Publisher Spotlight: Kalyna Language Press

Kalyna Language Press, founded in 2013, is an independent publishing house. Although we began as a literary translation service, specializing in Ukrainian to English translation, and have been successful in placing work with numerous publishers and in many international journals, we will consider work translated from any language into English or work originally written in … Continue reading Publisher Spotlight: Kalyna Language Press

Ursula Phillips on Zofia Nałkowska

Zofia Nalkowska (10 November 1884 – 17 December 1954) is sometimes referred to as the grande dame of Polish literature. She was an active member of the Polish PEN Club, the only female (and a founding member) of the Polish Academy of Literature (1933-1939) and recipient of major awards including the state prize in 1936 … Continue reading Ursula Phillips on Zofia Nałkowska

Title Pick: FLIGHTS by Olga Tokarczuk

Flights, a novel about travel in the twenty-first century and human anatomy, is Olga Tokarczuk’s most ambitious to date. It interweaves travel narratives and reflections on travel with an in-depth exploration of the human body, broaching life, death, motion, and migration.  From the seventeenth century, we have the story of the Dutch anatomist Philip Verheyen, … Continue reading Title Pick: FLIGHTS by Olga Tokarczuk

Publisher Spotlight: Archipelago Books

Archipelago Books is a not-for-profit press devoted to publishing excellent translations of classic and contemporary world literature. In our first twelve years, we have brought out over 120 books from more than thirty languages. Artistic exchange between cultures is a crucial aspect of global understanding: literature can act as a catalyst to dissolve stereotypes and to reveal a common … Continue reading Publisher Spotlight: Archipelago Books

Publisher Spotlight: Dalkey Archive Press

Dalkey Archive Press has been called subversive, educational, experimental, innovative, and more. The initial ethos John O’Brien, John Bryne, and Lowell Dunlap established when the press was founded in 1981 has remained much the same, but with offices in London, Dublin, and Illinois, the press’s reach and influence travels far. From Catalonia to Norway to … Continue reading Publisher Spotlight: Dalkey Archive Press

USBBY Outstanding International Book Pick: Black Flame by Gerelchimeg Blackcrane

Award-winning author Gerelchimeg Blackcrane has written a compelling novel, set in Tibet, Mongolia and China, about the adventures of a fiercely powerful yet lovable Tibetan mastiff that is sure to join the ranks of other much-read classic dog stories. Kelsang, a Tibetan mastiff, is just a tiny puppy when his mother dies after a vicious … Continue reading USBBY Outstanding International Book Pick: Black Flame by Gerelchimeg Blackcrane

International Banned Book: Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak

Although it contains passages written in the 1910s and 1920s, Doctor Zhivago was not completed until 1956. The novel was submitted to the literary journal Novy Mir ("Новый Мир"). However, the editors rejected Pasternak's novel because of its implicit rejection of socialist realism. The author, like Zhivago, showed more concern for the welfare of individuals … Continue reading International Banned Book: Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak

USBBY Outstanding International Book Pick: Departure Time by Truus Matti

A run-down hotel on a bare plain: the only hiding place for a girl in the rain. Once inside, a fox offers her a chair. A suspicious rat acts like he has met her before. But she can't remember anything. Not even her own name.... At the hotel she finds more questions than answers. She … Continue reading USBBY Outstanding International Book Pick: Departure Time by Truus Matti

International Banned Book Pick: Beijing Coma by Ma Jian

Dai Wei, a PhD student and protestor in Tiananmen Square in June 1989, was caught by a soldier's bullet and fell into a deep coma. But as the millennium draws near, he begins to emerge from unconsciousness, and to sense the massive changes in his country. At once a powerful allegory of a rising China, … Continue reading International Banned Book Pick: Beijing Coma by Ma Jian

International Banned Book Pick: One Day of Life by Manlio Argueta

One Day of Life (Spanish: Un Dia en la Vida) is a novel by Salvadoran author Manlio Argueta. The novel is set in Chalatenango, El Salvador and follows the daily life of Guadalupe Guardado and the women of her family just prior to the Salvadoran Civil War. The book was banned by the government of … Continue reading International Banned Book Pick: One Day of Life by Manlio Argueta