Harare Review of Books

World Editions has just launched a new series, Read the World A to Z, with books from Argentina, Belgium and China.

From World Editions:
Read the World A to Z invites readers to travel the globe with the most influential voices from Argentina to Zambia. Published by the award-winning press World Editions, the collectible Read the World series features translated novels from A to Z—one country for every letter of the alphabet.

While English translations of books from France, Korea or Columbia are readily available, there’s almost no access to books from countries such as Yemen or Uruguay. Read the World A to Z is designed to change that. By publishing books from countries rarely represented in the canon of translated literature, World Editions is looking to further cultural exchange, broaden perspectives and promote diversity by increasing the visibility of non-Western voices.

Publisher Christine Swedowsky says about the new series:

“The Read the World A to Z series forces me to take a very active approach to acquisitions. Rather than relying on agent submissions, I’ve been reaching out directly to authors from countries rarely represented. I am currently very much hoping to sign two female writers from Oman and Qatar, respectively, and welcome submission from Rwanda, Uganda and Vietnam.”

All that Dies in April x Mariana Travacio, Samantha Schnee tr.), Will Morningstar (tr.) is the first book they’re (re)publishing in the series! It’s fantastic, one of my favourite reads last year. The other two in this first tranche are The Woman Who Fed the Dogs by Kristien Hemmerechts (translated by Paul Vincent) and Cocoon by Zhang Yueran (translated by Jeremy Tiang).

About World Editions:
World Editions is the prestigious translation publisher of award-winning and bestselling authors from around the world, including the late winner of the Alternative Nobel Prize, Maryse Condé, National Book Award Finalists Pilar Quintana and Samar Yazbek and International Booker Honoree Jaap Robben along with bestselling writers Amin Maalouf and Juli Zeh.

More:

• Check out the Goodreads giveaway here.
• Find the subscription boxes here and here.
• There’ll be a launch party in New York City on September 25. Find out more here.