June 30, 2023, 9:57am
Fans of the publisher World Editions, which has brought translations of work by Maryse Condé, Amin Maalouf, Pilar Quintana, Jaap Robben and Zhang Yueran to English-language audiences, has found a new owner—none other than the US director Christine Swedowsky. A rare fairy-tale finish!
World Editions was previously owned by Libella Publishing Group and, unlike other struggling publishers, has not gone to a larger conglomerate. Rather, under the new agreement, it will be incorporated in the U.S. as indie publisher World Editions NY LLC. The London and Amsterdam offices will close.
The publisher was responsible for two National Book Award finalists, one International Booker longlistee, and a 2023 International Booker finalist in The Gospel According to the New World by Maryse Condé. Swedowsky will be publisher and principal of the new company, and said in a statement that she is excited to move into the role of publisher after moving up the rungs:
“When I was a little girl, I used to read for hours, regarding my books with reverence. Books were miracles to me then, and I wanted to solve the mystery of where books come from. After 25 years of working in publishing, and learning all the nitty-gritty details of the business, books still seem to have secret lives of their own. I would never have dreamed of owning a publishing house one day,
It has been a rough year for media outlets and publishers, with the sale of Simon & Schuster pending by Paramount, shutterings of Buzzfeed News and Gawker, the shutdown and imminent relaunch of Bookforum by The New Statesman, and rumored purchase of Paper magazine by controversial Village Voice publisher Brian Calle.
This one, at least, will stay in the family.