Janja Pavetic-Dickey was born in Varaždin, Croatia, where her love of languages was born early under the influence of her maternal grandmother who spoke four languages.

Janja studied English and German and spent years living in Germany and The Netherlands before moving to the U.S. in 2003. She is a published translator, editor and copyeditor.

Her translations include Natalija: Life in the Balkan Powder Keg, 1880–1956 (Central European University Press, 2008), which was nominated for the best book in literary/cultural studies by the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and Eastern European Languages, and a selection of contemporary Croatian poets (with Stephen M. Dickey) for If We Crash into a Cloud, It Won't Hurt (Croatian poetry, 1989-2009) published by the Croatian P.E.N. Center and the Croatian Writers' Association.

Janja lives in Lawrence, KS, with her husband and two sons.