Set against the backdrop of Libya's turbulent political landscape, from the 1969 revolution to the aftermath of the 2011 revolution, this excerpt from The Colonel by Kawthar Al-Jehmi explores the complexities of survival, loyalty, and identity.

As Italy invades Tripoli in 1919, a young girl witnesses the beginnings of war in this excerpt from Aisha Ibrahim's Box of Sand, longlisted for the 2023 International Prize for Arabic Fiction.

Russian refugee Anya struggles with the trauma of immigrant life in Norway in this excerpt from Yulia Yakovleva's Abusive Motherland.

Three powerful poems from Adivasi poet Vajesinh Pargi.

Six judges of the 2024 National Book Critics Circle's Gregg Barrios Book in Translation Prize share their appreciations of the six shortlisted titles.

After surviving a fatal accident, a young woman with OCD has repeated encounters with a shadowlike presence in Kim Heejin's By Any Other Name.

In this essay, Morris explores the poignant themes of names, identities, and the intricacies of disability in No Matter How Odd by Kim Heejin.

In honor of International Women's Day 2025, WWB spotlights 8 women writers who have celebrated their English-language debut this past year.

In a world where housing lotteries dictate destinies and mold grows faster than hope, a woman finds herself calculating the cost of survival—not in money, but in silence, compromise, and quiet defiance.

In this short story by French writer Adèle Rosenfeld, a man's unusual new job leads him to question the very nature of language, labor, and meaning itself.

New fiction and poetry from Hong Kong, Oman, Portugal, and more: Tobias Carroll recommends this month's standout reads in translation.

Daniela Tiranti highlights the struggle for authentic representation of disabled characters.

Clare Richards underscores the significance of D/deaf, disabled, and/or neurodivergent writers and translators presenting their community on their own terms.

Words Without Borders seeks applicants for its editorial fellowship, which is designed to provide training for individuals looking to build a career around the publication and promotion of international literature.

Two young sisters and their uncle ride a motorcycle into slapstick in this excerpt from Mridula Garg's novel, a finalist for the 2024 Armory Square Prize for South Asian Literature in Translation.

A new poem from Takako Arai’s Ooka Makoto Prize–winning collection.

Words Without Borders seeks a digital manager to advance the technological systems and infrastructure of our award-winning literary magazine and curricular resources.

In the week leading up to Christmas 1964, a young Finnish girl navigates her mother’s erratic moods and her job at a flower shop.

In this intimate and insightful essay, Rosalind Harvey explores the complex emotional and professional terrain of literary translation, weaving together attachment theory, career precarity, and the unseen labor of bringing words across linguistic borders.

If each city is like a game of chess, the day when I have learned the rules, I shall finally possess my empire, even if I shall never succeed in knowing all the cities it contains.—Italo Calvino, Invisible…

A cycle of Ukrainian poetry on queer love, grief, and the slow passage of time.

After a compromising video circulates, a woman confronts hypocrisy in Mahua Sen Mukhopadhyay’s gripping tale, a finalist for the 2024 Armory Square Prize for South Asian Literature in Translation.

Tobias Carroll kicks off 2025 with recommendations of six new titles in translation, from Japanese mystery-horror to Cuban prose poetry to a classic Vietnamese novel.

Two sisters square off in a confrontation about parenthood and essential humanity in the second part of this futuristic tale by Bora Chung.

When a new mother makes a drastic, life-changing decision, her horrified sister tries to intervene in this futuristic tale by Bora Chung.

Mandana Chaffa uses the otherworldly premise of Anton Hur's novel Toward Eternity as a springboard to discuss Hur's path to translation, community, and immortality.

In this dreamy text, where poetry blends with prose, we encounter memory as taste, smells, and the gestures of a mother’s hand.

This grant aims to support early-career translators seeking to bring international work into the English-language marketplace.

We all know each other; we are all connected somehow, tightly or loosely. We are all from the same generation. Young, in a hurry, ambitious.

The award will support WWB’s award-winning digital magazine of international literature and its literary events series.