Suggestions for Next Year
Overall, I think the inaugural Translation Marketplace at the Miami Book Fair International was a huge success. Similar to what happens at fairs like BEA and Frankfurt, I came away re-energized, feeling like what we’re doing is important, vital, and exciting. Aside from Martin Riker’s joke about not wanting his ...
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The Booksellers P.O.V.
This was by far the most uplifting, pragmatic, exciting panel at the Translation Marketplace. Not that the others were uninteresting, but for whatever reason, great independent booksellers have a way of making you feel like change is possible, like the situation isn’t that bad, like it’s really worthwhile to keep ...
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"Latin American Literature in Translation" and "The Portuguese Tale"
These were the two panels I was unable to attend at the Miami Book Fair. Both sounded really interesting, with Aida Bardales (Criticas), Johanna Castill (Atria Books), Valerie Miles (Santillana), Lorin Stein (FSG), Andrea Montejo (agent), and David Unger (author) discussing Latin American literature in the first, and with ...
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Reviewing Translations
Steve Wasserman—one of my all-time favorite panelists for his great anecdotes and brilliant, witty comments—moderated this discussion, which included Marie Arana (author, book review editor at the Washington Post), Alan Cheuse (author, critic for NPR), Eric Banks (editor of Bookforum), and Carlin Romano (book ...
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Boycotts, Bestsellers, and Banned Books
This was the panel that I was on, which makes it sort of difficult to write about. I do want to say that Michael Moore—the Chair of the PEN Translation Committee—did a fantastic job organizing and moderating this panel. He provided a lot of information about the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the recent ...
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Translation Buzz — Finally, a Panel about Books
When I was out in Iowa with Dedi Felman from Words Without Borders, we talked about how rare it was to have a panel about translations in which people actually talked about the books they’re reading. Usually panelists wax on and on about “obstacles” and “problems” and about “losing ...
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The Opening Session in Miami — Gloomy, Yet Optimistic
For those who aren’t familiar with the Miami Book Fair International, it’s the brainchild of Mitchell Kaplan, one of the smartest booksellers in America, and owner of Books and Books. The fair is one of the largest and liveliest in America and started in 1984 with the mission to “promote reading, encourage ...
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