August is Women in Translation month, a celebration dedicated to amplifying the voices of women in writing across the globe. This movement began to help address gender imbalance in translated literature and has since then become an annual, global initiative supported by various publishers, libraries and any individuals who want to help highlight voices often underappreciated in literature.
In 2014, Meytal Radzinski brought to light statistics showing that only 30% of new translations into English are books by female writers, and many people were not happy with the evident inequality. Therefore, Radzinski’s campaign began, and now every August, readers come together to read and share books by women from all around the world.
For the remainder of August, if you consider picking up any book, we urge you to try to pick a translated book by a woman to help show your support for this movement and female writers globally; you might stumble upon your new favourite book!
Some Recommendations:
Human Acts – Han Kang (Korean): winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature 2024, the book explores the Gwangju uprising in 1980 and the impact this made on both victims and survivors.
Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi (French): an internationally acclaimed graphic novel about a young girl growing up during the Islamic Revolution and how political upheaval has affected her life. It was also released as a movie in 2007.