Writer & Translator
About
Dani James is a native New Yorker who grew up in Belgium, speaking French, Flemish, and English. Her translation of Return to the Place I Never Left, a Holocaust survival memoir by Tobias Schiff, was published by WSU Press in 2025. Acclaimed author Arnon Grunberg praised the book as “a literary discovery.”
Using prose poetry as the form, the book transcends traditional narrative form, creating a memorable reading experience that resonates long after readers turn the last page.
Dani has appeared on The Creative Penn podcast and taught workshops about writing, translation, and multilingualism. She’s a CUNY Alumni 50 Under 50 Award recipient, works in technology, and loves music.
Expert topics
- Multilingualism as a creative superpower
- How translation practice can boost creativity & help writers find their voice
- The craft of translation: Preserving meaning & reimagining a text in your writing style
- Giving voice to memory: Translating poetry, memoir & the Holocaust
- The journey to publication
- Successfully managing a full-time job with creative pursuit
Featured podcasts, articles, workshops & events
Featured on
Video
- On Memoir: A Translator’s Craft by Paradiise YouTube
- Dani James Reads from Return to the Place I Never Left by Translators Aloud YouTube
Podcasts
- The Art and Business of Literary Translation by The Creative Penn YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music
Events, Workshops & Lectures
- If I Don’t Write About Them They Are Ghosts at New York Public Library
- On Translating Tobias Schiff’s Journey Universiteit Antwerpen
- Spring 2025 Harman Fellow Dani James Talks Translation at Baruch College
- Translation as Professional Expertise at Medgar Evers College
- Dani James Discusses Return to the Place I Never Left at the Sandra K. Wasserman Jewish Studies Center at Baruch College
- MFA Student Class Discussion at St. Joseph’s University
Workshops
Dani James delivers lectures and workshops, and visits college classrooms for discussions with students.
She crafts every appearance with the intention of engaging with the audience, and enjoys exploring different formats in partnership with the hosting organization.
Praise
“A dazzling event”
Baruch College, The City University of New York
“An engaging presence… The reading was breathtaking”
St Joseph’s University
“Our students found your journey truly inspirational… They clearly appreciated the ways you encouraged to keep their creativity alive”
Medgar Evers College, The City University of New York
“[Dani James] spoke beautifully, with a gravitas attuned to the importance of the topic and a contagious love for the work”
Universiteit Antwerpen
“It was especially gratifying to hear my students share how excited they were to meet [Dani James] whose own multicultural story reflects the richness and complexity of identities we explore in class. They were deeply moved by Dani’s discussion of Schiff’s rhythmic, spare lines— verses that challenge dehumanization and illuminate how a young teenager held onto life amid unthinkable cruelty.”
Sandra K. Wasserman Center at Baruch College, The City University of New York
Topics
- The art and business of literary translation
- Translation as a creative practice
- The Jewish-Jamaican identity experience
- Return to the Place I Never Left: A reading and discussion
Return to the Place I Never Left
Written by Tobias Schiff
Translated by Dani James
Wayne State University Press, 2025
“A literary discovery”
Arnon Grunberg, Author of Blue Mondays
“This book adds an important chapter to the oral history of a shameful episode in the twentieth century”
Dr. Keming Liu, Translator & Professor of Linguistics & Literature, The City University of New York
“This shows a writer who is able to toe the line between writing artfully enough to hold readers’ attention while also teaching them about his experiences.”
Jewish Book Council
About the Book
In this harrowing firsthand account of the Holocaust, survivor Tobias Schiff displays the depths of human suffering, the capacity for hope and renewal, and the impact of starvation on the human mind. Schiff was a teenager when Nazis deported his family to Auschwitz from Antwerp, Belgium, and he spent the next thirty-three agonizing months in numerous concentration camps.
This deeply personal memoir-in-verse explores personal faith, identity, memory, and trauma across a lifetime interrupted by suffering. Through his eyes, readers witness the atrocities and struggles that defined his daily existence, feel his tenacity while beaten and starved, and learn what enabled him and others to cling to life while surrounded by death. Schiff’s verse challenges dehumanizing narratives and provides an intimate view of the realities of life in Nazi death camps and the long-lasting impact of trauma.
Book Topics
- Survival
- Holocaust
- Resilience
- Memoir
- Identity
Contact Dani James
To book Dani James for an event, workshop, lecture, or more, send a message.
Dani James 