Please read these guidelines thoroughly before submitting. Submissions that do not adhere to our guidelines will not be considered.

Literary Translation for Lunch Ticket Issue 24

Translation Submission Guidelines:

Please submit to only one genre once per submission reading period.

If your Translation has been published in Lunch Ticket, please wait six months before submitting again.

All submissions at Lunch Ticket are read nameless in the first round. We only read pieces that have all identifying information removed. You include the name of the original author, but no identifying information of the translator. Make sure to check the title, file and file name before sending.

All prose must be double-spaced in 12-pt Times New Roman font.

We no longer accept works longer than 3500 words.

Poems, we understand, follow their own formatting rules. When in doubt, use 12-pt Times New Roman font.

Include a statement about your translation process (translator’s statement) in your cover letter.

Include the original work along with your translation. 

Include a statement that grants us permission to publish both the original work and the translation online, and that certifies that you have received permission from the original rights holder (either the publisher or the author, as applicable) to grant us such rights.

We do allow simultaneous submissions, however, if your piece is published elsewhere, please let us know immediately.

We do not accept previously published work.

All submitters are added to our bi-monthly newsletter email subscriber list.

PLEASE NOTE: This cycle, all pieces submitted to our Literary Translation section will be automatically considered for our Gabo Prize in Translation & Multilingual Texts.

The Gabo Prize in Translation & Multilingual Texts

Lunch Ticket is honored to host the Gabo Prize for Literature in Translation & Multilingual Texts. The Gabo Prize is funded by writers, translators, and Antioch University Los Angeles MFA Alumni Allie Marini and Jennifer McCharen, who launched the prize to support the work of peer translators.

Gabo Prize winners receive $200 and publication in the next issue of Lunch Ticket. Two finalists will also be published in each issue.

The Gabo Prize is dedicated to upholding the Council of Literary Magazines & Presses code of ethics, defined as such:

CLMP’s community of independent literary publishers believes that ethical contests serve our shared goal: to connect writers and readers by publishing exceptional writing. We believe that intent to act ethically, clarity of guidelines, and transparency of process form the foundation of an ethical contest. To that end, we agree to 1) conduct our contests as ethically as possible and to address any unethical behavior on the part of our readers, judges, or editors; 2) to provide clear and specific contest guidelines—defining conflict of interest for all parties involved; and 3) to make the mechanics of our selection process available to the public. This Code recognizes that different contest models produce different results, but that each model can be run ethically. We have adopted this Code to reinforce our integrity and dedication as a publishing community and to ensure that our contests contribute to a vibrant literary heritage.

Additionally: friends, family, and associates of the judges are not eligible for consideration for the award.

We look forward to reading your work!