Women in Translation: Celebrating All Year Long

In case you didn’t know, August is Women in Translation Month! Though I always encourage people to read translated books all year round, August is the time of year we are encouraged to celebrate specifically books translated into English written by women (and other non-male gender identities). Even though the month is at a close, I still wanted to highlight this effort so we can continue celebrating all year long.

A common number thrown about is that only 3% of the books published each year in English are translated—but this includes all works, including academic texts and rereleases of classics. According to an effort by the University of Rochester, when you narrow it down to fiction and poetry in translation, the number is closer to 0.7%. Fewer still are the translated titles that get mainstream attention by media, book reviewers, and every day readers. And of that already tiny number, even fewer are titles by people who aren’t men.

Why should we care? When there are so many books published each year, even 0.7% is more books than any person could ever really read.

I could go on and on about the importance of translated literature—how it introduces you to new ideas and cultures, how it challenges your thinking, how you’re simply missing out on really good books by not reading globally (honestly! with how many languages are out there, you think all the great books in the world are written in one? No. Absolutely not). Anton Hur wrote in a post for the Booker foundation that “reading is about being surprised, or learning about something I never would have dreamed existed, or enjoying something I wouldn’t have imagined myself enjoying until I picked up a certain book. My favourite reading experiences are when my mind is blown because I could not have expected that such a book would exist, much less that I would enjoy it.” These are the kind of reading experiences translated literature can offer—and all of those reasons apply doubly for voices that are even more marginalized—non-white, non-men, non-European, queer, etc. Enter: The Women in Translation Project.

Founded in 2013 by Meytal Radzinski, the Women in Translation project was created to celebrate and elevate translated literature written by women. The effort comes to a head every August where libraries, bookstores, and book people around the world celebrate Women in Translation Month by reading, sharing, and promoting translated books by women. You can find more information on their website and take a deep dive into some books they recommend on reading lists.

For Found in Translation (our store’s translated book club!) we’re exploring the theme of global womanhood for the latter half of the year, and even though this month’s meeting has already happened, I encourage you to read a woman in translation to help celebrate. If you’d like to join us for future meetings, you can check out specific club books and meeting times here. I’d love to have you! But to tide you over until the next time club meets, you can search #WITMonth on socials and see what readers and book lovers all over the world have been talking about and keep the party going all year long.

For a curated list of translated titles beyond just what we’re reading for Found in Translation, here are some of my favorites and some titles I can’t wait to read:

• The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez

• Nineteen Claws and a Blackbird by Agustina Bazterrica

• Moonbath by Yanick Lahens

• Strange Beasts of China by Yan Ge

• Greek Lessons by Han Kang

• The End of August by Yu Miri

• Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree

• Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung

• Walking Practice by Dolki Min

• A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos

• She and Her Cat by Makoto Shinkai and Naruki Nagakawa

• Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi

• Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel

• A System So Magnificent It Is Blinding by Amanda Svensson