Join Mei Chin and I at @gutterbookshop.bsky.social on 19th February as we'll be talking about some of our favourite Chinese literature. It's free! Do come and celebrate the Lunar New Year with us – the Year of the Horse.

One aim for this year: read a few chunky novels. Going to have a go at this one from @sinoistbooks.bsky.social

Britain’s Keir Starmer says engaging with China is about “seeing the whole elephant”. Worth reading The Sacred Clan, literature professor Liang Hong’s story collection, which helps understand the many layers of modern #China @sinoistbooks.bsky.social thisweekthosebooks.substack.com/p/centre-the...

Centre the dragon? #China #thisweekthosebooks has two great reads via @medium.com : • Dan Wang's analysis of why China has engineering feats and the US has lawyerly hold-ups. • Liang Hong's short stories on those left behind by ‘progress’. medium.com/this-week-th...

After five years of reviewing translated fiction for @irishtimes.com this is my last column. It has been a real privilege and I have loved doing it, but I need to focus on my writing and lighten my workload. Thanks sincerely to @martindoyle.bsky.social for the opportunity and to all the readers 🙏

A pleasure to contribute to this connoisseurs' list of books of the year for @review31.bsky.social review31.co.uk/essay/view/1... I chose Old Kiln by Jia Pingwa, translated by James Trapp, Olivia Milburn and Christopher Payne, published by @sinoistbooks.bsky.social

A grand day out with @bibliorefuses.bsky.social / @muinbeoarchives.bsky.social & @hardimanmk.bsky.social. Met @swanriverpress.bsky.social in the flesh (yes, books were bought), chatted pleasantly with @sinoistbooks.bsky.social, @renardpress.com & other publishers. 👏👏@dublinsmpressfair.bsky.social 📚

@dublinsmpressfair.bsky.social here we come!

Book of the month: Ning Ken One of the lovely things about this project is the interactions I've had through it with writers around the world. The Chinese literary master Ning Ken is a great example. After I gave a quote to support Thomas Moran's English translation of Tibetan Sky, I received a…

The inaugural Dublin Small Press Fair is happening at the end of November! 30+ presses, events, readings, and more. Organised by me and @eireannmor.bsky.social. More information coming very soon - follow @dublinsmpressfair.bsky.social for updates

Read an exclusive extract from Ning Ken's forthcoming novel, TIBETAN SKY, translated by Thomas Moran —a philosophical work of fiction about a disillusioned academic and the complex history of Tibet. TIBETAN SKY is out with @sinoistbooks.bsky.social on 26 September. www.wasafiri.org/content/excl...

A great evening at the Battersea Bookshop talking about Tie Ning's My Sister's Red Shirt (Sinoist Books), contemporary Chinese fiction and translation with Annelise Finegan, Academic Director & Clinical Associate Professor of Translation at NYU School of Professional Studies....

Amazing turnout at Battersea yesterday, thank you to all who braved the weather to attend. Thank you to Paul French for hosting, Battersea Bookshop for the wonderful venue, and of course Annelise for her receptive answers and insights into such a meaningful novella. #womenintranslation

𝐍𝐄𝐖 @asiancha.bsky.social 𝐄𝐗𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐕𝐄—𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐘 In his eloquent and incisive essay, Angus Stewart reflects on four works by Fang Fang. Moving beyond the controversies surrounding her... @sinoistbooks.bsky.social @columbiaup.bsky.social ‪@anguslikeswords.bsky.social READ: chajournal.blog/2025/08/12/f...

librarians... do you ever get emails from publishers? what do you want to see? feel free to reply/dm us!

It’s #womenintranslationmonth – here are some fab books that you need on your shelves… indiepressnetwork.com/women-in-tra...

We are pleased to publish the list of eligible submissions to the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation in 2025. tinyurl.com/2wax9t5r The list includes 145 titles from 34 languages - plenty of reading inspiration to mark #womenintranslation month this August! #WITMonth

Chinese chain Luckin Coffee is clearly the Bluemoose Books of caffeine @ofmooseandmen.bsky.social

If you're in London and looking for a way to celebrate #womenintranslation this August #WITmonth, @sinoistbooks.bsky.social are running two events to celebrate the launch of 'My Sisters Red Shirt' by Tie Ning, translated by Annelise Finnegan. Free tickets available: sinoistbooks.com/our-events/

July reading. Thanks to @lesfugitivespress.bsky.social @dauntbookspub.bsky.social @swiftpress.bsky.social @wednesdayerskin.bsky.social @judecook.bsky.social @sinoistbooks.bsky.social @repeaterbooks.bsky.social @fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social @stuhennigan.bsky.social @backlisted.bsky.social

Considering I read quite a bit of women in translation, my knowledge of Chinese lit is very shallow indeed. So many thanks to the Republic of Consciousness book club for this month’s offering from @sinoistbooks.bsky.social a tale of two sisters navigating their way through 80s adolescence.

Thank you @bookblast.bsky.social for the review of My Sister's Red Shirt. Read here: bookblast.org/blog/my-sist... Interested in this touching 1980s coming-of-age novella? We still have spaces left at our FREE translator talks in August, links in bio!

