Two Lines Press — Submissions

Overview
Two Lines Press is the book-publishing arm of the Center for the Art of Translation, an institution whose mandate is to champion international literature in English translation. Unlike competitions with fixed reading periods, the press accepts submissions on a rolling basis, which reflects a curatorial posture oriented toward sustained engagement with translators and their projects rather than episodic calls for entry. The press publishes a focused list of translated books each season, and its editorial decisions are made with an eye toward works that expand the anglophone reader's sense of what contemporary world literature can be. For the translator, a submission to Two Lines Press is an opportunity to place a book-length project with a publisher whose identity is built entirely around translation. The press does not treat translated literature as a niche within a larger generalist catalog; it is the catalog. This means that accepted projects enter a publishing program where translation is the central editorial concern, not an ancillary one. The press's affiliation with the Center for the Art of Translation also situates its books within a broader ecosystem of translation advocacy, events, and readership development. The curatorial vision is international and language-agnostic in principle, though the list has historically shown a strong interest in literary fiction and poetry that carries formal ambition or cultural specificity. Translators are advised to consult the press's existing catalog to understand the aesthetic range of the list before submitting. Because the window is rolling, there is no external deadline pressure, but also no batch-review cycle to rely on; submissions are considered as they arrive, and the press's response times reflect the ongoing nature of its reading process.