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wwborders.bsky.social
Words Without Borders & WWB Campus
@wwborders.bsky.social
6.4K followers 910 following 1.5K posts
The home for international literature since 2003. Winners of the Whiting Literary Magazine Prize.

https://linktr.ee/wordswithoutborders
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wwborders.bsky.social
Read three poems translated from Manx in “Strong Still Is Ellan Vannin” by Mona Douglas (tr. Robert Corteen Carswell), which explore the fight for freedom and celebrate the indomitable spirit and resilience of the Isle of Man. Find them here: wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...
An image of Milner's Tower, Bradda Head, Port Erin at night. Overlaid in white is text that reads: “When the Stanley ruled in Mannin, The Manx people were trampled down, But there were some amongst us, Striving to keep our nation alive. Strong still is Ellan Vannin: The fine young people, Standing for country and language, Crying out throughout the land of their love, ‘Rise up! Rise up!’” Strong Still Is Ellan Vannin: Three Poems By Mona Douglas, translated from Manx by Robert Corteen Carswell The Beating Heart: New Celtic Writing.
February 5, 2026 at 6:41 PM
wwborders.bsky.social
Joining our new Celtic issue are two poems by Aonghas MacNeacail. Translated from Scots Gaelic by @taylor-strickland.bsky.social these pensive poems evoke emotions through the beauty of the Scottish landscape. Read “A Sapling Grafted to Fury: Two Poems” here: wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...
An image of white crumpled sheets, above it is white text that reads “woke up i did from shell membrane a wee shirt & wished mi that saffron shirt my people’s celebrity ” A Sapling Grafted to Fury: Two Poems by Aonghas MacNeacail, translated from Scots Gaelic by Taylor Strickland The Beating Heart: New Celtic Writing
February 4, 2026 at 5:41 PM
wwborders.bsky.social
Read Tsering Woeser’s poem “Only This Useless Poem—For Lobsang Tsepak” (tr. Fiona Sze-Lorrain). Woeser’s poem is an elegy to the Tibetan monks and nuns protesting Chinese rule since 2011. . Read here: wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...
An image of a stone hut with a red door on a mountainside, overlaid is white text that reads: Only This Useless Poem—For Lobsang Tsepak, by Tsering Woeser, translated from Chinese by Fiona Sze-Lorrain, Poetry, “If you gaze at hell for too long you risk being eaten bit by bit Are you willing to negotiate? If so, we’ll listen in exchange for his safe return”
February 3, 2026 at 3:05 PM
wwborders.bsky.social
Today, we’re remembering WWB contributor Vénus Khoury-Ghata, (1937–2026), a Lebanese poet and novelist who lived in France.

You can read her work on her work on our website: wordswithoutborders.org/contributors...
February 2, 2026 at 3:57 PM
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Don’t miss World in Verse, a free virtual reading today at 11am ET! Readers include Eileen O’Connor, Jackson Watson, Katerina Iliopoulou, @michehut.bsky.social, Nathalie Handal, Nisrine Mbarki Ben Ayad, @samanthaschnee.bsky.social, and Yolanda Castaño.

RSVP here: wwborders.live/WorldInVerse2026
January 31, 2026 at 1:28 PM
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Suzana Vuljevic reviews THE OLD FIRE (@summitbooks.bsky.social) by Elisa Shua Dusapin and translated by Aneesa Abbas Higgins. Vuljevic explores the depiction of silence in the novel and considers how we become disconnected from the people we love.

