“Lusting after a Tart of Peacock Tongues”: A Conversation with Publisher Barbara Epler, by Veronica Esposito

Interviews Barbara Epler started working at New Directions after graduating from college in 1984, and she has been its president and publisher since 2011. In 2015 Poets & Writers awarded Epler their Editor’s Prize, and in 2016 Words Without Borders gave her the Ottaway Award for the Promotion of International Literature. Veronica Esposito: You became editor-in-chief with New Directions almost twenty-five years ago, in 1996. What are some of the biggest changes in the translation world since then? Barbara Epler: Without yet being a large enough share of what’s published in America overall, there has been a great growth in the amount and quality of translations appearing here. To my mind, that’s due mostly to two factors: a miraculous growth in new companies here (mostly small and agile) largely or entirely devoted to translated literature, as well as a sort of general cultural nausea about how parochial the USA tends to be. Back in the mid-1990s, great groundbreaking presses interested in translation were fairly thin on the ground. We did not yet have Archipelago, And Other Stories, Deep Vellum, Fence, Dorothy Project, New Vessel, Restless, Nightboat, New York Review of Books Classics, Open Letter, Other Press, Two Lines, Tilted Axis, Ugly Duckling, Wakefield, Wave, and more (apologies to houses I am forgetting!). Back in 1996, all these marvelous publishers were still a gleam in their founders’ eyes. Of course, back then... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'

[ World Literature Today | 2021-01-11 14:39:22 UTC ]

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Listen to Ibram X. Kendi’s Stamped from the Beginning for free.

If your local bookstore is all sold out of its books on anti-racism, good. Finally. Backorder them for yourself. But in the meantime, the audiobook version of Ibram X. Kendi’s Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the 2016 National Book Award... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-06-04 14:34:08 UTC ]
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In Mexico, One Bookstore per 120,000 Inhabitants, by Elena Poniatowska

Pandemic Dispatches Elena Poniatowska In this column that originally appeared in La Jornada, Elena Poniatowska considers the role of editors and talks with Diego Rabasa, founder of publisher Sexto Piso. Already precarious, the pandemic lockdown has made... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2020-06-03 21:05:48 UTC ]
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In Mexico, One Bookstore per 120,000 Inhabitants, by Elena Poniatowska

Cultural Cross Sections Elena Poniatowska In this column that originally appeared in La Jornada, Elena Poniatowska considers the role of editors and talks with Diego Rabasa, founder of publisher Sexto Piso. Already precarious, the pandemic lockdown has... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2020-06-03 21:05:48 UTC ]
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BookExpo 2020: Machado Unveils First Graphic Novel

Bestselling author and National Book Award finalist Carmen Maria Machado will discuss the forthcoming The Low, Low Woods at BookExpo Online's Adult Book & Author Dinner. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-26 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Obituary: Karen Blumenthal

Children's book author and journalist Karen Blumenthal, widely recognized for her works of narrative nonfiction addressing complicated subject matters, died on May 19 in her hometown of Dallas, following a heart attack; she was 61. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Shortlist for the 2021 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature Announced

News and Events WLT Top row (left to right): Laurie Halse Anderson, Eric Gansworth, Meg Medina. Middle row: Linda Sue Park, Mitali Perkins, Jason Reynolds. Bottom row: Cynthia Leitich Smith, Laurel Snyder, Alex Wheatle Finalists for the 2021 NSK... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2020-05-14 16:39:10 UTC ]
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Caught Between Worlds? For Elizabeth Acevedo, It’s a Familiar Feeling

“Clap When You Land,” the latest novel from the National Book Award winner, delves into the split lives that many immigrants experience. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-05-04 09:00:24 UTC ]
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Richard Charkin: Let’s Hear It for Book Rights Sales People Worldwide

'Rights departments of publishing houses invariably seem the poor relation of the sales team,' says Richard Charkin. The pandemic is a prompt to reconsider. The post Richard Charkin: Let’s Hear It for Book Rights Sales People Worldwide appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-04-24 14:43:14 UTC ]
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Opportunity knocks: how lockdown is opening doors for new creative talent

Aspiring writers and directors now have a rare chance to impress producers and publishers with time on their handsCameras have stopped rolling, book launches are postponed and actors are all “resting”. It looks as if nothing is moving in the world of entertainment and storytelling, yet from... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-04-18 13:05:09 UTC ]
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Jury Announced for the 2021 NSK Neustadt Prize for Children’s Literature

News and Events Top Row (left to right): Jonathan Auxier, Monica Brown, Tanita S. Davis. Middle row: Adib Khorram, Sonia Patel, Randy Ribay. Bottom row: Cynthia Weill, Tanaya Winder, Janet Wong. World Literature Today, the University of Oklahoma’s... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2020-04-14 19:33:34 UTC ]
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Lit Hub Weekly: March 16 – 20, 2020

THESE TIMES: Lit Hub editor Jonny Diamond on literary community in a time of global pandemic • Ysabelle Cheung on trying to write in Hong Kong during the rise of the novel coronavirus • Italian editor Sara Reggiani on life in lock-down • How to support your local bookstores during the... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-21 11:30:33 UTC ]
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Lit Hub Daily: March 17, 2020

THESE TIMES: How to support your local bookstores during the coronavirus pandemic · What China’s literary community is reading during the pandemic · The first lines of 10 classic novels rewritten for social distancing · Can’t decide what to read? Tell us your favorites and we’ll recommend a... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-17 10:30:26 UTC ]
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What China’s Literary Community is Reading During the Coronavirus Pandemic

I had a fight with my mother the other day. In the past we had argued on many things but never politics, because we’d seldom talked about it. The video call, which started with her asking me about the outbreak in the US, ended up opening my eyes to the chasm between me and the […] Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-17 08:49:21 UTC ]
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Editor’s Note: Literary Community in a Time of Global Pandemic

We are at the beginning of a frightening and difficult time in America. Though we glimpse—in the overflowing hospitals of Milan, the shuttered plazas of Madrid—that which may come to pass, it is impossible to know just how hard hit the United States will be by the novel coronavirus. This nation... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-16 14:00:35 UTC ]
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Here’s an unexpected treat: Tressie McMillan Cottom live-tweeting Love is Blind.

Today feels like one of the bad days. But as your mother always told you, silver linings hang out in the strangest of places. The brilliant Tressie McMillan Cottom, Associate Professor of Sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University, whose most recent book Thick was shortlisted for the National... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-05 18:42:14 UTC ]
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A Conversation with Poet David Ferry on the Occasion of His 96th Birthday

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[ Literrary Hub | 2020-03-05 09:48:44 UTC ]
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With ‘The Night Watchman,’ Louise Erdrich rediscovers her genius

The National Book Award winner thought she was done writing. Lucky for us, she was wrong. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-03-02 18:09:45 UTC ]
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Obituary: Myron Levoy

Author Myron Levoy, whose acclaimed YA novel ‘Alan and Naomi’ was a National Book Award finalist, has died at age 89. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-02-27 05:00:00 UTC ]
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On Shrinking Linguistic Biodiversity and Embracing the Fragmentary: A Conversation with Ottilie Mulzet

Interviews Veronica Esposito Ottilie Mulzet is the principal English-language translator of Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai, winner of numerous international honors. Together, they received the 2019 National Book Award in Translation for Mulzet’s... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2020-02-20 14:05:36 UTC ]
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