Elisabeth Jaquette. Image: Words Without Borders
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Jaquette Begins Work September 1
As Publishing Perspectives readers know, the nonprofit literary translation showcase Words Without Borders has held important significance for many in the international book publishing business since the program was established in 2003.
Often working in far-flung “small languages” for its literary translations, the company has become a kind of online gathering point for translators to find work and chances to expose some of their most promising finds in world literature. It’s also a hub for the reading public, broadening the appeal of literature in translation through its shorter, curated editions.
The Words Without Borders board announced on Tuesday (June 30) that Elizabeth Jaquette will succeed Karen M. Phillips, who for 11 years starting in September 2013 has led the nonprofit organization.
And Jaquette comes to this new role from the executive directorship of the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA), where she has served since 2017.
In an announcement relayed to the press from the translators’ association on Tuesday morning, members of the press read Jaquette writing, “I have cherished my time at ALTA, and working with our incredible staff and board in service of the translator community has been the deepest honor.
“I’m proud of all that we’ve achieved during my tenure at ALTA: we have dramatically expanded our membership and programs, established multiple initiatives serving BIPOC translators, increased our mentorships more than fourfold, launched a year-round virtual program series to serve translators worldwide, and are on the cusp of launching a new site and visual identity.
“I’m excited to make space for new leadership at ALTA, and know that this transition comes at a time of unprecedented organizational strength and stability. In these past seven years we’ve expanded our grant portfolio tenfold, tripled our annual budget and staff, established a sizable operating reserve, and launched the organization’s first ever strategic plan—all of which enables us to better serve you, our community.”
Karen M. Phillips
In a generous note, her predecessor, Phillips, writes, “I couldn’t be happier to hand the reins, the car keys, and the helm over to visionary leader, expert arts manager, and brilliant translator (who published her first paid translation on Words Without Borders) to Elisabeth Jaquette.”
Jaquette begins her new role at Words Without Borders on September 1.
A Noted Translator of Arabic
Jaquette combines her work as an arts administrator with a background in Arabic translation, and her translations have been named finalists in competitions including the United States’ National Book Award; the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation; the Banipal Prize for Arabic Literature; and the TA First Translation Prize created by author and translator Daniel Hahn.
Her translation of Minor Detail by Adania Shibli (Fitzcarraldo/New Directions, 2020) was a finalist for the National Book Award for Translated Literature and longlisted for the International Booker Prize.
Among her other translations you may recognize are Thirteen Months of Sunrise by Rania Mamoun (a finalist for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation) and The Queue by Egyptian author Basma Abdel Aziz (shortlisted for the TA First Translation Prize).
Her work has appeared or still is forthcoming in Words Without Borders, McSweeney’s, the Common, Asymptote, the Offing, and World Literature Today, as well as a dozen anthologies. In addition to her work as a literary translator, Jaquette has contributed translations to The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Guardian, Amnesty International, and Index on Censorship.
Jaquette has taught literary translation for Bread Loaf Translators’ Conference, the British Council, and at Hunter College, CUNY, in New York City. She has served as a juror for the National Book Award in Translated Literature, the NEA Literary Translation Fellowships, and the PEN America Translation Prize, among other awards.
Her work has been supported by the Jan Michalski Foundation, the PEN/Heim Translation Fund, several English PEN Translates Awards, and a Center for Arabic Study Abroad Fellowship at the American University in Cairo. She holds a MA from Columbia University and a BA from Swarthmore College.
The Words Without Borders search committee worked with DRG Talent in finding Phillips’ successor.
More from Publishing Perspectives on ‘Words Without Borders’ is here, more from us on translation is here, and more on book publishing and Arabic language work is here.