28 February 2025

The New Europe College – Institute for Advanced Study — in Bucharest welcomes applications for this innovative fellowship program in the academic year 2025/26, supported by S. Fischer Stiftung (Berlin) and Rotary Club Frankfurt am Main-Städel.

TANDEM, Author with Translator – Translator with Author is a program exclusively dedicated to literati, writers and translators, with the aim to promote authors from the Black Sea Region by encouraging the translation of their works into local languages. Thereby, the program seeks to deepen and disseminate the knowledge in and about the literary landscapes around the Black Sea and strengthen understanding and respect among the peoples and cultures all around.

Tandem fellows work on texts written in and translated into Armenian, Azeri, Bulgarian, Georgian, Romanian, Russian, Turkish, Ukrainian. Eligible are primarily works of fine literature (novels, short stories, poems, etc.). Non-fiction books can also be proposed, provided that they are aimed at a broader audience and have literary qualities.

Tandem offers fellowships consisting of:

• a residence of two consecutive months at New Europe College in Bucharest for both Tandem fellows (author and translator) simultaneously;
• a monthly stipend for each Tandem fellow (850 € p. p.);
• travel and accommodation funds;
• workspace and office equipment at New Europe College;
• assistance with visa procedures, residence permit, access to local institutions (libraries), etc.

Additional funds for working materials or for small public events may be granted depending on the case.

During their residency, Tandems belong to the diverse international community of NEC fellows and are invited to participate in all NEC events.

Conditions:

The writer (novelist, poet, children’s or nonfiction author) and his or her translator are in residence at NEC at the same time and stay for two consecutive months. Selected Tandems (author and translator) can indicate a preferred period for their fellowship.  However, the exact period of the residency shall be agreed upon together with NEC.

Start of the two-month fellowships: earliest in October 2025.

Application:

Applications may be submitted jointly or by one of the Tandem partners. If the application is submitted by one member of the team, the other shall confirm his/her participation in writing.

The application must include short CVs for both persons with a list of works, as well as a description of the work to be translated (which should be already published or, at least, accepted for publication). This description should include a justification of the choice of the particular work to be translated. The addition of a short excerpt of the chosen text in English would be appreciated.

A good command of English is desirable.

Candidates shall email the application form and the documents requested (CVs, letter of commitment, etc.) in PDF format to tandem@nec.ro

The deadline for submitting applications is March 25, 2025. Incomplete or late applications will not be taken into consideration.

Promising candidates will be invited to an online interview at the beginning of April, 2025.
Results will be announced by the end of April, 2025.

The application form is available here.

Contact person: Mihaela Danga, mdanga@nec.ro