“We translators often wear various in hats during the process of bringing a work of literature into English. We advocate for the books and the authors, connect with agents, prepare samples and reader’s reports—often for little or no pay—scout the literary field in our respective languages, and serve, in a sense, as experts and consultants for the publishers we work with. Ultimately, we can really have an impact on their list,” says Whittemore. “This triptych project highlights a lot of that background work that usually goes unrecognized when the book is published. Having a central role in selecting, translating, and introducing these titles to readers will hopefully open doors for me—and other translators— to continue curating books we love for Open Letter and other presses.”
