Restless Books

01/07/2024

Huge congrats to Sachiko Kashiwaba and translator Avery Fischer Udagawa!

TEMPLE ALLEY SUMMER was featured on the IBBY's (.international) 2024 Honours List for its translation into English! To check out the entire list, visit this link https://www.ibby.org/awards-activities/awards/ibby-honour-list/ibby-honour-list-2024!

TEMPLE ALLEY SUMMER is a fantastical and mysterious adventure featuring the living dead, a magical pearl, and a suspiciously nosy black cat named Kiriko. The paperback edition is out now!

To get a copy, order from us, and you'll receive free shipping on all U.S. orders—no code needed! Link: https://restlessbooks.org/bookstore/temple-alley-summer,

28/06/2024

You can now read an excerpt of the highly-anticipated FROM SAVAGERY in the new issue of ! Read it here: https://latinamericanliteraturetoday.org/2024/06/from-savagery-translated-by-katie-brown/

Electric, defiant, and singing with melancholia, Alejandra Banca’s devastating debut throws its arms around a displaced generation of young Venezuelan migrants, reveling in the clamor and beauty of their day-by-day survival. Translated from the Spanish by Katie Brown.

💥 We're now officially less than two months away from the US pub day of FROM SAVAGERY. Don't forget to pre-order from our website: https://restlessbooks.org/bookstore/from-savagery

26/06/2024

Thank you so much for the review of THE BOOK CENSOR'S LIBRARY, Alex Brown and Locus Magazine!

The Book Censor’s Library, Bothayna Al-Essa (Restless Books 978-1-63206-334-2, $18.00, 272pp, tp) April 2024. Cover by Joy Richu. In a not-too-distant future in an unknown nation, we meet our unnam…

26/06/2024

Don’t miss this event on Thursday if you’re in Gloucester! 💖

Gloucester Writers Center, Ani Gjika, Diannely Antigua

We are so excited to bring Diannely Antigua () and Ani Gjika (.gjika) to Gloucester this Thursday, June 27th! They will be reading at the at 7PM.

Books available at the event.

26/06/2024

Winner of the 2022 Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing, Praveen Herat’s gripping literary thriller is a breathtaking exploration of power, identity, unconditional love, and the question of how far we’ll go to uncover the truth.

Driven by a haunting past and increasingly alienating present, British Photographer Joseph Nightingale escapes to Cambodia. After a surreal night and near-death experience, he meets Song, a young Cambodian woman struggling with physical and psychological scars left by a life-time of poverty and violence. When she goes missing, it is up to Joseph to piece together the clues, and he becomes embroiled in a world of transnational crime, arms dealing, s*x trafficking, and corruption, where nothing and no one is what they seem.

Out Now!

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20/06/2024

🔥 Your next favorite summer read is almost here! BETWEEN THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT by Praveen Herat comes out next week (6/25)!

Besieged by grief, British war photographer Joseph Nightingale travels to Cambodia, attempting to come to terms with a past that haunts him and a present that has grown unrecognizable. There, a surreal night and a brush with death lead him to Song, a young Cambodian woman grappling with the mounting psychological and physical scars left by a lifetime of poverty and violence. When Song mysteriously disappears, it’s up to Joseph to piece together the clues, and he finds himself entangled in a web of transnational crime, arms dealing, s*x trafficking, and corruption, where nothing and no one are what they seem.

Here are what reviewers are saying about Praveen Herat's debut novel:

“A dogged thriller with political bite. Herat recalls Robert Stone with his themes of morality, redemption, and uncrossable cultural boundaries. . . . In capturing a place and state of mind in which corruption is viewed as ‘the only breach against chaos,’ the London-based, Sri Lanka–rooted author has given us a book that won’t be easy to forget.”

— Kirkus Reviews

“Herat impresses on his first time out, with well-shaded characters and gripping suspense . . . this is worth seeking out.”

— Publishers Weekly

You can pre-order now on our website (restlessbooks.org) or pick up your copy on Tuesday at your favorite indie bookstore!

20/06/2024

📚 Join us at Gloucester Writers Center for a very special poetry reading with poet and writer Diannely Antigua and poet, writer, and translator Ani Gjika on Thursday, June 27th! Free and open to all!

Antigua, writer of the acclaimed poetry collection UGLY MUSIC, and Gjika, winner of Restless' 2021 New Immigrant Writing Prize and author of AN UNRULED BODY, will come together in a night of poetry not to be missed!

