Gabriella Page-Fort is the editorial director of AmazonCrossing. She studied romance languages and creative writing at New York University with an emphasis on literary translation. Her list includes bestseller Oliver Pötzsch, prize-winners Laura Restrepo and Andrei Gelasimov, and fan-favourite Petra Durst-Benning. She is focused on acquiring fiction with a broad appeal from around the world.
You can find Gabriella on Twitter @pagefort.
What was the last book you read?
Jean Paul Sartre’s Saint Genet.
And what did you read it on?
1964 mass market paperback edition, wonderfully musty.
What’s next on your reading list?
Megan Maxwell’s bestselling steamy romance Ask Me Anything, due in from translator Achy Obejas later this week. Look for it this fall from AmazonCrossing!
Which writer would you have loved to have met – and why?
I hesitate to meet my idols. But when times are tough I like to imagine myself on a porch swing with Richard Brautigan muttering soothingly, “the deeds were done and done again as my life is done in watermelon sugar…”
What TV series are you obsessing over right now?
Nashville. The songwriting process really drives the storytelling – its heroes are sensitive artist types finding themselves through music. I can’t help but pick up my guitar during commercials.
Tell us what your company does in 20 words.
AmazonCrossing helps powerful stories cross borders, bringing readers from around the world together through literature in translation.
What is the one thing about your company that we need to know?
AmazonCrossing is one of the largest publishers of translated literature in the United States and we’re on a mission to bring more of the world’s most powerful reads to English audiences worldwide. We’re looking for submissions of books that bridge our differences, stories that ring true no matter where you live and works from underserved languages and perspectives.
What do you like about your job?
Editing fiction in translation is my dream job. As a teenager, I read Gabriel García Márquez’s Cien años de Soledad, which I had already read and loved in English translation, and suddenly I understood how non-English books find their way to readers. With the help of a talented translator, I can read any book in the world! I love sharing this passion of mine with other readers. Think of how beautiful our world could be if we each took the time to read one another’s stories, imagine the compassion we’re capable across any possible divides.
What is the silliest thing you have on your desk?
A pair of rusted scissors, sent as a gift from Turkish author Perihan Magden (an honorary member of British PEN, winner of the Grand Award for Freedom of Speech by the Turkish Publishers Association, author of Escape and Ali & Ramazan), for protection.
What is the one essential item you bring to the Fair?
My Kindle! When I’m not running late for a meeting, I can be found reading in the corner of the quietest halls.