Open Letter Books Literary Manuscript Collection

We are experiencing technical difficulties with the new University Archives interface and have made the decision to temporarily take it down while we work to resolve them.


Other Views:  Print/PDF  |  EAD Note: You may browse using the navigation on the left, or use Ctrl-F to search within this finding aid.

Open Letter Books literary manuscript collection
Creator: Open Letter (Firm)
Call Number: D.525
Dates: 2008-2018
Physical Description: 33 Cubic feet
Language(s): Materials are in English
Repository: Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester

Table of Contents:

Biographical/Historical Note
Scope and Content
Subject(s)
Access
Use
Citation
Related Materials
Content List
Series I: Fall 2008
Series II: Spring/Summer 2009
Series III: Fall/Winter 2009
Box 19, Folder 1-8 The Wall in My Head: Words and Images from the Fall of the Iron Curtain, A Words Without Borders anthology
Series IV: Summer 2010
Series V: Winter 2010
Series VI: Summer 2011
Series VII: Fall/Winter 2011
Series VIII: Spring/Summer 2012
Series IX: Fall/Winter 2012
Series X: Spring/Summer 2013
Series XI: Fall/Winter 2013
Series XII: Spring/Summer 2014
Series XIII: Fall 2014 (not in Fall/Winter Catalog)
Series XIV: Fall/Winter 2014
Series XV: Spring/Summer 2015
Series XVI: Fall/Winter 2015
Series XVII: Spring/Summer 2016
Series XVIII: Fall/Winter 2016
Series XIX: Spring/Summer 2017
Series XX: Fall/Winter 2017
Series XXI: Spring/Summer 2018
Collection Overview
Title: Open Letter Books literary manuscript collection
Creator: Open Letter (Firm)
Call Number: D.525
Dates: 2008-2018
Physical Description: 33 Cubic feet
Language(s): Materials are in English
Repository: Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester

Biographical/Historical Note
Open Letter is a nonprofit literary publishing press at the University of Rochester which specializes in works in translation. Founded in 2008 by publisher Chad W. Post, the press seeks to increase access to world literature for English (and particularly American) readers. It is estimated that compared to some 40% of materials published in European literary markets, only 3% of the books published annually in the United States are translated works. This figure also lends its name to Open Letter's blog and discussion website, Three Percent, and the name of Post's collection of essays on the publishing industry, The Three Percent Problem: Rants and Responses on Publishing, Translation, and the Future of Reading (e-book, Open Letter, September 2011).

Open Letter publishes ten books in translation each year, divided into two publishing seasons. The press's catalogue focuses on contemporary literary fiction and poetry, with an emphasis on titles and authors not previously available in English.

Scope and Content
The Open Letter Books literary manuscript collection (2008-2018) is comprised chiefly of the editing, production, and publication materials produced by the press in the course of their literary publishing work. The materials include unpublished and published literary documents such as novels, poetry collections, and anthologies, in addition to numerous drafts, edited copies, cover design and text proofs, ephemera, and business correspondence.

The materials are arranged chronologically in order of publication and are grouped by publishing season, as determined by Open Letter. This is an actively growing collection, and accruals are expected.

Subject(s):
New York (State)--Rochester
Literature--Translations into English
Publishers and publishing
Open Letter (Firm)
Access
The Open Letter Books literary manuscript collection is open for research use. Researchers are advised to contact Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation prior to visiting. Upon arrival, researchers will also be asked to fill out a registration form and provide photo identification.Use
Reproductions are made upon request but can be subject to restrictions. Permission to publish materials from the collection must currently be requested. Please note that some materials may be copyrighted or restricted. It is the researcher's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections. For more information contact rarebks@library.rochester.eduCitation
[Item title, item date], Open Letter Books literary manuscript collection, D.525, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of RochesterRelated Materials
While the collection often contains printing proofs and other near-final or final versions of the published works, researchers may also find copies of all Open Letter titles by searching the U of R library catalogue in both the Rare Books and normally circulating stacks holdings.


