Christine Swedowsky is implementing a new strategy for Brooklyn-based publishing house World Editions, which she acquired from Netherlands-based Libela publishing group two years ago.
The German-born publisher, who previously worked in international marketing at Penguin Random House, retained all 85 backlist titles from the press, which focuses on literary translation. “I didn’t lose a single book,” Swedowsky said. “It helped that they knew me and had been working with me already for five years.” The backlist features German bestseller Julia Zeh, three books by Lena Boström Knausgård, and The Bitch by Columbia Pilar Quintana, a finalist for the National Book Award. In all, World Editions has published titles from 32 countries.
Swedowsky’ editorial vision centers on what she calls “contemporary, edgy, defiant female characters” and “books about disobedient women who defy their fate.” This philosophy drives her acquisition strategy as she moves away from the press’s historically Dutch-heavy catalog toward works from Singapore, Taiwan, Chile, and Argentina. “My dream is to publish one author for every country in the world,” she said. This shift reflects both market realities and her editorial preferences. “I like books that are more rooted in their country of origin” rather than immigration narratives, she said, noting that books firmly grounded in their cultural context provide “real insight into the culture of the country that they’re set in.”
One recent example of this is All That Dies in April by Mariana Travacio, co-translated by Samantha Schnee and Will Morningstar, which published last month. The book tracks a woman in drought-stricken rural Argentina who abandons her husband to search for water and work in the desert, while her spouse follows behind carrying their ancestors’ bones. “It tackles very current themes—climate catastrophe and migration—without being didactic,” Swedowsky said.
Another title she cited as exemplary of her vision for the press is The Cut Line by Estonian writer Carolina Pilhelgas. The book is being published next February and depicts the life of a woman recovering from a toxic 14-year relationship at her family’s farmhouse near the Russian border, where a NATO base conducts non-stop military exercises. “She rage gardens,” Swedowsky said.
Since the acquisition, World Editions has reduced its annual output from 10 titles to five, publishing three books each fall and two each spring. The publisher faces the ongoing challenge of translated literature’s limited U.S. market penetration, despite World Editions having six National Book Award honorees and finalists. “There’s a very dedicated readership, fans of translated literature, but to reach the broader readership, I don’t know how it’s done,” Swedowsky said. “In Germany, translated works comprise 40-60% of published literature, while in the U.S. the figure remains around 3%.”
The publisher maintains distribution through Ingram Consortium in the U.S. and Turnaround in the U.K., with exports comprising over 20% of sales.
Swedowsky added that political tensions, stemming from the Trump administration’s capricious treatment of foreign relations particularly, have affected international relationships. “I’ve found some festival organizers expressing reluctance to work with U.S. authors,” and let’s be honest, said Swedowsky, “these days it is more scary to be in the U.S. as an immigrant.”
Looking ahead, World Editions plans to maintain its five-book annual schedule, focusing exclusively on literary fiction in translation. The press has also struggled with grant funding, particularly from Argentina, where political changes under President Milei eliminated literary translation grants. “I have started putting clauses in contracts that indicate I can’t publish a book if I can’t get grants,” Swedowsky said of the funding uncertainty.
