Dystopian novels are seeing a massive resurgence in popularity right now, due to the state of the political world we find ourselves living in. Novels written in the World War 2 era and during the Cold War have found relevance now more than ever before. We’re all digging out our old copies of Nineteen Eighty-Four …

It’s that time of year again: the time when everyone obsesses over lists and gets deeply frustrated if someone else’s list is different from their own. And in keeping with that delightful spirit, prepare to get frustrated by our list of best translated books of 2019! In all seriousness, though, I love a good list. …

The landscape of indie publishing is so rich and diverse right now. Risk of failure might be high, but that hasn’t stopped so many courageous people fighting to forge, and make roaring successes of, some of the best publishing companies in the world right now – all with nothing but their own blood, sweat, and …

Hamid Ismailov’s accomplishments, both intellectually and professionally, are astonishing. As a polyglot with works published in multiple languages – and translated into even more – he is an accomplished poet, writer, and translator. But Ismailov is also a writer in exile, having been forced to flee his home of Uzbekistan after the fall of the …

Language is highly politicised, it can be used as a weapon, used against us – as we’ve seen time and again in our current political climate. The simple use of a certain language or dialect can also be a dangerous, rebellious, or illegal act the world over. Both today and throughout history, people have died …

Autumn is a season to look forward to. One of curling up by the fireside as the nights draw in, the wind chills, and the books pile up beside your comfy chair. It’s a season of ghost stories and comforting tales. There are a lot of wonderful Autumn books arriving this 2019 season, so let’s …

The ongoing unrest in Gaza, the state of divide between Israelis and Palestinians, is often reduced by those of us outside to ill-informed political debates at best, and total confusion and oblivious guessing games at worst. Those of us who sympathise with the plight of Palestinians discuss money changing hands, political agendas in the right-wing …

Women in Translation Month is a wonderful chance to celebrate, cherish, and discover the incredible women in translation from around the world whose visionary literature has the power to change the artistic landscape of not just their home countries, but the world at large. These women in translation hail from every corner of the globe, …

In 1948, the Palestine War took place. In the eyes of Israel, this was known as the War of Independence. For Palestinians and those in other Arab states, it has become known as the Nakba (catastrophe), for the fact that 700,000 innocent Palestinians were displaced from their homes and had their land stolen away from …

“The manuscript of these narratives was found in a drawer with a note attached stating, ‘To be published in 1994’.” This is what Roger Allen, long-time translator of Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz, reveals in the introduction to The Quarter. He goes on to say that this was the same year that Mahfouz was …