Found in Translation

Schnee, who majored in English and earned an M.F.A. from The New School, co-founded Words Without Borders 20 years ago. The nonprofit literary magazine is dedicated to publishing the best stories from around the world translated into English. The New York Times highlighted Words Without Borders on November 2, the week of its anniversary celebrations, in an article noting that this is “a fraught time: Around the world, wars are raging. Writers are being jailed, dissident voices silenced and books banned.... How do you find words, let alone celebrate them, when bombs are dropping?”

The NYT noted that the magazine has published nine Nobel laureates, “seven of them years before their works were recognized by the Swedish Academy.” 

“I do think we have good taste,” said Schnee. “And we have a fantastic team of editors. But I also think it goes back to our translators who say, ‘Hey, this is someone you should take a look at.’”