Today’s post comes to you from Anisha Wilmink Our weird and not-so-wonderful world as seen by Sayaka Murata Sayaka Murata, who works with translator Ginny Tapley Takemori, is known for her short novels that confront and challenge our expectations of social norms and the “right” way to lead a life. I first came across Murata when … Continue reading #WITMonth: Sayaka Murata
Last week the 40th IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) Congress was hosted by IBBY Canada in Ottawa, Canada, with 500+ attendees from 60 countries in attendance. The theme was "Listening to Each Other's Voices" -- and it was echoed across all the sessions, with a special focus on Indigenous and endangered languages … Continue reading #WorldKidLit: IBBY & GLLI
Today’s post comes to you from Erin えりん The curation of reality through language in Rie Qudan’s "Sympathy Tower Tokyo" August 11 is Mountain Day (Yama no Hi) in Japan, celebrated annually in appreciation of the country's mountainous regions. The choice of date is related to the Kanji character for the number 8 (八), which visually … Continue reading #WITMonth: “Sympathy Tower Tokyo”
Today’s post comes to you from Nadine Bailey Ann-Helén Laestadius’s Punished is a profound, deeply unsettling exploration of systemic oppression, extinguishing of language, intergenerational trauma, and the enduring struggle to reclaim cultural identity. It is a narrative based on the author’s family story* that forces readers to confront a dark and often overlooked chapter of Scandinavian … Continue reading #WITMonth: “Punished”
Today’s post comes to you from Nadine Bailey Won-Pyung Sohn’s Counterattacks at Thirty is a sharp, humane workplace comedy exploring systemic disillusionment. Informed by her background as an award-winning screenwriter, Sohn filters the crushing weight of modern corporate labor through traditional East Asian narrative structures, creating a story deeply specific to South Korea yet universally resonant. … Continue reading #WITMonth: Won-Pyung Sohn’s “Counterattacks at Thirty”
Today’s post comes to you from Beth Gourley Suite for Barbara Loden by Nathalie Léger. Translated from French by Natasha Lehrer and Cécile Menon. Cover illustration by Ruth Gwily. Originally published in France in 2012 as Supplément à la vie de Barbara Loden (P.O.L); English translation published by Les Fugitives (UK) and Dorothy, a publishing … Continue reading #WITMonth: In Conversation with “SUITE FOR BARBARA LODEN”
Today’s post comes to you from Angie Erickson Every August, Women in Translation Month asks us to notice which voices reach our shelves. It is also an opportunity to consider what we mean when we talk about women’s writing. In 2025, Yael van der Wouden won the Women’s Prize for Fiction for her extraordinary debut novel, … Continue reading #WITMonth: Welcome to the annual Women in Translation Month on GLLI
This is the 8th year of the GLLI Translated YA Book Prize, which recognizes publishers, translators, and authors of books in English translation for young adult readers, aged 12 through 18 inclusive. (See the prize criteria here and submission guidelines here.) Twenty-two books in eight languages, published within the past three years, were submitted for this cycle and a … Continue reading Congratulations to the 2026 GLLI Translated Young Adult Book Prize Winner & Honor Books (& Wrap-up to #IntlYALitMonth)
Today’s post comes to you from Tim Pruzinsky More Than Monsters Beasts – by Ingvild Bjerkeland / Translated from Norwegian by Rosie Hedger (Levine Querido/2025) – NORWAY Beasts was unanimously shortlisted by the Global Literature in Libraries Initiative YA Translated Book Prize committee. Its propulsive pacing and highly engaging reader experience made it a no-brainer for recognition. Coming … Continue reading #IntYALitMonth: GLLI 2026 Shortlist: Beasts
Today’s post comes to you from Kim Tyo-Dickerson & Helle Kirstein Windows and Mirrors from the Shore Self Portrait – by Ludwig Volbeda / Translated from Dutch by Lucy Scott (Levine Querido/2025) – NETHERLANDS [Previously reviewed on this blog by Lynn Miller-Lachmann on Feb. 4, 2026] Ludwig Volbeda’s debut Young Adult novel, Self Portrait, is an intimate, stream-of-consciousness epistolary … Continue reading #IntYALitMonth: GLLI 2026 Shortlist: Self Portrait
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 