Administrative Information
Author: Kristen Totleben, RBSCP staff
Publisher: Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester
Address:
Rush Rhees Library
Second Floor, Room 225
Rochester, NY 14627-0055
rarebks@library.rochester.edu
URL:

Finding aid publication date: 2007-2018, 2022-2023
Content List
Series I: Fall 2008
Box 1, Folder 1-9;
Box 2, Folder 1-3
Nobody's Home
Dubravka Ugresic (2005); translated by Ellen Elias-Bursać (2008)

Box 3, Folder 1-9The Pets
Bragi Ólafsson; translated by Janice Balfour, 2001, 2008; 2015

Box 4, Folder 1-8The Taker and Other Stories
Rubem Fonseca, Brazil (November 15, 2008) translated from Portuguese by Clifford Landers

Box 5, Folder 1-4The Sailor from Gibraltar
Marguerite Duras, France (December 15, 2008) translated from French by Barbara Bray

Vilnius Poker 6 1-6 7 1-4 8 1-2 Scope and ContentsRičardas Gavelis, Lithuania (January 15, 2009, ebook only) translated from Lithuanian by Elizabeth Novickas
Series II: Spring/Summer 2009
Box 10, Folder 1-5Open Letter Catalogs 2009
Box 11, Folder 1-3Landscape in Concrete
Jakov Lind, Austria (March 15, 2009) translated from German by Ralph Manheim

Box 12, Folder 1-8The Mighty Angel
Jerzy Pilch, Poland (April 15, 2009) translated from Polish by Bill Johnston

Box 13, Folder 1-8Death in Spring
Mercé Rodoreda (1986); translated by Martha Tennent (2015)

Box 14, Folder 1-7Rupert: A Confession
Leonard Pfeijffer, Netherlands (June 15, 2009) translated from Dutch by Michele Hutchison

Box 15, Folder 1-3Aracoeli
Elsa Morante; translated by William Weaver; Introduction by Robert Boyers; 1982; 1984; 2009

Series III: Fall/Winter 2009
Box 16, Folder 1-10The Discoverer
Jan Kjærstad, Norway (September 15, 2009) translated from Norwegian by Barbara Haveland

Box 17, Folder 1-3;
Box 18, Folder 1-4
Season of Ash
Jorge Volpi, Mexico (October 20, 2009) translated from Spanish by Alfred MacAdam

Box 19, Folder 1-8The Wall in My Head: Words and Images from the Fall of the Iron Curtain, A Words Without Borders anthology
Box 20, Folder 1-6;
Box 21, Folder 1-4
The Golden Calf
Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov; translated by Konstantin Gurevich and Helen Anderson; 2003; 2006; 2009

Box 22, Folder 1-3Ergo
Jakov Lind; translated by Ralph Manheim; 1966; 1967; 2010

Box 23, Folder 1-6The Museum of Eterna's Novel: The First Good Novel
Macedonio Fernández, Argentina. (February 16, 2010) translated Margaret Schwartz

Series IV: Summer 2010
Box 24, Folder 1-4Open Letter Catalogs 2010
Box 25, Folder 1-8Gasoline
Quim Monzó, Catalonia. (May 14, 2010) translated from Catalan by Mary Ann Newman

Box 26, Folder 1-6A Thousand Peaceful Cities
Jerzy Pilch (2009); translated by David Frick (2010)

Box 27, Folder 1-8The Private Lives of Trees
Alejandro Zambra (2007); translated by Megan McDowell

Box 28, Folder 1-5Klaussen
Andreas Maier, Germany (August 15, 2010) translated from German by Kenneth J. Northcott

Series V: Winter 2010
Box 29, Folder 1-3To Hell with Cronjé
Ingrid Winterbach, South Africa (September 2010), translated from Afrikaans by Elsa Silke.

