The astounding number of amazing works written that have never been translated into English still boggles my mind,” says Will Evans, founding publisher and executive director of Deep Vellum Publishing (deepvellum.org), the Dallas-based translation press and nonprofit organization committed to supporting literary culture in Dallas. Established in 2013, Deep Vellum takes its cues from other indie presses—Evans learned the ropes after cold-calling
Chad Post, the publisher of Open Letter Books, a nonprofit literary translation press at the University of Rochester in New York, and setting up a summer apprenticeship in 2012. Since its founding, Deep Vellum has already made significant headway: In the past year the press has published ten books of fiction and nonfiction in translation by authors from seven different countries, and is planning to release ten to fifteen books annually. Upcoming titles include John H. McGlynn’s translation from the Bahasa Indonesian of Leila S. Chudori’s novel Home (October), Sergio Waisman’s translation from the Spanish of Ricardo Piglia’s novel Target in the Night (November), and Lytton Smith’s translation from the Icelandic of Jón Gnarr’s memoir The Pirate (January 2016). But publishing is just one part of Deep Vellum’s mission. “I wanted to create a literary community in Dallas, one that could engage with our books, and the larger publishing industry,” says Evans. The organization recently signed a lease for a new office with a bookstore, café, and event space; Evans also has plans to partner with local printers and schools. As for the press, submissions of literary fiction and nonfiction translations (queries and full-length manuscripts) are open via e-mail year-round.
