New York, NY, July 30, 2024—Words Without Borders, the international literary arts organization and leading magazine for translated literature in English, has appointed Elisabeth Jaquette as its next executive director. An experienced arts administrator, Jaquette is the first professional literary translator to serve as executive director. She will begin her new role on September 1, 2024.
“Lissie Jaquette is a prominent member of the translated literature community, both as a noted translator from Arabic and as the executive director responsible for transforming the American Literary Translators Association,” said WWB board chair and founding editor Samantha Schnee. “In my role as board secretary at ALTA, I was privileged to work with Lissie for six years and witness her dramatically expand its budget, programs, and impact. The board’s search committee was unanimous in its selection of Lissie as WWB’s next visionary leader, and both staff and trustees who met with her during our search were enthusiastic about her candidacy. We’re thrilled that she is joining us at this moment of organizational strength, as we expand our work to connect readers and students across the globe with translated literature.”
Jaquette currently serves as the executive director of the American Literary Translators Association, an organization she has led since 2017. During her tenure, she has reshaped and stabilized the forty-year-old membership organization by strategically growing its revenue, programs, and audience. In addition to tripling ALTA’s annual budget and staff and establishing a sizable operating reserve, she has dramatically increased its membership and program attendance. Under her leadership, ALTA expanded its lauded mentorship program fourfold, launched a year-round virtual program series, established multiple initiatives to serve BIPOC translators, and is on the cusp of launching a new website and visual identity.
Jaquette brings to WWB expertise not only in arts management but also in literary translation. She is a renowned translator from Arabic to English whose translations have been finalists for the National Book Award, the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation, the Banipal Prize for Arabic Literature, and the TA First Translation Prize. Beyond her work at ALTA and as a translator, Jaquette has supported the literary community as an educator, a judge for the National Book Award, and a founding member of Cedilla & Co, a translators’ collective.
About her appointment, Jaquette said, “I have long been a great admirer of Words Without Borders: I have been a dedicated reader of the magazine from its beginning, and my very first paid work as a translator was published in its pages. As someone dedicated to serving our international community of readers, writers, translators, educators, and students, I look forward to carrying out WWB’s mission of cultivating global awareness and expanding access to exceptional international writing. I am honored to join WWB’s incredible staff and board at this moment of great organizational strength and possibility.”
“It’s been a privilege and a pleasure working with Lissie here at ALTA, where she is admired and deeply valued for everything she does,” said ALTA board chair Chenxin Jiang. “Every program at ALTA has been shaped in some way by her creativity and her vision for the literary translation community: we’ve grown significantly with Lissie at the helm and we look forward to seeing what she does next at WWB.”
ALTA has today announced Jaquette’s departure as well as its plans for continuity while its board commences a search for her successor. You can read ALTA’s press release here.
About Elisabeth Jaquette
Elisabeth Jaquette serves as the executive director of the American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) and is an accomplished translator from Arabic. As an arts administrator at ALTA, she both stabilized the organization and broadened its impact by tripling its staff and annual budget, launching year-round virtual programming, and leading a successful website redesign and rebrand. Her translation of Minor Detail by Adania Shibli (Fitzcarraldo/New Directions, 2020) was a finalist for the National Book Award for Translated Literature and longlisted for the International Booker Prize. Among her other translations are Thirteen Months of Sunrise by Rania Mamoun (a finalist for the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation) and The Queue by Egyptian author Basma Abdel Aziz (shortlisted for the TA First Translation Prize, longlisted for the Best Translated Book Award). Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Words Without Borders, McSweeney’s, the Common, Asymptote, the Offing, and World Literature Today, as well as a dozen anthologies. In addition to her work as a literary translator, she has contributed translations to the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Guardian, Amnesty International, and Index on Censorship.
Elisabeth has taught literary translation for Bread Loaf Translators’ Conference, the British Council, and at Hunter College, CUNY, and has served as a judge for the National Book Award in Translated Literature, the NEA Literary Translation Fellowships, and the PEN America Translation Prize, among other awards. Her work has been supported by the Jan Michalski Foundation, the PEN/Heim Translation Fund, several English PEN Translates Awards, and a Center for Arabic Study Abroad Fellowship at the American University in Cairo. She holds a MA from Columbia University and a BA from Swarthmore College. She is a board member of Tucson Audubon Society and a founding member of Cedilla & Co, a translators’ collective.
About the Search
DRG Talent, an executive search firm specializing in purpose-driven nonprofit organizations, led an extensive national search process in close collaboration with WWB’s search committee, which was co-chaired by Samantha Schnee and Kalpana Raina and included members Tara Parsons, Joanne Leedom-Ackerman, and Alessandro d’Ansembourg.
About Words Without Borders
Founded in 2003, Words Without Borders cultivates global awareness by offering unparalleled access to international writing in English translation. Reaching readers and students worldwide, its website and programs provide a vital platform for today’s international writers and literary translators. WWB’s programs include its prize-winning digital magazine of literature in translation, the WWB Campus education program for students and educators, public literary events, and support and visibility for the field of translation through fellowships, awards, and grants, as well as digital marketing activities. Words Without Borders is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
For additional information, please contact:
Contact: Anna Claire Weber
Email Address: anna@wordswithoutborders.org
Website Address: www.wordswithoutborders.org
X: @wwborders