Box 30, Folder 1-4The Ambassador
Bragi Ólafsson, Iceland (October 12, 2010) translated from Icelandic by Lytton Smith

Box 31, Folder 1-5The Sixty-Five Years of Washington
Juan José Saer, Argentina (November 16, 2010) translated from Spanish by Steve Dolph

Box 32, Folder 1-4Zone
Mathias Énard, France (December 14, 2010) translated from French by Charlotte Mandell

Box 33, Folder 1-4The Selected Stories of Mercé Rodoreda
Mercé Rodoreda, Catalonia (February 15, 2011) translated from Catalan by Martha Tennent

Box 34, Folder 1-4Lodgings
Andrzej Sosnowski, Poland (March 15, 2011) translated from Polish by Benjamin Paloff

Series VI: Summer 2011
Box 35, Folder 1-4Open Letter Catalogs Summer 2011
Box 36, Folder 1-4The Guinea Pigs
Ludvík Vaculík; translated by Káca Polácková, 1973; 2004; 2011

Box 37, Folder 1-5The Book of Happenstance
Ingrid Winterbach (2008); translated by Dirk and Ingrid Winterbach, (2011)

Box 38, Folder 1-6Guadalajara: Stories by Quim Monzó
Quim Monzó; translated by Peter Bush; 1996;1999; 2008;2011

Box 39, Folder 1-6My Two Worlds
Sergio Chefjec; translated by Margaret B. Carson; Introduction by Enrique Vila-Matas; 2008; 2011

Vertical Motion 40 1-6 Scope and ContentsCan Xue, China (September 13, 2011) translated from Chinese by Karen Gernant and Chen Zeping
Series VII: Fall/Winter 2011
Box 41, Folder 1-2Open Letter Catalog Winter 2011
Box 42, Folder 1-5Karaoke Culture
Dubravka Ugresic (2010); translated and with an Afterword by David Williams, with contributions from Ellen Elias-Bursać and Celia Hawkesworth (2011).

Box 43, Folder 1-5Thrown into Nature
Milen Ruskov (2008); translated by Angela Rodel (2011)

Box 44, Folder 1-5Scars
Juan José Saer, Argentina (December 13, 2011) translated from Spanish by Steve Dolph

Series VIII: Spring/Summer 2012
Box 45, Folder 1-4Open Letter Catalogs 2012
Box 46, Folder 1-5The Smoke of Distant Fires
Poems, Eduardo Chirinos (2009); translated by G.J. Racz (2012)

Box 47, Folder 1-3The Cyclist Conspiracy
Svetislav, Basara, Serbia (Match 20, 2012) translated from Serbian by Randall A. Major

Box 48, Folder 1-3Children in Reindeer Woods
Kristín Ómarsdóttir, Iceland (April 17, 2012) translated from Icelandic by Lytton Smith

Box 49, Folder 1-4My First Suicide
Jerzy Pilch, Poland (May 15, 2012) translated from Polish by David Frick

Box 50, Folder 1-4The Planets
Sergio Chejfec, Argentina (June 12, 2012) translated from Spanish by Heather Cleary

Box 51, Folder 1-5The Future Is Not Ours
Diego Trelles Paz, ed. (July 17, 2012) translated from Spanish by  Janet Hendrickson

Box 52, Folder 1-7The Canvas
Benjamin Stein, Germany (September 26, 2012) translated from German by Brian Zumhagen

Series IX: Fall/Winter 2012
Box 53, Folder 1-3Maidenhair
Mikhail Shishkin, Russia (October 23, 2012) translated from Russian by Marian Schwartz

Box 54, Folder 1-6Dark Times Filled with Light
Juan Gelman, Argentina (November 20, 2012) translated from Spanish by Paul Pines

Box 55, Folder 1-5A Thousand Morons
Quim Monzó, Catalonia (December 11, 2012) translated Peter Bush

Box 56, Folder 1-518% Gray
Zachary Karabashliev, Bulgaria (January 29, 2013) translated Angela Rodel

Box 57, Folder 1-6Tirza
Arnon Grunberg, Netherlands (February 19, 2013) translated from Dutch by Sam Garrett

Box 122, Folder 1-3American Literary Translators Association (ALTA) 35th Annual Conference, October 3-6, 2012
Series X: Spring/Summer 2013
Box 58, Folder 1-7Open Letter Catalogs Spring/Summer 2013
Box 59, Folder 1-4When We Leave Each Other: Selected Poems
Henrik Nordbrandt

Box 60, Folder 1-4A Short Tale of Shame
Angel Igov (2011); translated by Angela Rodel (2013)

Box 61, Folder 1-7Two or Three Years Later: Forty-nine Digressions
Ror Wolf, translated by Jennifer Marquart (2013)