🗓️ June 27th, 7pm at The Cultural Center on Rocky Neck (6 Wonson St., Gloucester MA)

11/06/2024

Congratulations to the authors, translators, and illustrators honored last week for the 2023 Foreword Reviews INDIES Awards!

Besides THE SIMPLE ART OF KILLING A WOMAN winning the Editor's Choice Prize for Fiction, five more of our titles were recognized!

FISHING FOR THE LITTLE PIKE, by Juhani Karila and translated from the Finnish by Lola Rogers, won Silver in the Literary (Adult Fiction) category.

DE-INTEGRATE! A JEWISH SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY, by Max Czollek and translated from the German by Jon Cho-Polizzi, was awarded Bronze in the Multicultural (Adult Nonfiction) category.

THE PEOPLE’S TONGUE: AMERICANS AND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, edited by Ilan Stavans, received an Honorable Mention in Anthologies (General).

AN UNRULED BODY, by Ani Gjika, also received an Honorable Mention in the Autobiography and Memoir (Adult Nonfiction) category

THE INVISIBLE ELEPHANT, by Anna Anisimova, with illustrations from Yulia Sidneva and translated from the Russian by Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp, was a finalist in the Picture Books Early Reader category

All of these titles are available for purchase at our website (restlessbooks.org) or at your favorite indie bookstore!

11/06/2024

If you are in Brooklyn next week, do not miss Jeff Diteman and Amalialu Posso Figueroa at Unnameable Books on Saturday, June 22, at 7 p.m.!

Jeffrey and Amalialú will read and discuss THE MAROONS, the first English translation of a rediscovered classic and the only known novel by Black abolitionist and political exile Louis Timagène Houat.

06/06/2024

We are thrilled to announce that THE SIMPLE ART OF KILLING A WOMAN won the 2023 Foreword Reviews INDIES Editor's Choice Prize in Fiction!

Congratulations to Patricia Melo and Sophie Rebecca Lewis!

You can purchase THE SIMPLE ART OF KILLING A WOMAN at your favorite indie bookstore or on our website: restlessbooks.org!

06/06/2024

If you are in the Amherst, MA, area this month, join us for the Immigrant Writing Workshop: Fiction!

With the generous support of the Amherst Cultural Council, Restless Books, in conjunction with the Jones Library & Branches, is offering one of its popular writing workshops of fiction, designed for emerging and established writers of all backgrounds who are immigrants or are focusing on writing fiction about immigration. This two-session in-person workshop is for participants ages 17+, and will be led by Ilan Stavans.

Pre-registration required. Link: bit.ly/3RjrjWG
A confirmation email will be sent after registration. Registration closes at noon on Monday, June 24, 2024.

All participants received a free copy of a Restless Books fiction title written by an immigrant writer.

22/05/2024

We are thrilled to announce that Rivka Galchen and Priyanka Champaneri will judge the 2024 Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing!

You have until next Friday, May 31, to submit!

To check if your manuscript qualifies and learn more about the required materials, go to bit.ly/3KfsCli!

Ready to submit? Here's the link to the Submittable bit.ly/44ToYXQ!

21/05/2024

Another fantastic review of THE WILDCAT BEHIND GLASS!

“The ‘lesson’ or ‘moral’ of the book is obvious, and relevant in a democracy that seems more threatened right now than the Hellenic one. Such disasters arrive not all at once, like a tidal wave, but insensibly, like the tide. They creep up on us over a happy summer. We hardly know they have happened until they already have. And life, disconcertingly, goes on, often pleasantly, while they are taking place. Though she offers it quietly, Zei’s message is clear. The central illusion of childhood — that there is a safe place — must always be surrendered.”

— Adam Gopnik, The New York Times

Out next week 5/28! You can now preorder it on our website (restlessbooks.org)!

05/04/2024

We're officially 25 days from THE BOOK CENSOR'S LIBRARY's pub day!

Thank you to Publishers Weekly for the phenomenal review!

Reckoning with the global threat to free speech and the bleak future it all but guarantees, Bothayna Al-Essa marries the steely dystopia of Orwell’s 1984 with the madcap absurdity of Carroll’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND, resulting in a dreadful twist worthy of Kafka. THE BOOK CENSOR'S LIBRARY is a warning call and a love letter to stories and the delicious act of losing oneself in them. Translated from the Arabic by Ranya Abdelrahman and Sawad Hussain.

