Linda Asher, a distinguished editor and translator who significantly broadened the fiction offerings at The New Yorker during her nearly two-decade tenure, passed away on September 15 in New York City. She was 93. Her death was confirmed by her daughter, Rachel Asher.

Ms. Asher served as a fiction editor at The New Yorker from 1979 to 1997, where she was known for introducing a diverse array of international voices to the magazine’s pages. Among the notable authors she helped bring to the publication was Haruki Murakami, alongside other prominent writers including Louise Erdrich and A.S. Byatt. Charles McGrath, former deputy editor of The New Yorker, described her as a genuine intellectual who expanded the magazine’s literary scope in ways that others could not.

In addition to her editorial work, Ms. Asher was a respected translator of French literature into English. Her translations included works by Milan Kundera, Yasmina Reza, and Georges Simenon. Kundera, a Czech-born novelist and essayist who settled in Paris after being banned in his home country, was among the most prominent writers she translated. Ms. Asher’s translations of his essays, such as the 1988 English edition of “The Art of the Novel,” were praised for their clarity and fidelity to the author’s intent. Perry Meisel of The New York Times noted that her work “deftly conveys the lucidity of Mr. Kundera’s prose.” She also translated Kundera’s “The Curtain: An Essay in Seven Parts,” which earned critical acclaim for its precision and grace.

Before joining The New Yorker, Ms. Asher held editorial positions at Life magazine, Time-Life Books, Psychology Today, and the Hastings Center for Bioethics. Her academic background included a history degree from Smith College and a year of study in Paris during her junior year.

Together with her late husband, Aaron Asher, also a translator of Kundera’s novels, she was part of a vibrant New York literary circle. Their home was known as a gathering place for leading cultural figures, including writers Philip Roth and Arthur Miller, musicians Pinchas and Eugenia Zukerman, and diplomat Brian Urquhart.

Ms. Asher’s translation work earned her recognition from the French government, which named her a Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters. Among her other translations were Reza’s novel “Babylon,” Simenon’s early Inspector Maigret novel “The Yellow Dog,” Jean-Marie Déguignet’s autobiography “Memoirs of a Breton Peasant,” and selected stories by Honoré de Balzac.

She is survived by her daughters Rachel and Abigail Asher, and four grandchildren.