Box 62, Folder 1-5L'Amour
Marguerite Duras, France (July 16, 2013) translated from French by Kazim Ali and Libby Murphy

Box 63, Folder 1-8High Tide
Inga Ābele (2008); translated by Kaija Straumanis (2013)

Series XI: Fall/Winter 2013
Box 64, Folder 1-6Open Letter Catalogs Fall/Winter 2013
Box 65, Folder 1-5The Dark
Sergio Chefjec (2000); translated by Heather Cleary (2013)

Box 66, Folder 1-5Everything Happens as it Does
Albena Stambolova (2002); translated by Olga Nikolova (2013)

Box 67, Folder 1-6This is the Garden
Giulio Mozzi, Italy. (January 21, 2014) translated from Italian by Elizabeth Harris

Box 68, Folder 1-7Europe in Sepia
Dubravka Ugresic, World (February 18, 2014) translated from Croatian by David Williams

Box 69, Folder 1-6Elsewhere
Eliot Weinberger ed., World (March 18, 2014) translated from various languages by Eliot Weinberger and others

Series XII: Spring/Summer 2014
Box 70, Folder 1-4Open Letter Catalogs 2014
Box 71, Folder 1-5Navidad and Matanza
Carlos Labbé (2007); translated by Will Vanderhyden (2014)

Box 72, Folder 1-6Why I Killed My Best Friend
Amanda Michalopoulou (2014); translated by Karen Emmerich

Box 73, Folder 1-4;
Box 74, Folder 1-2
La Grande
Juan José Saer, Argentina (June 17, 2014) translated from Spanish by Steve Dolph

Box 75, Folder 1-4The Elusive Moth
Ingrid Winterbach, South Africa (July 22, 2014) translated from Afrikaans by Iris Gouws and Ingrid Winterbach

Box 76, Folder 1-5The Last Days of My Mother
Solvi Bjorn Sigurdsson (2009); translated by Helga Soffia Einarsdottir (2014)

Series XIII: Fall 2014 (not in Fall/Winter Catalog)
Box 77, Folder 1-7;
Box 78, Folder 1-6
A Thousand Forests in One Acorn: An Anthology of Spanish-Language Fiction
Compiled by Valerie Miles, translated by various translators; 2012; 2014

Series XIV: Fall/Winter 2014
Box 79, Folder 1-8The Man Between: Michael Henry Heim A Life in Translation
edited by Esther Allen, Sean Cotter Scott Valentino; 2014

Box 80, Folder 1-6Street of Thieves
Mathias Énard, France (November 11, 2014) translated from French by Charlotte Mandell

Box 81, Folder 1-4In Praise of Poetry
Olga Sedakova; translated and edited by Caroline Clark, Ksenia Golubovich and Stephanie Sandler, 2014

Box 82, Folder 1-4Lies, First Person
Gail Hareven, Israel (February 10, 2015) translated from Hebrew by Dalya Bilu

Series XV: Spring/Summer 2015
Box 83, Folder 1-5Open Letter Catalogs 2015
Box 84, Folder 1-6The Physics of Sorrow
Georgi Gospodinov, Bulgaria (April 14, 2015) translated from Bulgarian by Angela Rodel

Box 85, Folder 1-7Post-Exoticism in Ten Lessons, Lesson Eleven
Antoine Volodine, France (May 12, 2015) translated from French by J.T. Mahany

Box 86, Folder 1-3The One Before
Juan José Saer, Argentina (June 9, 2015) translated from Spanish by Joanne Kantor

Box 87, Folder 1-6Traces of Time
Lucio Mariani, Italy. (July 14, 2015) translated from Italian by Anthony Molino

Box 88, Folder 1-6Rock, Paper, Scissors
Naja Marie Aidt, Denmark (August 11, 2015) translated from Danish by K.E. Semmel

Series XVI: Fall/Winter 2015
Box 89, Folder 1-8The Things We Don't Do
Andrés Neuman, Spain. (September 15, 2015) translated from Spanish by Nick Caistor Lorenza Garcia

Box 90, Folder 1-7;
Box 91, Folder 1-3
Rochester Knockings: A Novel of the Fox Sisters
Hubert Haddad (2015); translated by Jennifer Grotz

