SF in Translation from Small American Publishers of International Literature since 2020
Speculative fiction in translation comes to us each year from a wide array of publishers, many of which are small presses or imprints of larger publishing houses. Eight of these publishers, based in the US and committed to bringing out multiple works of international literature in translation each year, form the backbone of the SFT we enjoy. Deep Vellum, Europa Editions, Graywolf Press, New Directions, Open Letter Books, Restless Books, Two Lines Press, and Wakefield Press have introduced us over the past two decades to highly-acclaimed writers like Yoss (Cuba), Rodrigo Fresan (Argentina), Yoko Tawada (Japan/Germany), Giacomo Sartori (Italy), Jean Ray (Belgium), Ha Seong-nan (Korea), and others, broadening our horizons and pushing us to think more critically about what “speculative fiction” means. In these books, we meet conscious AIs, families surviving apocalypse, people trapped in time loops, book censors resisting their mandates, positronic robot detectives, and more, with stories ranging from the gothic and Weird to hard science fiction and the surreal. Since 2020, these publishers have together brought us 56 novels, collections, and anthologies translated from the Arabic, Catalan, Chinese, Danish, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Sierra Zapotec, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, and Welsh. These small publishers play a crucial role in continuing to supply American readers with stories that showcase the richness and diversity of our world.
(in order of publication date)
2020
Beautiful by Massimo Cuomo, translated from the Italian by Will Schutt (Europa Editions).
That We May Live: Speculative Chinese Fiction, edited by Dorothy Tse, et. al., translated from the Chinese (China, Taiwan) by various translators (Two Lines Press).
Girls Lost by Jessica Schiefauer, translated from the Swedish by Saskia Vogel (Deep Vellum).
Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor, translated from the Spanish (Mexico) by Sophie Hughes (New Directions).
A Strange Country by Muriel Barbery, translated from the French (France) by Allison Anderson (Europa Editions).
The Great Nocturnal by Jean Ray, translated from the French (Belgium) by Scott Nicolay (Wakefield Press).
Red Dust by Yoss, translated from the Spanish (Cuba) by David Frye (Restless Books).
Spiral (#3) by Agustin de Rojas, translated from the Spanish (Cuba) by Nick Caistor and Hebe Powell (Restless Books).
The Journey by Miguel Collazo, translated from the Spanish (Cuba) by David Frye (Restless Books).
Waystations of the Deep Night by Marcel Brion, translated from the French (France) by George MacLennan and Edward Gauvin (Wakefield Press).
Red Ants by Pergentino José, translated from the Sierra Zapotec (Mexico) by Thomas Bunstead (Deep Vellum).
The Clerk by Guillermo Saccomanno, translated from the Spanish (Argentina) byAndrea G. Labinger (Open Letter).
The Hole by Hiroko Oyamada, translated from the Japanese by David Boyd (New Directions).
Harmada by João Gilberto Noll, translated from the Portuguese (Brazil) by Edgar Garbelotto (Two Lines Press).
Circles of Dread by Jean Ray, translated from the French (Belgium) by Scott Nicolay (Wakefield Press).
2021
Bug by Giacomo Sartori, translated from the Italian by Frederika Randall (Restless Books).
Eleven Sooty Dreams by Manuela Draeger, translated from the French (France) by J. T. Mahany (Open Letter).
Rabbit Island by Elvira Navarro, translated from the Spanish (Spain) by Christina MacSweeney (Two Lines Press).
Slipping by Mohamed Kheir, translated from the Arabic (Egypt) by Robin Moger (Two Lines Press).
Little Bird by Claudia Ulloa Donoso, translated from the Spanish (Peru) by Lily Meyer (Deep Vellum).
Stranger to the Moon by Evelio Rosero, translated from the Spanish (Colombia) by Victor Meadowcroft and Anne McLean (New Directions).
Life Sciences by Joy Sorman, translated from the French (France) by Lara Vergnaud (Restless Books).
