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
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
Today’s post comes to you from Frances Sims-Williams Out-of-This-World Cooking (and Conspiracies) The Big Tournament: Book 1 (Magda, Intergalactic Chef) – by Nicolas Wouters, illustrated by Mathilde Van Gheluwe / Translated from French by Ann-Marie Boulanger (Graphic Universe/2025) – BELGIUM [Previously reviewed on this blog by Nanette McGuinness on Dec. 17, 2025] Chosen to represent her home planet … Continue reading #IntYALitMonth: GLLI 2026 Shortlist: Magda
Wednesdays are reserved for #WorldKidLit posts, and today's will do double-duty as both #WorldKidLit and #IntYALitMonth. Vicky Lyfoung's recently published "Hmong: A Graphic History," translated from French by Kao-Ly Yang (2026), is an accessible account of the long and complex history of the Hmong people, now strewn around the world. She starts with her own … Continue reading #WorldKidLit: Hmong
Today’s post comes to you from Sabrina Rossi The Village Beyond the Mist - written by Sachiko Kashiwaba (1975) and translated from Japanese by Avery Fischer Udagawa (2025) - GLLI review by Nanette McGuinness on Mar 19, 2025 - Shortlisted 2026 GLLI Translated Young Adult Book Prize The Village Beyond the Mist, (霧のむこうのふしぎな町 - Kirino mukōno … Continue reading #IntYALitMonth: GLLI 2026 Shortlist: The Village Beyond the Mist
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 