The Future of Publishing & Literature in Translation

Translated works build bridges within the literary world and beyond. This program welcomes experts in publishing literature in translation: Barbara Epler, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of New Directions Publishing; Elisabeth Jaquette, Executive Director of Words Without Borders; Michelle Gil-Montero, founding editor of the Eulalia Books translation press; and Chad Post, Director of the University of Rochester’s literary translation press Open Letter Books. Together, they will discuss the scope of possibilities and realities in the future of publishing and literature in translation.

About the Speakers:

Barbara Epler grew up in Evanston, Illinois, and, after graduating from college in 1984, started working at New Directions Publishing. She is now the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. In that work, she has been extremely lucky to find writers such as W.G. Sebald, Roberto Bolaño, László Krasznahorkai, and Solvej Balle. Recent and forthcoming exciting books from New Directions include new works by Alexis Wright, Cesar Aira, Yoko Tawada, Clarice Lispector, Olga Ravn, Jenny Erpenbeck, Copi, Susan Howe, Alejandra Pizarnik, Ariana Harwicz, and Marcia Douglas, among many others. Founded in 1936 by James Laughlin, New Directions is a for-profit, independently owned publisher. They release about 40 new books annually and maintain over 1,300 titles on their backlist.

Michelle Gil-Montero (she/her) is an Argentine-American poet-translator. She has translated several books of contemporary Latin American poetry, hybrid-genre work, and criticism. Her recent books include Berlin Interlude (Black Square Editions, 2021) and Exilium (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2022) by Argentine writer María Negroni, as well as her own poetry collection, Object Permanence (Ornithopter Press, 2020). Her work has appeared widely and has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the Howard Foundation, PEN, and Fulbright. At Saint Vincent College, she directs the Minor in Literary Translation and is the founding editor of the translation press Eulalia Books.

Elisabeth Jaquette is a translator from Arabic and the Executive Director of Words Without Borders. Her translation of Minor Detail by Adania Shibli (New Directions) was a finalist for the National Book Awards and longlisted for the International Booker Prize. Her other translations include Thirteen Months of Sunrise by Rania Mamoun (Comma Press), The Frightened Ones by Dima Wannous (Knopf), and The Queue by Basma Abdel Aziz (Melville House). Elisabeth’s work has also been published in the New York Times, McSweeney’s, The Common, Index on Censorship, and other places. Formerly, she was Executive Director at the American Literary Translators Association.

Chad W. Post is the founder and publisher of Open Letter Books. He is also the editorial director of Dalkey Archive Press, where he was formerly the associate director. Over the course of his career, he founded the Translation Database, the Best Translated Book Awards, multiple literary podcasts (Two Month Review, Three Percent), the Three Percent website, and currently writes two newsletters: The Three Percent Problem and Mining the Dalkey Archive. He is also the author of The Three Percent Problem: Rants and Responses on Publishing, Translation, and the Future of Reading. His articles and book reviews have appeared in a range of publications. In 2018, he received the Words Without Borders Ottaway Award for the Promotion of International Literature.

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About Words Without Borders:

Now in its twenty-first year, Words Without Borders is the premier destination for a global literary conversation. Our mission is to cultivate global awareness by expanding access to international writing and creating a bridge between readers, writers, and translators. Our digital magazine offers unparalleled access to the world’s literary voices, and our education program, WWB Campus, brings global literature into hundreds of classrooms worldwide. Every year, WWB organizes free events with international authors, translators, and critics, providing a space for readers to engage directly with the perspectives we publish.