EastWest Literary Forum

The EastWest Literary Forum was established in 2015 as a nonprofit dedicated to bridging literary cultures across geopolitical divides. Founded by a collective of translators, poets, and scholars, it emerged from a series of informal salons in Istanbul and New York, aiming to foster dialogue through the written word. The Forum operates with a mission to publish and promote literature that traverses cultural boundaries, with a particular emphasis on translation, multilingual poetics, and essays that interrogate the politics of language. Its programming includes a biannual journal, an annual translation prize, and residencies that pair writers from different regions in collaborative projects. The ethos is one of rigorous inquiry and cross-cultural hospitality, prioritizing work that engages with the complexities of exchange rather than merely representing diversity.