Happy New Year from the Transnational Literature Series!

As we greet the new year, I just want to take a moment to thank you all, and to share that I’ll be leaving Brookline Booksmith and passing off the Transnational Literature Series to my colleague, Pierce Alquist.

When we launched the series in March of 2018, we had hoped to hold a few, well attended events, conversations with writers and academics, and offer a place for people to comfortably discuss and think through issues around migration through literature. We’re now ending our third year and entering our fourth, and I’m in awe of the space we’ve created for international literature. The “we” that has been involved in the series is not just those of us at the Booksmith - it includes the publishers and community groups who have partnered with us, all the authors, translators, and scholars who have joined us, and most importantly, most vitally, all of you. I’ve said it at the end of every one of my introductions but I’ll say it again here: without your support, your presence, we would not have been able to continue this work. Thank you.

Shuchi with Jenny Erpenbeck and Booksmith co-owner Lisa Gozashti at the first Transnational event in 2018.

I leave the series to Pierce, who has been working alongside me for the past year. You might know her from our newsletters, as the host of a Transnational event, or as the friendly person in the chat during our virtual events. Behind the scenes she’s been expanding our community through partnerships and she played an essential part in transitioning our in-person events to virtual events. But before all of that she was an attendee of the series, among those seated in the audience, a member of Booksmith’s Small Press Book Club, and has, for many years, been a reader and reviewer of translated literature. As a two-time judge for the Best Translated Book Award her knowledge of translated literature is going to elevate the kinds of conversations and books we are able to bring to you. I'm so grateful the series will continue on under her stewardship.

The Transnational Series will resume hosting virtual events later in January, and we’re eager for the day - hopefully sometime in 2021 - when we can all safely gather again in the Used Book Cellar of Brookline Booksmith. Until then, we hope to see you online or browsing the aisles.

Wishing you all a safe and Happy New Year,

Shuchi Saraswat

Founder of the Transnational Literature Series at Brookline Booksmith