You can now pre-order on our website (restlessbooks.org)! Out April 30 📖

03/04/2024

We are excited to share that Bothayna Al-Essa's thought-provoking essay on censorship is now live on Literary Hub!

Read here: bit.ly/4awZ3qQ!

Bothayna's THE BOOK CENSOR'S LIBRARY (translated from the Arabic by Ranya Abdelrahman and Sawad Hussain) also comes out on April 30. You can pre-order now on our website: restlessbooks.org!

01/04/2024

Head over to Latin American Literature Today to read an exclusive excerpt of THE SIMPLE ART OF KILLING A WOMAN!

🔗 to excerpt: bit.ly/3J27BKs

From best-selling Brazilian crime novelist Patrícia Melo comes a genre-defying tale of women in the Amazon and their reckoning with brutal oppression—by turns poetic, humorous, dark, and inspiring. Translated from the Portuguese by Sophie Rebecca Lewis.

Out now! Go to our website (restlessbooks.org) to purchase your copy with free shipping!

29/03/2024

❤️ Congratulations to Shanta Lee! Shanta will receive the Abel Meeropol Social Justice Writing Award and give the keynote speech next week at the Northampton Write Angles Conference!

See the flyer for more details!

28/03/2024

Thank you to Tonja Drecker from Bookworm for Kinds for the excellent review of THE WILDCAT BEHIND GLASS by Alki Zei, translated from the Greek by Karen Emmerich!

“This is one of those rare reads, which masterfully weaves emotions and thoughts using imagination and harsh reality to deliver a tale that transcends age and time. . . Most importantly, this is a fun read. The humor and imagination keep a light playfulness humming along while the harsher side pokes in the background. I'm going to be tossing this read into my homeschooling line-up for next year because it's one that shouldn't be missed.”

—Tonja Drecker, Bookworm for Kids

To read the complete review, head to: https://bit.ly/3TEA0Lm

To pre-order THE WILDCAT BEHIND GLASS (out May 21!): go to: https://bit.ly/3VJzKgG

26/03/2024

😻 Another fantastic review of THE WILDCAT BEHIND GLASS by Ali Zei and translated from the Greek by Karen Emmerich!

“Alki Zei’s novel THE WILDCAT BEHIND GLASS is a timely portrayal of childhoods interrupted under fascism.”

— Leah Block, Foreword Reviews

Set in Greece during the 1930s, when the nation was torn apart by fascism, THE WILDCAT BEHIND GLASS is an unforgettable tale of family, humanity, and what it means to be free. From its 1963 release to the dozens of international editions and honors that followed including a Mildred L. Batchelder Award, the novel has enchanted generations of young readers. Now, a fresh English translation—the first in over 50 years—breathes new life into the timeless story.

To pre-order, head to our website: restlessbooks.org!

26/03/2024

The Prize for New Immigrant Writing is open until May 31! We can’t wait to read your work!

To check if your manuscript qualifies and learn more about the required materials, go to https://restlessbooks.org/prize-for-new-immigrant-writing-guidelines-and-eligibility.

Ready to submit? Upload your materials to: https://restlessbooks.submittable.com/submit/281976/the-2024-restless-books-prize-for-new-immigrant-writing.

23/03/2024

You can now read more about Avery Fischer Udagawa’s experience translating THE HOUSE OF THE LOST ON THE CAPE on the Kansas Reflector!

As Avery says, “THE HOUSE OF THE LOST ON THE CAPE is a novel about the March 2011 disaster that was written by an author living in the affected area — specifically, Iwate Prefecture. I hope my fellow Kansans will read it and experience Iwate as not that far from home.” We, too, hope the book can be enjoyed by many more people!

To read the entire piece, go to https://kansasreflector.com/2024/03/21/familiar-voices-from-kansas-helped-me-translate-a-novel-from-japan/

20/03/2024

💛 If you are in Toronto on April 2, make sure to join Jamie Chang and Claire Foster at Type Books!

🧡 COUNSEL CULTURE is out now and available at your favorite indie bookstores or on our website!

19/03/2024

Karen Emmerich's interview with LibraryThing has landed!

