I’m a writer from the Balkans. Why do people assume I only know about war and tragedy? | Ana Schnabl

Readers lose out when English-speaking gatekeepers decide what books are sold and whose stories get told

I attended an American writers' conference in Texas, just before the world plunged into Covid-19 lockdowns. Between panels and networking, I spent my time wandering around the book fair, leafing through titles and peppering publishers with questions.

How many translated works are in your catalogues? How do you discover authors from outside the US? And how do you evaluate the quality of writing in languages you don't speak?"

Ana Schnabl is a Slovenian novelist, editor and critic