This year's Żuławski Awards have been announced. The Żuławski Award is awarded to Polish science fiction and fantasy novels by a jury composed of academic literary scholars (each with at least a doctorate). I don't think there's any English-language equivalent of that?

Happy Friday!! Today we're bringing you some fantasy, science fiction, and horror book recs from Argentina and Argentinian authors--happy reading! 🇦🇷

I think if you signed the @translatedhugo.bsky.social petition, you might be interested in this ko-fi that's crowdfunding the African Translation Project!

Very good & interesting research here:

Is there any fiction in translation from transfemme authors writing in Arabic or Chinese? Obviously there are difficulties in those parts of the world for "trans fiction," but I'm curious if there's anything out there.

It's really nice when we have customers come in to buy books off the National Book Awards longlist for translated literature.

A few translators I always read, as much for their skill as for the novels/authors they choose to translate. Alex Zucker tops that list and his latest, PLAYING WOLF, by Czech author Zuzana Říhová, fits squarely in one of my favorite genres: literary fiction enhanced by horror tropes.

Hello, translated spec fic readers! We apparently had some kind of secret settings update that locked our signatory page, but it should be fixed now! See who's onboard, sign with the link at the top if you haven't already, and share widely: translatedhugo.org/signatories/

This is the fourth book by Mariana Enriquez that I’ve worked on. I’ve loved each one. If you haven’t read her yet, no time like the present to get started.

If you can read Spanish, I hope you like Sofón, Issue 1. It includes 17 SFF short stories and poems in Spanish, which I really enjoyed reading, editing, and putting together. Sofón is the third speculative fiction magazine from Mexico that pays its authors. I also did the cover art ^u^

That said, the most uniquely Polish word for a spaceship is Stanisław Lem's "próżniopław" ("voidswimmer") which some writers have been trying to bring back

ok this is super exciting. The two Kurdish novels I’ve read — Every Fire You Tend and The Last Pomegranate Tree — were both terrific. Maximum support to Henar Press

Inspired by the legend of Desolación, step into the eerie tale of “The Woman Who Buys Children” by Gabriela Rábago Palafox, translated by M. Elizabeth Ginway and Enrique Muñoz-Mantas—where a mysterious old woman trades children like currency. muse.jhu.edu/pub/235/arti... #ShortStory #DarkFolkTale

Wednesday's SH review is from Sneha Pathak, on @blaft.bsky.social's Anthology of Gujarati Pulp Fiction. This is a really interesting piece on a super-valuable collection, which "plays an important role in bringing more readers to the rich and varied world of purely entertaining, juicy pulp fiction."

Also spotted at Indigo Bay & Bloor: CENTRAL STATION by @lavietidhar.bsky.social, as well as THE BEST OF WORLD SF (edited by Tidhar)! Former published by @tachyonpub.bsky.social; latter published by @headofzeus.bsky.social.

Did you know that August is Women in Translation Month, and that you can read this translated novella in literally one sitting?

"It’s not overly dramatic to say that we risk losing the capacity for cultures to understand one another better if we’re all simply feeding output into each other’s automated translation systems." A must-read—depressing and sobering, but also a call to arms:

I last posted about this with everyone at Worldcon, so I'd appreciate a boost if you're willing as the world is noisy and full of horror, but the African SF Novels and Novellas Bundle - curated by Eugen Bacon, is still going strong at StoryBundle, and includes 2 of my novels! storybundle.com/scifi

Steel of the Celestial Shadows, volume 1 by Daruma Matsuura (Translated by Caleb D. Cook) What dire motivation drove beautiful, rich Tsuki to marry a pitiful wretch like Ryudo? jamesdavisnicoll.com/review/touch...

LAcon V is just about a year away, and we're still looking to fill a few volunteer positions. Check our previous posts for some specific roles we're looking to fill, or read on.

I've started work on a Polish Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction inspired by @jessesword.com's work in English, and it's fun to track how Polish SF vocabulary has developed due to its various influences

*Extremely* good display by @nookandcrannybooks.bsky.social in the #Worldcon dealer room, go snag some of these before they close up!

I’m not done with it yet but am steadily becoming convinced that The Place of Shells by Mai Ishizawa (tr. Polly Barton) is going to be in my top reads of the year. It’s a v short book and I’ve already made so many notes because there’s so much going on (under the semblance of very little going on).

The fifth installment in my series with @rachelcordasco.bsky.social on science fiction short stories in translation! Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s “Wanderers and Travellers” (1963, trans. 1966) sciencefictionruminations.com/2025/08/17/s...

Spotlight: African Translation Project We'd like to shine a light on an initiative dedicated to translating modern fiction from non-colonial African languages into English. Projects like these ensure that our stories are shared, celebrated and read by readers globally. 🧵

Women in Translation Month acquisitions! #WITmonth #booksky 💙📚 #books #smallpresses (courtesy of @honfordstar.bsky.social and @coffeehousepress.bsky.social )

Good morning #Worldcon, I say to you, from the depths of an east coast circadian rhythm! I'm not on any panels today, but I'll be trying to snag a few quick interviews for A Meal of Thorns, and handing out badge ribbons for translatedhugo.org!