Learn more about THE WILDCAT BEHIND GLASS and its translator before the pub day (May 7) by visiting this link: https://blog.librarything.com/2024/03/translator-interview-karen-emmerich/

Set in Greece during the 1930s, when the nation was torn apart by fascism, THE WILDCAT BEHIND GLASS is an unforgettable tale of family, humanity, and what it means to be free. From its 1963 release to the dozens of international editions and honors that followed including a Mildred L. Batchelder Award, the novel has enchanted generations of young readers. Now, a fresh English translation—the first in over 50 years—breathes new life into the timeless story.

Pre-orders are now available on our website: restlessbooks.org!

18/03/2024

You can now listen to Ani Gjika's episode on the QWERTY podcast, hosted by Marion Roach Smith!

Follow this link: https://marionroach.com/2024/03/how-to-revisit-and-write-about-trauma-with-author-ani-gjika/!

15/03/2024

We are thrilled to see two of our books in the new issue of Kirkus Reviews!

Mahnaz Dar’s column features THE HOUSE OF THE LOST ON THE CAPE and THE WILDCAT BEHIND GLASS (pub-day May 7), which also got a starred review!

Check out the complete issue at https://issuu.com/kirkus-reviews/docs/kirkus_reviews_online_edition_031524!

From the author and translator of the Batchelder Award–winning novel Temple Alley Summer comes the moving story of three generations of women adapting to their new home, and its mythical inhabitants, in the tragic aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake.

Melia is spellbound by the stuffed wildcat in her family’s living room—her cousin swears that it comes to life and roams the streets at night. When she finds a signed note from the animal with secret instructions, a thrilling and dangerous adventure begins.

You can now pre-order WILDCAT at our website (restlessbook.org) and buy THE HOUSE OF THE LOST ON THE CAPE at your favorite indie bookstore!

14/03/2024

You can now listen to the new episode of With Good Reason Radio by Virginia Humanities featuring Restless Books and Isaiah Stavchansky!

Enya Cid moved from Mexico to the U.S. as a three-year-old. She says this country is her home, but her right to stay here never feels certain. In 2022, Enya joined other first-generation immigrants in a writing workshop hosted by the publisher Restless Books and Arlington, Virginia’s Dream Project. Enya shares her story along with Nataly Montano, who immigrated to the U.S. from Bolivia. Their teacher, playwright Isaiah Stavchansky, explains how the writing workshop empowers immigrants as Americans.

Head to your favorite podcast platform or https://www.withgoodreasonradio.org/episode/united-we-stand-telling-our-story/ to listen to the episode!

13/03/2024

Happening tomorrow at NYU!

This in-person reading is fully booked, but check out these dates for future DE-INTEGRATE! book events:

March 18 - 22 — Global Jewish Modernism Lab (Lecture & Seminar) at Duke University
March 25 — Lecture at Vanderbilt University
March 27 — Lecture at Rutgers University
April 2 — Input on German Memory, Culture, and Literature at Leo Baeck Institute - New York
April 12 — Lecture at Washington State University

13/03/2024

We're delighted to see THE HOUSE OF THE LOST ON THE CAPE featured on the 2024 Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices! Thank you for the wonderful review as well!

From prolific Japanese author Sachiko Kashiwaba and translator Avery Fischer Udagawa comes the moving story of three generations of women adapting to their new home, and its mythical inhabitants, in the tragic aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake. Illustrated by Yukiko Saito.

To see all the excellent CCBC choices, head to bit.ly/4adMErE

Grab your copy at your favorite indie bookstore or on our website: restlessbooks.org!

12/03/2024

🥰 Thank you to Unnameable Books Turners Falls for hosting the launch of THE MAROONS with Jeff Diteman and Shanta Lee!

Here are some pictures from Saturday's event!

We are so grateful to Shante Lee for joining Jeff; a terrific duo!

The first English translation of a rediscovered classic, and the only known novel by Black abolitionist and political exile Louis Timagène Houat, THE MAROONS is a fervid account of slavery and escape on nineteenth-century Réunion Island. Translated from the French by Aqiil Gopee with Jeffrey Diteman and introduced by Shenaz Patel.

09/03/2024

You can now read Shenaz Patel's introduction (translated by Lisa Ducasse) to THE MAROONS on Words Without Borders!

To read, go to: https://wordswithoutborders.org/read/article/2024-02/unsilencing-a-history-shenaz-patel-lisa-ducasse/

THE MAROONS is now available on our website (bit.ly/3uF1pVi) and your favorite indie bookstore!