Box 92, Folder 1-5War, So Much War
Mercé Rodoreda, Catalonia (November 10, 2015) translated from Catalan by Maruxa Relaño Martha Tennent

Box 93, Folder 1-9Loquela
Carlos Labbé, Chile (December 15, 2015) translated from Spanish by Will Vanderhyden

Folder 94, Folder 1-6Party Headquarters
Georgi Tenev (2006); translated by Angela Rodel (2016)

Series XVII: Spring/Summer 2016
Box 95, Folder 1-2Open Letter Catalogs Spring/Summer 2016
Box 96, Folder 1-5Bardo or Not Bardo
Box 97, Folder 1-6The Clouds
Juan José Saer (1997); translated by Hilary Vaughn Dobel (2016)

Box 98, Folder 1-8Abahn Sabana David
Marguerite Duras, France (June 14, 2016) translated from French by Kazim Ali

Box 99, Folder 1-4One of us is Sleeping
Josephine Klougart, Denmark (July 12, 2016) translated from Danish by Martin Aitken 

Box 100, Folder 1-8;
Box 101, Folder 1-3
Gesell Dome
Guillermo Saccomanno (2013); translated by Andrea G. Labinger (2016)

Series XVIII: Fall/Winter 2016
Box 102, Folder 1-5The Brother
Rein Raud (2008); translated by Adam Cullen (2016)

Box 103, Folder 1-12A Greater Music
Bae Suah (2003); translated by Deborah Smith (2016)

Box 104, Folder 1-7Justine
Iben Mondrup (2013); translated by Kerrie A. Pierce (2016)

Box 105, Folder 1-8Chronicle of the Murdered House
Lucío Cardoso, Brazil (December 13, 2016) translated from Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa and Robin Patterson

Box 106, Folder 1-7Radiant Terminus
Antoine Volodine, France (February 7, 2017) translated from French by Jeffrey Zuckerman 

Box 107, Folder 1-9Frontier
Can Xue, China (March 14, 2017) translated from Chinese by Karen Gernant and Chen Zeping

Series XIX: Spring/Summer 2017
Box 108, Folder 1-9;
Box 109, Folder 1-2
The Invented Part
Rodrigo Fresán, Argentina. (May 16, 2017) translated from Spanish by Will Vanderhyden

Box 110, Folder 1-8Salki
Wojciech Nowicki, Poland (June 13, 2017) translated from Polish by Jan Pytalski

Box 111, Folder 1-7Tomás Jónsson, Bestseller
Guđbergur Bergsson, Iceland (July 11, 2017) translated from Icelandic by Lytton Smith

Box 112, Folder 1-6Island of Point Nemo
Jean-Marie Blas de Roblés, Algeria (August 15, 2017) translated from French by Hannah Chute

Series XX: Fall/Winter 2017
Box 113, Folder 1-3Open Letter Catalogs Fall/Winter 2017
Box 114, Folder 1-4If I were a Suicide Bomber
Per Aage Brandt, Denmark (September 12, 2017) translated from Danish by Thom Satterlee

Box 115, Folder 1-9North Station
Bae Suah, South Korea. (October 10, 2017) translated from Korean by Deborah Smith

Box 116, Folder 1-6The Brahmadells
Jóanes Nielsen, Norway. (November 14, 2017) translated from Norwegian by Kerri A. Pierce

Box 117, Folder 1-3Her Mother's Mother and her Daughters
Maria Jose Silveira, translated by Eric M.B. Becker (2017)

Box 118, Folder 1-3The Same Night Awaits Us All
Hristo Karastoyanov, Bulgaria (January 9, 2018) translated from Bulgarian by Izidora Angel

Box 119, Folder 1-3The Endless Summer
Madame Nielsen, Denmark. (February 13, 2018) translated from Danish by Gaye Kynoch

Series XXI: Spring/Summer 2018
Box 120, Folder 1-4Fox
Dubravka Ugresic, World (April 17, 2018) translated from Croatian By Ellen Elias-Bursać

Box 121, Folder 1-3The Bottom of the Sky
Rodrigo Fersán, Argentina. (May 19, 2018) translated from Spanish by Will Vanderhyden



Other Views:  Print/PDF  |  EAD