About the Anthology

Building a World Literature Portrait for the Ages

Best Literary Translations (BLT) is the first U.S. anthology devoted to celebrating the breadth of literary translators' work. Founded in October 2020 by Wendy Call and Daniel Simon, the project quickly found a home with Deep Vellum Publishing in Dallas, Texas.

The anthology series was conceived as an act of resistance — against xenophobia and cultural insularity in the United States, and the waning of endangered languages worldwide. Its four co-editors comb U.S.-affiliated literary journals each year for outstanding translations of poetry, short prose, and hybrid-genre works, before presenting a longlist to the year's guest editor.

Published by Deep Vellum, which has produced nearly two hundred foreign titles since 2013, BLT occupies a singular position in American literary culture: alongside World Literature Today's Michelle Johnson's "Notable Translations," it is the only nationwide initiative of its kind.

450–500+

Annual Nominations

Translations nominated from U.S.-affiliated journals each year, spanning poetry, fiction, and literary nonfiction.

60+

Source Languages in Nominations

Nominations each year arrive in widely spoken and critically endangered languages alike — from French and Arabic to Guaraní, Latgalian, and Xitsonga.

80+

Countries Represented in Nominations

Authors nominated each year from across six continents, representing a portrait of global literature rarely seen in English.