Esther Allen is an essayist and translator from Spanish and French. An associate professor at Baruch College, City University of New York, she directed the work of the PEN/Heim Translation Fund from its founding in 2003 to 2010, and co-founded PEN World Voices: the New York Festival of International Literature (2004). A two-time recipient of National Endowment for the Arts Translation Fellowships, she was a Fellow at the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library in 2009-2010. The French government has honored her as a Chevalier de l’ordre des arts et des lettres (2006).