Read here: wordswithoutborders.org/book-reviews...
Yellow background, to the right is the book cover of THE OLD FIRE. To the left of the book is black text that reads:BOOK REVIEW “Abbas Higgins has translated three previous books by Dusapin, including the National Book Award for Translation-winning Winter in Sokcho, and in each she captures the author’s spare, restrained style.” "The Sounds of Silence: Elisa Shua Dusapin's The Old Fire" by Suzana Vuljevic
January 30, 2026 at 3:55 PM
wwborders.bsky.social
This week, read two poems by @laoighseach.bsky.social, translated from Irish by @ellenfcorbett.bsky.social, in our latest issue “The Beating Heart: New Celtic Writing.” . Read these poems, steeped in Irish history, hegemony, and love, here: wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...
A drawing of two hands pinching a a cloth: “But now, my love, on days when you drip from the eaves of my memory, I put thimbles out on the doorstep, in the hope that, overnight, they’ll collect even just a dewdrop of that grace.” My Other Tinfoil Tongue: Two Poems, by Laoighseach Ní Choistealbha, translated from Irish by Ellen Corbett The Beating Heart: New Celtic Writing
January 29, 2026 at 6:41 PM
wwborders.bsky.social
Check out our first translation from Breton! “The Sandy Shore” by Goulc'han Kervella (tr. Michelle Couny) follows Pêrig Skoarn as he discovers a forgotten palace brimming with riches, where each treasure he finds seems to be greater than the last. Read here: wordswithoutborders.org/read/article... ‎
An image of a sandy beach in Brittany. Overlaid in white text it reads: “Then, at last, the first stroke of midnight rang on the bells of St. Michael’s. The moon was bright. Pêrig could see the cliff opening, slowly, like the mouth of a large animal yawning after a long sleep. The gap in the cliff was wide and Pêrig ran inside. Pitch-black at first, a little further in there was a strange glowing light.” The Sandy Shore by Goulc’han Kervella, translated from Breton by Michelle Couny, The Beating Heart: New Celtic Writing.
January 28, 2026 at 5:41 PM
wwborders.bsky.social
We’re kicking off a new year of Watchlists with an all-fiction January list from Tobias Carroll! This month he’s chosen novels translated from Polish, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, and French, including a new novel from WWB contributor and Nobel Prize winner Olga Tokarczuk.
An image of 6 book covers, to the right it reads The January Watchlist by Tobias Carroll. Fiction translated from Polish, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, and French.
January 22, 2026 at 7:01 PM
wwborders.bsky.social
“There Are No Fossils Left in This Land” by Taran Spalding-Jenkin (tr. Elizabeth Ellis) documents the passage of time, considering what gets left behind and what endures.
Read here: wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...
A drawing of fossilized fishes above a white background with black text that reads: I wonder am I not rust growing on its bones? Why did we labor so hard for dirt and stones? There Are No Fossils Left in This Land By Taran Spalding-Jenkin, translated from Cornish by Elizabeth Ellis The Beating Heart: New CELTIC Writing.
January 22, 2026 at 6:41 PM
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Don't miss the Books Across Borders New Year in Translation Book Buzz, tonight! Feat. @europaeditions.bsky.social @northsouthbooks.bsky.social @princetonupress.bsky.social @deepvellum.bsky.social @archipelagobooks.bsky.social @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social and Other Press.

buff.ly/AqSjxa5
Books Across Borders A New Year in Translation Book Buzz for Booksellers & Librarians Wed., January 21 8:00pm EST / 5:00pm PST featuring new titles from: EUROPA EDITIONS OTHER PRESS NORTHSOUTH BOOKS PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS DEEP VELLUM NEW YORK REVIEW BOOKS ARCHIPELAGO BOOKS Thanks to our promotional partners Brooklyn Public Library Every Library Live! Words Without Borders Rise Bookselling NAIBA ABA MPIBA PNBA CALIBA SIBA GLIBA MIBA NEIBA The Independent Bookseller
January 22, 2026 at 1:28 PM
wwborders.bsky.social
Cornish writer Pol Hodge’s praise poem “The Cornish Alphabet” (tr. Elizabeth Ellis), part of our latest issue of new Celtic writing,” illuminates the inherent poetics of the Cornish vocabulary.

