is genuinely your own work.
Submit only the corresponding source passage - not the entire book or collection - along with any copyright information known to you.
2. Permission is not required to enter
Permission from the rights holder is not a condition of entry.
Submissions and source passages are used solely for confidential, noncommercial academic award administration and evaluation. They are not published, circulated, or displayed by NULTA at this stage.
3. Who can see your submission
Each submission is accessible only to NULTA administrators and its assigned judge.
Judges may not reproduce, distribute, publish, quote, upload, or use the materials for any other purpose. Access is revoked after evaluation, and judges are required to delete any downloaded or locally retained copies.
4. Deletion
Nonwinning submissions and their source passages are deleted after the award’s administrative review period.
You can request a submission deletion at any time by emailing us at info@nulta.org
5. Publication of winning translations
Winning an award does not guarantee publication.
If a winning translation is to be published, NULTA seeks the necessary permission from the copyright holder on the winner’s behalf — we do not leave that to you. The copyright holder may be the author, publisher, estate, agent, or another rights holder. We would also be more than happy to help winners find a place to publish their translations.
If permission cannot be obtained, NULTA may still confer and announce the award without reproducing the translation or the source text publicly.
6. The award ceremony
The final online award ceremony, tentatively on June 26, 2027, will give winners a chance to discuss their translation process and share a little about their language backgrounds.
The ceremony will not include readings from the translations or source passages. Instead, we will discuss the award and explore broader issues and opportunities in language and translation.
7. Your ownership
NULTA does not take publication rights to any translation submitted to it. Your translation remains yours, whether or not it wins, and you are free to publish or submit it elsewhere.
Questions
If something here is unclear, or your situation does not fit these rules, write to us at any time. See Contact.
Last updated August 2026.