Two Lines Press is Turning 10
Two Lines Press celebrates a decade of publishing daring literature in translation.
Two Lines Press is turning ten! We’re celebrating a decade of publishing daring literature in translation with an exciting lineup of anniversary events featuring authors Jazmina Barrera and Astrid Roemer, translators Jordan Stump and Margaret Jull Costa, and much more!
“In the ten years since Two Lines was founded, the publishing industry has come around quite a bit, not only to how important literature in translation can be, but that it can also be shocking, beautiful, touching, and even fun,” says Editor in chief CJ Evans in Publishers Weekly. “There’s still so much more work to be done, especially in recognizing the artistry of translators and expanding the diversity of voices in American literature, but we’re so proud to have been part of the incredible vanguard of primarily small publishers doing this work for the past ten years.”
Read more in the Publishers Weekly piece “Two Lines Press Pushes Translation’s Boundaries(opens in a new tab).”
“The publishing industry has come around quite a bit, not only to how important literature in translation can be, but that it can also be shocking, beautiful, touching, and even fun.”
In a Q&A from the Frankfurt Book Fair, Evans shared the origins of Two Lines Press from the print Two Lines journal: “I kept receiving excerpts or stories from amazing international authors like Naja Marie Aidt or Xu Zechen that weren’t being published in the U.S. It was ultimately the manuscript for Marie NDiaye’s Self-Portrait in Green—which we’ve re-released this fall in a special anniversary edition to celebrate 10 years of the press—that was so unique it made us commit to starting the publishing house.”
Read more about what new trends and agents Evans is keeping an eye on in the Publishers Weekly piece “Frankfurt Book Fair 2023: Editor Q&A: C.J. Evans.”(opens in a new tab)
Anniversary Events
You do not want to miss the anniversary events planned this fall, including a U.S. book tour for the author Jazmina Barrera’s debut novel Cross-Stitch, translated by Christina MacSweeney!
The lineup features new events in The International Library series, which is a partnership among CAT, the Center for Fiction in Brooklyn, and the American Library in Paris to present live conversations about literature in translation while connecting transnational audiences. Read about The International Library in this Poets & Writers(opens in a new tab) profile.
We’ve partnered with some of our favorite independent bookstores, literary organizations, and festivals to present an incredible array of events featuring international writers and translators who have inspired and guided the press for the last decade.
Check out the full lineup:
OCTOBER 1
Brooklyn Book Festival: Dutch Literature Prize-winning Author Astrid Roemer(opens in a new tab)
OCTOBER 10
Nordic Bookclub Online: The Red Book of Farewells with Mia Spangenberg(opens in a new tab)
If you weren’t able to attend one of our recent events, you can watch the recording of our September 14 conversation celebrating the publication of Elektrik: Caribbean Writing, with Marie-Célie Agnant, Gaël Octavia, Danielle Legros Georges, and Myriam J. A. Chancy.
Praise for Two Lines Press books
“I used to have a much more ‘romantic’ relationship to writing. I used to have small rituals,
like making myself a cup of tea or taking long walks to think about what I was writing. Since
my son was born, time became of the essence, and writing became something more urgent,
something I desire and think about while I do other daily tasks, and that I run to when I
have the chance.” Read an interview with Cross-Stitch author Jazmina Barrera in Vogue(opens in a new tab).
Shelbi Polk interviews Jazmina Barrera for Shondaland(opens in a new tab).
Read “Life and Dream,”(opens in a new tab) from Maria Judite de Carvalho’s So Many People, Mariana in The Baffler.
The 10th-anniversary edition of Marie NDiaye’s Self-Portrait in Green is on Kirkus Reviews’s list of 8 Works of Translated Fiction To Read Now(opens in a new tab).
Booker Prize(opens in a new tab)-nominated writer Sarah Bernstein discusses the influence of Marie NDiaye on her book Study for Obedience. “Her characters and settings remain opaque, they keep their secrets.”
“The Caribbean depicted in this anthology is one envisioned and defined by its authors, carrying with it a bright future simply through the act of feminine production. . . . For the women highlighted in this collection, the act of writing is one of critical defiance that gives voice to voiceless women and, further, engages in the creation of a redefined Caribbean femininity that defies patriarchal or colonial coercion. “ Barrelhouse(opens in a new tab) reviews Elektrik: Caribbean Writing.
We couldn’t have made it this far without the support of readers like you, and we’re looking forward to many more years of uplifting overlooked and underrepresented writers in translation!
Erin Branagan has a lifelong interest in languages, literature, and the interrelation of countries and cultures. She speaks Spanish, French, and Japanese and has lived and traveled extensively outside the U.S.
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