Read it here: wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...
An image of cliffs on a sea coast above a black background with white text that reads: Ust—west Ust, south Gwynnek, east Aled, north Morwenn, Vertu—virtuous land of these saints, strong as iron. War-barth—together with Brittany and Wales we rejoice, Yeth—our language in head, heart, and mouth, our voice. The Cornish Alphabet By Pol Hodge, translated from Cornish by Elizabeth Ellis New CELTIC Writing
January 20, 2026 at 9:55 PM
wwborders.bsky.social
Books Across Borders invites booksellers and librarians to a New Year in Translation Book Buzz! @europaeditions.bsky.social @northsouthbooks.bsky.social @princetonupress.bsky.social @deepvellum.bsky.social @archipelagobooks.bsky.social @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social and Other Press.

buff.ly/AqSjxa5
Books Across Borders A New Year in Translation Book Buzz for Booksellers & Librarians Wed., January 21 8:00pm EST / 5:00pm PST featuring new titles from: EUROPA EDITIONS OTHER PRESS NORTHSOUTH BOOKS PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS DEEP VELLUM NEW YORK REVIEW BOOKS ARCHIPELAGO BOOKS Thanks to our promotional partners Brooklyn Public Library Every Library Live! Words Without Borders Rise Bookselling NAIBA ABA MPIBA PNBA CALIBA SIBA GLIBA MIBA NEIBA The Independent Bookseller
January 18, 2026 at 1:28 PM
wwborders.bsky.social
Translating a book into English? You might be eligible for our Momentum Grant, funded by the Malecha Family Foundation.

Read more about the grant here: wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...

Submissions are due by February 28, 2026.
Image of the right corner of an office building against a purple sky. Overlaid on the top right of the image in black lettering it reads: for Early-Career Translators Apply by February 28, 2026 Words Without Borders announces the fourth annual MOMENTUM GRANT.
January 16, 2026 at 2:28 PM
wwborders.bsky.social
Katy Dycus praises THE MUSHROOM GATHERER by Viktorie Hanišová (tr. Véronique Firkusny), calling it a “haunting meditation on loss and the delicate balance between isolation and connection...”

Read the full review here: wordswithoutborders.org/book-reviews...
Book cover of THE MUSHROOM GATHERER to the right of black text that reads: BOOK REVIEW “Hanišová’s book asks, how can we love the world and one another when such pain and tragedy exist?” “In Every Drawer, Memories Lurk”: Revisiting the Past in Viktorie Hanišová’s The Mushroom Gatherer by Katy Dycus
January 15, 2026 at 3:05 PM
wwborders.bsky.social
Read @tpleitezvela.bsky.social’s poem “Hammering the Iron” (tr. @jessrainey.bsky.social), which chronicles the loss of a friend and the search for the human remains of several women killed by the military in El Salvador.

Find the full poem here: wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...
The image of an orange and black bird, overlaid on top of the image in white letters it reads: Hammering the IronBy Tania Pleitez Vela, translated from Spanish by Jessica Rainey Poetry “These friends are the diary that resists the damp, the personal dictionary, the repository of old and invented words, words that pass from babble to whisper and finally to voice. These friends are the strength behind the other you: the one that steps out of the shadows and takes off the armor and doesn’t die from trying.”
January 14, 2026 at 5:41 PM
wwborders.bsky.social
Don't miss World in Verse on 1/31, 11am ET! A free virtual poetry reading w/ AAP and Eileen O’Connor, Jackson Watson, Katerina Iliopoulou, @michehut.bsky.social, Nathalie Handal, Nisrine Mbarki Ben Ayad, @samanthaschnee.bsky.social, and Yolanda Castaño.

RSVP here: wwborders.live/WorldInVerse2026
January 13, 2026 at 6:41 PM
wwborders.bsky.social
Books Across Borders invites booksellers and librarians to join them for a New Year in Translation Book Buzz! Get the 411 on the seasons' most exciting translations from indie presses, and share space with fellow translation lovers.

Sign up today! 1/21, 8 pm ET:
us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Books Across Borders A New Year in Translation Book Buzz for Booksellers & Librarians Wed., January 21 8:00pm EST / 5:00pm PST featuring new titles from: EUROPA EDITIONS OTHER PRESS NORTHSOUTH BOOKS PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS DEEP VELLUM NEW YORK REVIEW BOOKS ARCHIPELAGO BOOKS Thanks to our promotional partners Brooklyn Public Library Every Library Live! Words Without Borders Rise Bookselling NAIBA ABA MPIBA PNBA CALIBA SIBA GLIBA MIBA NEIBA The Independent Bookseller
January 13, 2026 at 1:28 PM
wwborders.bsky.social
Take time today with “No Euskera,” a story from our archives set in Francoist Spain, by Ramiro Pinilla (tr. @anathanwest.bsky.social ). The story follows the journey of an elderly woman and her granddaughter as they visit her son on death row.

