Celebrate National Translation Month With These Books
September is National Translation Month! Books in translation are severely underrepresented in the English market, which means we’re missing out on some of the best writing in the world. The best way to counter this is to prove there’s a market for literature in translation. Here are seven excellent books in translation that also check off tasks on the 2026 Read Harder Challenge, including graphic nonfiction, a book set in space, genre books in translation, and more.
Task #2: Read a book featured on a “best book covers” list
I Deliver Parcels in Beijing by Hu AnYan, translated by Jack Hargreaves; design by Rodrigo Corral; illustration by Klaus Kremmerz
Not only is that title amazing, the cover matches it nicely. There’s nothing secret here: it’s a person who delivers parcels out doing their thing. Corral and Kremmerz bring energy in their color choices and in the way they focus on the image instead of the font–we’re still in an era where font drives so many designs.
The other thing that really makes this cover magic is what might be most unexpected for US readers: this is a work of nonfiction. Rarely does adult nonfiction or memoir see an illustrated cover outside of comics. This bucks so many conventions and does it well. —Kelly Jensen, Best Book Covers of 2025
Task #13: Read a nonfiction comic
Hmong: A Graphic History by Vicky Lyfoung, translated by Kao-Ly Yang
Lyfoung tells the history of the Hmong people through the lens of her own family history. It’s a story of an ethnic group that has long been oppressed but has continued to preserve its vibrant culture and traditions. This is a work of graphic nonfiction, so you’ll get to experience the Hmong story visually. —Kelly Jensen
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All Access members, read on for five more books in translation that check off 2026 Read Harder Challenge tasks.
Task #14: Read a work of magical realism or fabulism
The Week of Colors by Elena Garro, translated by Megan McDowell
Available in English for the first time, these stories of feminist horror and anticolonial speculative fiction were forged in the fires of the early magical realism movement. It’s no surprise (and such a perfect fit) that they were translated by the wonderfully talented Megan McDowell, whom we have to thank for translations of Samantha Schweblin and Mariana Enriquez’s books. If you’re a fan of these mavens of Latin American horror, spend some time with the work of the “cursed mother of magical realism” who paved the way for them to do their thing. —Vanessa Diaz
Task #20: Read a book set in space
The Employees by Olga Ravn, translated by Martin Aitken
Buckle in for a sci-fi adventure full of existential dread. Told through a series of interviews and employee complaints, The Employees recounts the fate of the crew — both human and nonhuman — of the Six-Thousand Ship. It’s a surreal and doom-laden trip through the travails of productivity culture. —Rachel Brittain
Task #21: Read a genre (SFF, horror, mystery, romance) book in translation
Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica, translated by Sarah Moses
If you’re looking for a horror book to get under your skin, you need to pick up Tender is the Flesh. In this world, an infection has made animal meat poisonous. Naturally, now it’s legal to eat “special meat”…which is to say, humans. Marcos works at a processing plant slaughtering people—though he tries not to think of them as people. When he’s given a live specimen as a reward for his hard work, though, he can’t help treating her like a person, which makes him question what to do next. Be prepared for a lot of disturbing imagery when picking this one up! —Danika Ellis
Vagabonds by Hao Jingfang, translated by Ken Liu
Vagabonds is a hard sci-fi book for those who like their science fiction to be scientifically accurate. The story follows Luo Yin and Ignacio, who, despite being from very different worlds, just want to find their place. The former is a young delegate sent from Mars to Earth in hopes of finding peace after the war. She’s also the granddaughter of Mars’ dictator—although her fellow citizens wouldn’t call him a dictator at all. Ignacio, on the other hand, is a filmmaker whose job is to document those delegates. —Rey Rowland
Task #23: Read a book by an African author
La Bastarda by Trifonia Melibea Obono, translated by Lawrence Schimel
La Bastarda features Okomo, a teen girl struggling under the weight of Fang cultural norms. When drawn into a gang of “indecent” girls, she stumbles on to a world of queerness, nonconformity, and acceptance—a world that includes her “man-woman” uncle Marcelo. This short read is the first novel by an Equatorial Guinean woman to be translated into English—but because this fantastic novel is queer, it is actually banned in Equatorial Guinea. Obono, a bisexual journalist, academic, political scientist, and queer activist, has written another book that I wish I could include here but that is not available in translation: Yo No Quería Ser Madre: Vidas Forzadas de Mujeres Fuera de la Norma, in which she interviews 30 women from her country, the majority of whom are gay or gender-nonconforming, about their experiences.
Content warnings for sexual assault, homophobia, and corrective rape. —Leah Rachel von Essen
What are your favorite books in translation? Let us know in the comments!
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