The National Endowment for the Arts awards Two Lines Press $45,000!
We are very pleased to share that the Center for the Art of Translation has been awarded $45,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to support the work of Two Lines Press. This grant will allow the press to publish more works from underrepresented voices and continue to bring inventive and exciting contemporary literature in translation to new audiences.
We are very pleased to share that the Center for the Art of Translation has been awarded $45,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)(opens in a new tab) to support the work of Two Lines Press.(opens in a new tab) This grant will allow the press to publish more works from underrepresented voices and continue to bring inventive and exciting contemporary literature in translation to new audiences. It will also support the translators who make this writing accessible and strengthen the field. In the words of CAT President Michael Holtmann, “This generous award from the National Endowment from the Arts is not only a heartening show of support for Two Lines Press, it honors the entire field of literary translation, which inspires empathy, deepens understanding, connects readers across cultures and borders, and uplifts the human experience.”
Two Lines Press Publisher & Editor in Chief CJ Evans thanks the NEA for “making it possible to publish authors from Egypt and Hong Kong, towering women writers from Mexico and Portugal who were previously overlooked in translation, and new books from exceptional contemporary authors like Jazmina Barrera and Pirkko Saisio in 2025. In addition to furthering the careers of leading American translators, this grant will support multiple translators on their first book-length projects.” In 2025 Two Lines Press will publish books by contemporary writers showcasing a variety of styles from Egypt, Finland, Hong Kong, Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain—almost all of them women—plus two new titles in the acclaimed Calico Series. Highlights include:
- Hon Lai Chu’s Mending Bodies, translated by Jacqueline Leung, a haunting novel from one of Hong Kong’s most decorated writers about a young woman who resists the absurd expectations of society;
- Backlight, the third book in Pirkko Saisio’s autofictional Helsinki Trilogy, translated by 2023 Nadia Christensen Award winner Mia Spangenberg;
- Jazmina Barrera’s (Cross-Stitch, Linea Nigra, and On Lighthouses) Queen of Swords, translated by Christina MacSweeney, a triumphant work of literary restitution for the essential 20th century Mexican writer Elena Garro;
- and, published simultaneously, the first-ever English translation of Elena Garro’s classic collection The Week of Colors, translated by Megan McDowell.
- As if that weren’t enough, hot on the heels of the success of last year’s Through the Night Like a Snake: Latin American Horror Stories, Calico Series editor Sarah Coolidge brings us Unusual Fragments, fiction by overlooked 20th century Japanese writers, and Hair on Fire, a collection by Afghan women poets.
This year the NEA will award 1,127 Grants for Arts Projects(opens in a new tab) awards nationwide totaling more than $31.8 million, a 17% increase over 2024 funding levels. “The NEA is proud to continue our nearly 60 years of supporting the efforts of organizations and artists that help to shape our country’s vibrant arts sector and communities of all types across our nation,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “It is inspiring to see the wide range of creative projects taking place.”Thank you for your unwavering support and belief in the power of literature to connect and inspire. We’re excited to embark on this new chapter with you and can’t wait to share the incredible projects and possibilities 2025 holds.
Michael Holtmann has worked in the arts for more than fifteen years. Prior to joining the Center, he held positions at the National Endowment for the Arts and the Folger Shakespeare Library. He has served on the board of the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) and the international programming committee of the Bay Area Book Festival.