Read here: buff.ly/SPOvB3s
In the background, a gingham umbrella from above in the rain, as well as the following text overlaid in white: No Euskera By Ramiro Pinilla, translated from Spanish by Adrian Nathan West “She would never forget her grandmother’s mouth, how it seemed welded shut, or the serene expression on her rough-hewn features, which had ceased to struggle against her yearning to speak.” from the archive: Fiction.
January 12, 2026 at 5:41 PM
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Meet our 2025-26 Editorial Fellow, Alex Tan! Alex is a writer and translator currently based in NYC. Their work can be found in @lithub.com.web.brid.gy, Poetry Foundation, @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social, and more!

Read the full interview here: wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...
Meet WWB’s2025-26 Editorial Fellow Alex Tan. Image: Collage by Alex Tan. Images of Aḥmad Fāris al-Shidyāq's Kitāb al-Sāq ʻalá al-sāq fī-mā huwa al-Fāriyāq from Arabic Collections Online. Photograph by Kendall Dorland.
January 9, 2026 at 5:41 PM
wwborders.bsky.social
Check out this cosmic poem about an astronaut in crisis as he floats above the earth considering obsolescence. Written by Princeton professor Yuri Leving, and translated from Russian by the author. Read “Return to Earth”: wordswithoutborders.org/read/article... ‎
ALT: Return to Earth By Yuri Leving, translated from Russian by the author Poetry “‘Like a rookie in a car graveyard I look around with my still dust-free side headlights. I show almost no traces of rust— I’m still a man of some use. Why did they write me off?’” Image: Polaroid of an astronaut on the moon.
January 8, 2026 at 3:05 PM
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Thank you to everyone who donated to our annual appeal! To show our appreciation, here is a short poem by Ra Heeduk (tr. Won-Chung Kim & Christopher Merrill). Here’s to another year of innovative and powerful global literature.

Read “Underground Flower” here: wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...
There is an orchid that only blooms underground.Because it never shows itself above ground few are said to have seen it. Only white ants can enter the blooms, drawn by the fragrance rising from the runnels cut by the autumn rain. The orchid withers in sunlight, which the white ants burrow into the ground to escape, their bodies sparkling white, though they work in the dark. Like undeveloped film, this orchid never shows itself; its whole body consists of roots, even its blooms are just hidden roots. “Underground Flower” by Ra Heeduk, translated from Korean by Won-Chung Kim & Christopher Merrill“Underground Flower” by Ra Heeduk, translated from Korean by Won-Chung Kim & Christopher Merrill. Image: Ink drawing of flowers.
January 7, 2026 at 3:58 PM
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A very happy birthday to WWB contributor and Nobel Prize winner László Krasznahorkai! In celebration, check out “From 'El último lobo'” (tr. George Szirtes), which we published back in 2009 (it's an excerpt from the novel THE LAST WOLF @ndbooks.bsky.social ) : wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...
January 5, 2026 at 9:32 PM
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Browse our list of most anticipated 2026 titles in translation, spanning across 13 countries and ten different languages. You’re sure to find a new book to add to the top of your TBR. Read here: wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...
WWB’s Most Anticipated Books of 2026 Nonfiction about Shakespeare in translation, Fiction translated from French, Spanish, Polish, and Arabic, and Poetry translated from German and Korean. Image: Book covers of We Were Forbidden, Lady No, Pure Men, The Jaguar’s Roar, Lithium, Notes to a Black Woman, Mariam, It’s Arwa, Conversations in The Mountains, Mer De Glace, If This be Magic, My Dreadful Body, Electric Shamans at the Festival of the Sun, City Like Water.
January 5, 2026 at 5:41 PM
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For International Women’s Day last March, our previous Editorial Fellow Elete Nelson-Fearon shared a list of women writers who recently made their English-language debuts in WWB. 🧵 buff.ly/MT3NjrG
The text “Debut Women Writers to Read on International Women’s Day” with portraits of the featured writers.
January 4, 2026 at 3:02 PM