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| Open Letter Books | |
|---|---|
| Name | Open Letter Books |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Country | United States |
| Headquarters | Rochester, New York |
| Parent | University of Rochester |
| Publications | Books |
Open Letter Books is an independent imprint affiliated with the University of Rochester dedicated to publishing translations of world literature. Founded by editors and scholars with ties to university programs, the press emphasizes contemporary and classic fiction from diverse linguistic traditions, partnering with translators, authors, and cultural institutions.
Open Letter Books was established in 2008 at the University of Rochester through initiatives that involved faculty in comparative literature, area studies, and translation studies. Early collaborators included departments and centers connected to scholars who study French literature, German literature, Spanish literature, Italian literature, and Russian literature. The imprint grew alongside programs such as the university's translation workshop and benefited from relationships with international publishers in cities like Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Rome, and Moscow. Over time Open Letter expanded its catalog through exchanges with institutes and festivals such as the Frankfurt Book Fair, the BookExpo America, the Edinburgh International Book Festival, and cultural diplomacy events supported by national bodies.
The press’s mission centers on publishing high-quality translations that bring authors from diverse linguistic backgrounds into English-language conversation, aligning editorial decisions with scholarly values associated with the University of Rochester and with networks of translators who have worked on texts by writers connected to institutions like the Sorbonne, the Heidelberg University, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and the University of Tokyo. Editorial priorities include contemporary fiction, rediscovered classics, and experimental prose, often engaging with literatures from countries with strong publishing traditions such as France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan, Russia, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, China, South Korea, Turkey, Greece, Poland, Sweden, and Portugal. Collaboration with translators links the imprint to translator associations and awards like the PEN Translation Prize, the Best Translated Book Award, and the PEN/Heim Translation Fund.
Open Letter’s catalog spans contemporary novels, short fiction, and essays by authors with international standing. The press has brought English editions of work by writers who have appeared on lists associated with the Man Booker International Prize, the Nobel Prize in Literature, the Prix Goncourt, the Premio Cervantes, and the Strega Prize. Among titles are translations of novels and short stories that engage traditions seen in the oeuvres of figures linked to Gabriel García Márquez, Marcel Proust, Franz Kafka, Italo Calvino, Jorge Luis Borges, Haruki Murakami, and Clarice Lispector, while also publishing contemporary voices resonant with readers of Chinua Achebe, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Orhan Pamuk, Elena Ferrante, Isabel Allende, Alice Munro, Karl Ove Knausgård, Amélie Nothomb, César Aira, Ryszard Kapuściński, Herta Müller, Milan Kundera, Peter Handke, Svetlana Alexievich, Mario Vargas Llosa, Alberto Manguel, Roberto Bolaño, Alejo Carpentier, and W. G. Sebald.
The imprint collaborates with established and emerging authors as well as independent translators, translators’ workshops, and academic programs in comparative literature circles linked to universities such as Columbia University, Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, Stanford University, Oxford University, Cambridge University, McGill University, and University of Toronto. Editorial partnerships extend to small presses and international houses in markets like Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, China, Russia, and Turkey. Translation collaborators include translators who have worked on texts by authors associated with awards such as the PEN/Faulkner Award, the National Book Award, the Prix Médicis, and the Deutscher Bücherpreis.
Distribution of titles leverages university press networks and independent booksellers linked to organizations such as the Association of American Publishers, the American Booksellers Association, the Independent Book Publishers Association, and trade fairs like the London Book Fair and the Frankfurt Book Fair. The imprint participates in translation initiatives supported by cultural agencies including the French Cultural Services, the Goethe-Institut, the Instituto Cervantes, the Japan Foundation, DAAD, and the British Council to promote cross-cultural circulation. Programs often include readings, panels, and partnerships with bookstores and literary festivals such as Powell's Books, the Brooklyn Book Festival, the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, and university lecture series.
Titles published by the press have been reviewed in major outlets and cultural pages that cover international literature and translation, including coverage alongside writers featured in publications associated with the New York Review of Books, the London Review of Books, The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Guardian, Le Monde, Die Zeit, El País, Corriere della Sera, and Asahi Shimbun. The imprint’s releases have influenced syllabi in translation studies and comparative literature programs at institutions such as University of California, Berkeley, New York University, University of Michigan, and University of Chicago and have fostered cross-border dialogues among readers and scholars.
Books from the imprint have been finalists for and recipients of prizes and honors associated with translation and literature, including the Best Translated Book Award, the PEN Translation Prize, shortlists for the Man Booker International Prize, appearances on longlists for the National Book Award, and citations from organizations such as the Modern Language Association and national cultural ministries. Editors, translators, and authors connected with the press have been invited to juries and panels for awards like the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Nobel Prize in Literature committees (as commentators and scholars in the field), and regional prizes such as the Premio Strega and the Prix Goncourt.
Category:University presses Category:Publishing companies of the United States