Women in Translation Month: Our Picks

Recommendations24th July 2026

Happy August! In Edinburgh, where we're located, this month is particularly busy and the city is transformed as the Fringe, the Edinburgh International Festival and the International Book Festival – among many others! – take place. But for us, August also brings Women in Translation Month. This yearly event was created to highlight women authors from around the world whose work is available in translation, as well as the precious craft of translation. The event, which was founded in 2014, sheds light on the gender imbalance when it comes to translated fiction; but above all, it celebrates international authors and the benefits of reading widely!

We've gathered our bookseller picks for Women in Translation Month:

The Sleep Thief cover

The Sleep Thief

Translated from the Arabic by Sinan Antoon

It feels only right that a book named The Sleep Thief is charged with a dreamlike quality throughout. We witness the life of Gharib "the Stranger" Haifawi and the haunting of his waking hours as he goes about making a life and a living in occupied Palestine, where there is uncertainty in every day.

Euan

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Published: 25th Aug '26

Format: Paperback

Price: £14.99

The Wax Child cover

The Wax Child

Translated from the Danish by Martin Aitken

Katya

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Published: 6th Nov '25

Format: Hardback

Price: £14.99

Women Without Men cover

Women Without Men

Translated from Persian by Faridoun Farrokh

Originally published in 1989 in Iran, Women Without Men was banned shortly after, and its author was imprisoned. Parsipur's fable-like novella follows five women living in the midst of a revolution, battling and surviving patriarchal violence. It's peppered with magic realism – we encounter a woman who turned into a tree and another that dies repeatedly – and a fascinating read.

Alice

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Published: 12th Mar '26

Format: Paperback

Price: £12.99

Electric Shamans at the Festival of the Sun cover

Electric Shamans at the Festival of the Sun

Translated by Julia Sanches and Heather Cleary.

This book was a fever dream, a catharsis and an invitation. We are asked to face the realities of death and unspeakable violence wrought by the cruelty of humanity and natural disasters. However, through music and a deep reverence for the natural world, Ojeda more importantly invites us to ponder how life dares to persist in spite of this. In her hands, life is incandescent and we may transcend.

Selena

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Published: 9th Apr '26

Format: Paperback

Price: £14.99

Sweet Days of Discipline cover

Sweet Days of Discipline

Translated from the Italian by Tim Parks

When a new pupil enrolls at an all-girls' boarding school in the Swiss mountains, Eve instantly becomes captivated by her beauty and apparent worldliness, and makes it a mission to become her closest (and only) friend. Deserving of its cult classic status, Sweet Days of Discipline chronicles the submerged sensuality and intricate, shifting power dynamics of a claustrophobic adolescence in post-war Europe.

Amos

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Published: 8th Feb '18

Format: Paperback

Price: £8.99

Bad Habit cover

Bad Habit

Translated from the Catalan by Mara Faye Lethem

The first time the protagonist falls in love is at age 5, with the corpse of their drug-induced neighbor. What follows is a uniquely moving journey of a young trans woman coming of age in 1980s working class Madrid. This is a strong contender for the most beautiful book I've ever read.

Faye

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Published: 5th Jun '25

Format: Paperback

Price: £9.99

I Gave You Eyes and You Looked Toward Darkness cover

I Gave You Eyes and You Looked Toward Darkness

Translated from the Catalan by Mara Faye Lethem

This history of the Catalan countryside accross various centuries through the lives of the women inhabitants of one farmhouse is characterised by a visceral prose filled with gross details. The moments of violence contrast with moments of solidarity and togetherness, as these women live through some tempestuous times, from wolf hunts, to civil wars, to the turbulent era of Catalan bandits.

Helena

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Published: 4th Jun '26

Format: Paperback

Price: £9.99

Mina's Matchbox cover

Mina's Matchbox

Translated from the Japanese by Stephen Snyder

After her father's death, Tomoko is sent to the Japanese coast to stay with her eccentric extended family. There she becomes friends with her cousin Mina and a resident pygmy hippo. This is a gentle read told through the eyes of a young girl, with glimmers of magic and mystery aswell as a time capsule of the transformative 1970's in Japan.

Grace

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Published: 7th Aug '25

Format: Paperback

Price: £9.99

Beautiful Distance cover

Beautiful Distance

Translated from Japanese by Charlotte Goff

From the publisher: A prize-winning bestseller in Japan, Beautiful Distance is a profoundly affecting and intimate story that looks with honesty and tenderness at the journey towards the end of a life. It explores what family means, how we think about death, and the power of quiet acts of love.

The Team

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Published: 9th Apr '26

Format: Paperback

Price: £9.99