Maoist China in microcosm: Old Kiln, by Jia Pingwa, reviewed ✍️ Jiwei Xiao

"It is unquestionably a masterpiece and ought to consolidate Jia Pingwa’s reputation as a writer of international importance." We could not agree more! Many, many many thanks for your kind words @ronanhession.bsky.social and to the @irishtimes.com for running the piece!

Old Kiln by Jia Pingwa: An unforgettable masterpiece depicting rural China during the Cultural Revolution

We are proud to present our series of talks with Annelise Finegan, English Translator of My Sister’s Red Shirt by Tie Ning. 🎉 Featuring Paul French, Nicky Harman, and Georgia De Chamberet of BookBlast. 📕 Ticket links in bio! 🎟️

Today in the ARB: Jane Wallace reviews “Old Kiln” by Jia Pingwa tr from Chinese by Christopher Payne, James Trapp, Olivia Milburn @sinoistbooks.bsky.social asianreviewofbooks.com/old-kiln-by-...

The Dublin Small Press Fair (2025) is now open to applications from publishers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, experimental literature, literary journals, artists’ books, zines, chapbooks, broadsides, and more! dublinsmallpressfair.com

"Astonishing, such a mature work of fiction" - Annelise Finegan's interview on My Sister's Red Shirt with @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social is now live! Thanks Miranda Melcher for this insightful interview on the processes of communicating through time and culture! newbooksnetwork.com/my-sisters-r...

My #translationthurs read is this epic Chinese novel of a small town in The Chinese hinterland

" A monumental novel", "unique...rewards commitment" - Thank you @isabelh.bsky.social for the engaging review of our newest title, Jia Pingwa's Old Kiln! #bookreview #booklovers #chineselit #bookreccomendations

🧵 All about translation—we’re planning to publish reviews of the following titles in @asiancha.bsky.social in 2025. If you’re interested in reading and engaging with any of these works, please get in touch by emailing [email protected]. We’d be delighted to discuss further.

Read Jack Hargreaves' new Translated Chinese Literature column: buff.ly/sF2MU4Q

"It’s a vast, sprawling and bewitching novel, full of memorable characters and wonderful set pieces." Many thanks to Alex Preston for the mention! We are looking forward to publishing this book in May! www.theguardian.com/books/2024/d...

And on top of it all, a big box with a trio of great-looking @sinoistbooks.bsky.social ARCs, including the Jia Pingwa epic, 𝑂𝑙𝑑 𝐾𝑖𝑙𝑛 sinoistbooks.com/product/old-...

"An earthy appeal that disguises its underlying sophistication." Taken from @ronanhession.bsky.social wonderful Review 31 write-up about @benegotherit.bsky.social rendering of Su Tong's newest collection in translation! Read it here !👇 review31.co.uk/essay/view/1...

We'd like to thank the translation community for their feedback and announce that the John Calder Prize will be open to English-language translations from any language. As prize sponsors, Alma Books, say: 'A global focus, after all, is what Calder was all about.'

Publishing friends. Hello :-) I'll be doing a column on "books I'm looking forward to in 2025" at the end of the month. It's pretty much done, but if you have anything last minute you want to let me know is coming out?

Great write up on this book by @hfreader.bsky.social over on historicalfictionreader.blogspot.com/2024/11/book...

Souls Left Behind by Fan Wu (Translated by Honey Watson) is the feature of the November book club by the brilliant people at the Leeds Centre for New Chinese Writing! writingchinese.leeds.ac.uk/book-club/no... 👆

TIL 80 percent of our list is epic novels 🤔

The men in this book 🤷 The women in this book 💪

The book goes into how the Cultural Revolution arrived in a rural Chinese village with its own share of existing issues and how it divided it along family lines. Up there as one of Jia's most important works.

Starter pack for #literaryfiction writers to find each other! Comment/repost and I'll add you go.bsky.app/ARue8c8 #literaryfiction #WritingCommunity #Writers #Authors 💙📚

Finished Midnight Stories by Su Tong, tr Honey Watson. Loved these stories – full of the crazy energy of peasant life. Crude, funny & full of horse sense. A strong storytelling sensibility at play – no mood pieces or half ideas that evaporate. Solid memorable hits. Pub @sinoistbooks.bsky.social

This might be helpful too... #BookThreads go.bsky.app/6zX28p1

A murder in the family, two abortions, a suicide and a mothers death all within the first twenty-five pages. In “The Unfilial: Four Tragic Tales from Modern China,” Yao Emei does not take long to get to the tragic tales she promises in the subtitle. A few thoughts.

Today‘s to-do list - d̶r̶i̶n̶k̶ c̶o̶f̶f̶e̶e̶ - f̶i̶n̶a̶n̶c̶e̶ s̶p̶r̶e̶a̶d̶s̶h̶e̶e̶t̶ - m̶a̶k̶e̶ g̶a̶l̶l̶e̶y̶s̶ - Go to the post office

Just started Midnight Stories, the new collection by the great Su Tong, translated by Honey Watson. Hoping this will be among my books of the year. Always love the details on the hardback covers by @sinoistbooks.bsky.social

Join us for an exclusive sinoLEEDS virtual event organised by The Leeds Centre for New Chinese Writing and Sinoist Books. Featuring Fan Wu, John De Lucy and Professor Gregory Lee as they talk about Fan's novel, Souls Left Behind. www.tickettailor.com/events/sinoi...