The Blue Book of Nebo by Manon Steffan Ros, translated from the Welsh by the author (Deep Vellum).
His Name was Death by Rafael Bernal, translated from the Spanish (Mexico) by Kit Schluter (New Directions).
2022
Scattered All Over the Earth by Yoko Tawada, translated Japanese by Margaret Mitsutani (New Directions).
Black Village by Lutz Bassmann, translated from the French (France) by Jeffrey Zuckerman (Open Letter).
When I Sing, Mountains Dance by Irene Solà, translated from the Catalan by Mara Faye Lethem (Graywolf Press).
At the Edge of the Woods by Masatsugu Ono, translated from the Japanese by Juliet Winters Carpenter (Two Lines Press).
The Conversation of the Three Wayfarers by Peter Weiss, translated from the German (Germany) by E. B. Garside (New Directions).
The Remembered Part by Rodrigo Fresan, translated from the Spanish (Argentina) by Will Vanderhyden (Open Letter).
3 Streets by Yoko Tawada, translated from the Japanese by Margaret Mitsutani (New Directions).
The Famous Magician by César Aira, translated Spanish (Argentina) by Chris Andrews (New Directions).
Weasels in the Attic by Hiroko Oyamada, translated from the Japanese by David Boyd (New Directions).
The Impersonal Adventure by Marcel Bealu, translated from the French (France) by George MacLennan (Wakefield Press).
2023
Ten Planets by Yuri Herrera, translated from the Spanish (Mexico) by Lisa Dillman (Graywolf Press).
No Edges: Swahili Stories, various authors, various translators (Two Lines Press).
Kappa by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, translated from the Japanese by Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda and Allison Markin Powell (New Directions).
The White City Tale by Choi Jeong-Hwa, translated from the Korean by Janet Hong (Restless Books).
Owlish by Dorothy Tse, translated from the Chinese (China) by Natascha Bruce (Graywolf Press).
The City of Unspeakable Fear by Jean Ray, translated from the French (Belgium) by Scott Nicolay (Wakefield Press).
Fishing for the Little Pike by Juhani Karila, translated from the Finnish by Lola Rogers (Restless Books).
2024
You Glow in the Dark by Liliana Colanzi, translated from the Spanish (Bolivia) by Chris Andrews (New Directions).
Through the Night Like a Snake: Latin American Horror Stories, edited by Sarah Coolidge, various translators from the Spanish (Two Lines Press).
The Book Censor’s Library by Bothayna Al-Essa, translated from the Arabic (Kuwait) by Ranya Abdelrahman and Sawad Hussain (Restless Books).
Woodworm by Layla Martinez, translated from the Spanish (Spain) by Sophie Hughes and Annie McDermott (Two Lines Press).
Wafers by Ha Seong-nan, translated from the Korea n by Janet Hong (Open Letter).
Under the Neomoon by Wolfgang Hilbig, translated from the German (Germany) by Isabel Fargo Cole (Two Lines Press).
Festival & Game of the Worlds by César Aira, translated from the Spanish (Argentina) by Katherine Silver (New Directions).
Suggested in the Stars by Yoko Tawada, translated Japanese by Margaret Mitsutani (New Directions).
On the Calculation of Volume (Books 1 and 2) by Solvej Balle, translated from the Danish by Barbara J. Haveland (New Directions).
The Third Temple by Yishai Sarid, translated from the Hebrew by Yardenne Greenspan (Restless Books).
2025 (so far)
Adam and Eve in Paradise by José Maria de Eça de Queirós, translated from the Portuguese (Portugal) by Margaret Jull Costa (New Directions).
Ultramarine by Mariette Navarro, translated from the French (France) by Eve Hill-Agnus (Deep Vellum).
Archipelago of the Sun by Yoko Tawada, translated from the Japanese by Margaret Mitsutani (New Directions).
The Fake Muse by Max Besora, translated from the Catalan by Mara Faye Lethem (Open Letter).
The Event by Juan José Saer, translated from the Spanish by Helen R. Lane (Open Letter).
