Write the World 2023: Publishing Translations: A Conversation Between Translators & Editors

Are there differences when publishing translation as books, as shorter pieces in a literary magazine, or when translators write essays about languages? We have invited three editors (some of whom are also translators themselves) who have experiences working with translators––from publishing houses to literary magazines. We will explore elements of building a healthy relationship between both, and what it is like to introduce essays about translation, and translations themselves, to wider audiences. 

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Moderator

Jenna Tang translates from Chinese and Spanish. She received an MFA from The New School. Her work is published in LALT, AAWW, McSweeney’s, Catapult, and more. She is a 2021 ALTA mentee. Her translation, Fang Si-Chi’s First Love Paradise, is forthcoming at HarperVia in 2024.

Panelists

Alexa Frank is an Assistant Editor at HarperVia. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and the Fulbright program, she has edited titles such as Tomihiko Morimi’s The Tatami Galaxy (shortlisted for the 2023 PEN Translation Prize) and Rin Usami’s Idol, Burning. Stella Cabot Wilson grew up in Wyoming and Colorado and lives in New York City. Previously an associate editor for Catapult magazine and Don’t Write Alone, she has also worked for Guernica magazine and is a proud past member of the service industry. Currently, she works as an editor, writer, and DJ. Soleil Davíd is a poet and translator. She received a BA from UC Berkeley and an MFA from Indiana University. Her honors include the Peter K. Jansen Memorial Travel Fellowship, a Bread Loaf scholarship, a PEN America Emerging Voices Fellowship, and the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature. She is a senior editor for translation at The Margins.