Celebrating Women in Translation Month
August is Women in Translation Month, a time dedicated to recognising and celebrating the incredible contributions of female authors from around the world whose works have been translated into English. This initiative not only amplifies diverse voices but also broadens our understanding of different cultures and perspectives. At Scribe Publications, we're proud to be part of this global literary movement, offering readers a rich tapestry of stories by talented women writers.
Why Women in Translation Month matters
The campaign began in 2014, created by blogger and researcher Meytal Radzinski, to address the gender imbalance in translated literature. Women authors often receive less recognition and fewer opportunities for translation than their male counterparts, meaning readers miss out on a vast array of storytelling. By focusing on these voices, Women in Translation Month seeks to correct this disparity and bring attention to the rich and varied works of female authors.
Scribe has long been committed to publishing diverse voices, and our catalogue includes many remarkable works by women in translation. Here are some highlights:
What I’d Rather Not Think About
SHORTLISTED FOR THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE
What if one half of a pair of twins no longer wants to live? What if the other can’t live without them?
This question lies at the heart of Jente Posthuma’s deceptively simple What I’d Rather Not Think About. The narrator is a twin whose brother has recently taken his own life. She looks back on their childhood, and tells of their adult lives: how her brother tried to find happiness, but lost himself in various men and the Bhagwan movement, though never completely.
In brief, precise vignettes, full of gentle melancholy and surprising humour, Posthuma tells…
Blue Hunger
An Irish Times Book of the Year
An electrifying descent from loneliness and grief into obsessive, all-consuming love, by an Italian literary star.
‘When Xu bites me, when she has me in her teeth, naked and bad on top of me, everything is good.’
In a skyscraper apartment overlooking Shanghai’s blue-tinged, pulsating nightlife and filled with rotting food, two women swallow little yellow pills that will make all things dangerous feel safe. They’re both running from a turbulent past.
In abandoned factories and dilapidated slaughterhouses, Xu pushes Ruben to extremes of pleasure and pain that she has…
Antiquity
Elegant, slippery, and provocative, Antiquity is a queer Lolita story by prize-winning Swedish author Hanna Johansson — a story of desire, power, obsession, observation, and taboo.
Antiquity follows its unnamed narrator, a lonely woman in her thirties who becomes enamoured of a chic older artist, Helena, after interviewing her for a magazine. Helena invites the narrator to join her in the Greek city of Ermoupoli where she summers with her teenage daughter Olga. At first an object of jealousy, Olga morphs into an object of desire as the pull of Helena is transposed onto her daughter and the prospect of…
Reservoir Bitches
A debut linked story collection of gritty, streetwise, and wickedly funny fiction from Mexico.
Life’s a bitch. That’s why you gotta rattle her cage, even if she’s foaming at the mouth.
In the linked stories of Reservoir Bitches, thirteen Mexican women prod the bitch that is Life as they fight, sew, skirt, cheat, cry, and lie their way through their tangled circumstances. From the all-powerful daughter of a cartel boss to the victim of transfemicide, from a houseful of spinster seamstresses to a socialite who supports her politician husband by faking Indigenous roots, these women spit on their own…
Throughout August, we encourage you to explore these extraordinary titles and share your reading experiences on social media using the hashtag #WomenInTranslationMonth. By doing so, you help raise awareness and support the talented women who bring their stories to the world through translation.
At Scribe, we're excited to continue our commitment to publishing diverse and groundbreaking literature. Stay tuned for upcoming releases that promise to challenge, inspire, and transport readers to new worlds.