So delighted to share that BETWEEN WORLDS: THE IF ANTHOLOGY OF NEW INDIAN SFF, is now available for pre-order - and will be in bookshops on 18 August! Pre-order here, or from your local bookshop: www.amazon.in/Between-Worl...

New View on an Old Master: @tallesteden.bsky.social reviews Three Science Fiction Novellas by J.-H. Rosny aîné, translated by Danièle Chatelain & George Slusser (@weslpress.bsky.social)

Column time! This one was such a good, vivid read, the sort of book that leaves you with scenes and quiet moments of small, human interaction lingering in the memory. Extremely worth the time of both reading and thinking about.

Love this spotlight on a WWB contributor for #WITMonth! wordswithoutborders.org/contributors...

This book came out four years before The Matrix and nailed the gender/power/information/sexuality/control thing so hard that the rest of the genre is still catching up. Thanks to a recent translation, we English speakers finally get to find out where all of this is going.

A song from another time survived with me. —Dunya Mikhaïl, from THE IRAQI NIGHTS (2014), translated by Kareem James Abu-Zeid. #sealeychallenge #womenintranslationmonth

Other gems I read as the world burned this summer #WITMonth #WomenInTranslation. Excited to see others’ selections for this year! 📚🌍

If you liked my thread on Zardoz, may I ask you a favour? Could you consider making a donation for the translation of non-English SFF works? I think this is a great project that deserves attention.

Also thanks to @willmcmahon36.bsky.social for letting us use a clip from "The International Imagination in a Time of Nationalism" — and if you're a Meal of Thorns listener but haven't heard about the Translated Hugo Initiative (@translatedhugo.bsky.social), check it out: translatedhugo.org

NEW VIDEO ALERT! Today on Bar Cart Bookshelf we're talking about BLOOD OF THE OLD KINGS by Sung-il Kim (trans. Anton Hur). An epic fantasy with a perfect balance of big ideas, engaging characters, & thrilling action, I was delighted. Our drink, Arland, is bright with a touch of smoke & fire.

Letters of comment here with some more ideas about the Translated Hugo, and good news: sounds like the BSFA is going ahead with a (juried) award for SF in translation!

Snowglobe 2 was absolutely everything I hoped for in a book 2 where we already knew who the bad guys were! Book 2 hits the ground running and doesn't let up until the very end. Highly recommend especially if you are into KDramas! #booksky 🪐📚 📚💙

“I think that when the translation is strong, it can even change the book’s genre.” 📌 ICYMI, Federico Perelmuter interviewed Cristina Rivera Garza for our summer issue southwestreview.com/volume-110-n...

Still going to need lots of work, definition-refining, word-spreading, business-meeting-votes-rallying, but I'm very encouraged by how many SF readers I talk to about the Translated Hugo Initiative immediately respond "Oh! We don't have that? We should have that!" translatedhugo.org/signatories/

Explore as @Mondyboy reviews VANISHING WORLD by @sayakamurata, a book that has “a horrific, violent climax that’s left a lasting impression on me.” locusmag.com/2025/07...

Japanese fiction now outsells all other translated languages in the UK—and it’s not just Murakami anymore. From cats to cannibalism, @susiemesure.bsky.social explores the literary boom that began with CONVENIENCE STORE WOMAN and shows no signs of slowing down. www.prospectmagazine...

Hello, Bluesky! This is a weird day to go live with this project, but: this is an initiative to add a Translated Speculative Fiction category to the Hugo Awards. If you are a fan of global SF, and want to put some more "World" in "Worldcon", check out our site! Lots more to come. translatedhugo.org

Thinking about translated fiction (between Monday's Critical Friends and the Translated Hugo Initiative, it's been going around), and there's one thing that keeps coming up in how I see people talk about translated fiction that is niggling at me. (This is not a dig at either of those btw)

The LAcon V Facebook group is now open for anyone who wants to join: www.facebook.com/groups/laconv Be sure you read and agree to the rules, and we'll be working to approve all members ASAP. We're very excited to discuss favorite reads (and so much more) in the coming months!

Solvej Balle's On the Calculation of Volume I and II (translated by Barbara J. Haveland) are right up there with the best books I have ever read. I am excited for III in a way I don't think I have been for a very long time. I'll be fanboying in my final column for the @independent.ie this Sat.

"Bang’s translation of Paradiso is a major achievement and a wonderful finale to her work on Dante’s Commedia." Ross Collin's review of “Paradiso” by Dante, translated by Mary Jo Bang (@graywolfpress.bsky.social) is out now. chireviewofbooks.com/2025/07/08/y...

A fantastic podcast discussion about translated speculative fiction & the state of the field, with friends & members of the Translated Hugo project!

Hello, Bluesky! This is a weird day to go live with this project, but: this is an initiative to add a Translated Speculative Fiction category to the Hugo Awards. If you are a fan of global SF, and want to put some more "World" in "Worldcon", check out our site! Lots more to come. translatedhugo.org