Bio

Mara Faye Lethem’s writing has recently appeared in the New York Times Book Review, LitHub, and BOMB magazine, and has been published in anthologies including Berkeley Noir, A Velocity of Being, Matar en Barcelona, Black Pulp Box, zing magazine book #8, and Brooklyn: A State of Mind. Her work as a translator has been recognized with two English PEN Awards, a National Translation Award nomination, and three International Dublin Literary Award nominations. Her forthcoming translations include books by Patricio Pron, Max Besora, Javier Calvo, Marta Orriols, Toni Sala, and Irene Solà.

Project

While at Faber, I will be working on a fragmented memoir that explores the creative process and obstacles through the lens of family history, secrets, lingering trauma and its reflections in art, and gender roles and expectations. This book is an exorcism of the stories that have pursued me throughout my life. The working title is You Who Have Been Dead All These Years I’ve Been Alive: 22 Boxes, which a reference to the things I kept stored in my father’s attic for years after moving to Europe, and a metaphor for my emotional baggage and compartmentalizing.