After five years of being part of the Libella Publishing Group, international literature publisher World Editions announces a new structure as a fully independent publishing house.
The company, which was set up in 2013 and expanded into the US in 2018, specializes in translated fiction including internationally acclaimed authors Maryse Condé, Amin Maalouf, Pilar Quintana, Jaap Robben and Zhang Yueran. It has published two National Book Award finalists, two National Book Award longlisted authors, one International Booker longlistee, and, most recently, the 2023 International Booker finalist The Gospel According to the New World by Maryse Condé.
Following the company’s buyout by senior staff member Christine Swedowsky, World Editions will close its London and Amsterdam offices and will operate worldwide as World Editions NY LLC, based in New York City. US Director Christine Swedowsky, who has been leading the US branch since March 2018, will run World Editions as Publisher and Owner.
Christine Swedowsky says: “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, and am deeply grateful to the two women who made this possible: Vera Michalski, Director of Libella, for entrusting World Editions to me, and Judith Uyterlinde, former Publishing Director of World Editions, who has taught me most of what I know. I believe in World Editions’ mission with a passion, and can only hope to champion our authors and translators the way Judith Uyterlinde did.”
Judith Uyterlinde says: “I couldn’t have wished for a better way to guarantee World Editions’ future than to leave it in the hands of a highly committed and professional employee. I am grateful for all the years that Vera Michalski, Director of Libella, has supported our mission of building bridges between cultures by publishing great literature in translation. Running World Editions has been a truly wonderful job, and I am proud of the list of high quality books we have been able to build over the last six years. I want to thank everyone I worked with, with so much joy, and am happy World Editions will be able to continue as an independent company.”