Tell me a little bit about yourself and Deep Vellum Publishing. I’m Will Evans, executive director of Deep Vellum Publishing. Inspired by a lifelong love of Russian literature and a curiosity for stories that process this shared human condition, I founded Deep Vellum in 2013 with the mission to bring the world in conversation through literature by publishing boundary-pushing, mind-expanding stories from every corner of the globe. We are a nonprofit publishing house and literary arts center that publishes books from around the world in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, photography, and children’s. We have six editorial imprints led by individual editors with singular visions that fulfill our mission. Our goal is to make literature fun, inclusive, tear down the walls of elitism in the literary world, [and] bring into the foreground the conversation that happens between authors and readers privately during the reading experience and communally in public events.
We opened our Dallas bookstore, Deep Vellum Books, in 2015 to continue hosting literary programming and help readers discover books by some of the most compelling writers and independent publishers that don’t get the attention they deserve.
Why do you feel the work of translation and reading international authors is important for American readers? Reading takes you outside of your head for a second, into the head of another person who is sharing their vision, their way of seeing the world, and their understanding of processing the human condition. That is a radical act that we need more of in this world. Without reading the world’s literature, we have no idea how the world is sharing stories, creating art, understanding history, and we have no idea the connections between us all. Reading brings the world together in some small way, a word at a time.
What have you read recently that has impacted you? Kendra Greene’s debut book, The Museum of Whales You Will Never See: And Other Excursions to Iceland’s Most Unusual Museums, is beautifully written, humane and tender in its treatment of the characters within it, and transportive in the best way — the most valuable book I read in the past year. It hit me in a way that made me want to hug everyone in the world, especially in Iceland. We are so lucky to have Kendra, one of my favorite writers in the world, living right here in Dallas.
What’s ahead for DVP in 2021? We are finalizing a merger with the legendary publishing house, Dalkey Archive Press, as an editorial imprint under Deep Vellum. We publish our first kids’ book this summer, Uncle Rabbit and the Wax Doll, narrated by indigenous Mexican Nahuatl storyteller Silvestre Pantaleón Esteva and illustrated by Inocencio Jiménez Chino, translated from the Nahuatl by Jonathan Amith. We have a forthcoming book about Dirk Nowitzki and what he means to Dallas by Zac Crain, as well as the latest book, In Concrete, by our bestselling author, Anne Garréta, of France. It’s going to be a great year, and we’re so grateful to independent booksellers for helping to connect our books with readers through it all.
Above Us the Milky Way
by Fowza Karimi
Afghan author Fowza Karimi shares a story of war, immigration, and the ability to create beauty out of horror through 26 pieces built around the alphabet. First-person narratives of the memories of family members are woven with ghost stories, fairytales, old family photographs, and medieval-style watercolor illuminations to create an origin story of loss and remembrance.
Honey, I Killed the Cats
by Dorota Masłowska, translated by Benjamin Palo
The title itself should indicate a wild ride of wit and whimsy. Honey, I Killed the Cats is a satiric novel by acclaimed Polish author Dorota Masłowska about two American women influenced by consumer culture, manipulating even their friendship with each other. The novel’s prose is as profound as it is hilarious.
Meditations on Being
by Rachel Fox
A Dallas-based meditation studio leader, Rachel Fox pulls readers through life’s bittersweet journeys, one poem at a time. The book’s beautifully sculpted wordplay offers the reader a chance to pause, to reflect, and to breathe in the midst of the chaos of life. The book also features an intro from world-renowned meditation teacher and public speaker, Benjamin W. Decker.
