I had read Sora Kim-Russell’s name many times without realizing how much of her work was already on my shelves. For Women in Translation Month, we talked about working with authors, the creative decisions behind translation, invisible care work, editing, and what translation has meant for her own writing.

A recommendation put The Specters of Algeria on my TBR. When it appeared again during Women in Translation Month, I took the hint. Hwang Yeo Jung’s novel starts small and gradually opens into something much stranger.

I first noticed Shanna Tan because of how enthusiastically she champions the books she translates. Then I looked at my shelves and realized just how many of her translations I had already read. For Women in Translation Month, I asked Shanna about working with authors, creative freedom, translator credit and the work behind the books.

Not sure where to begin with Asian women in translation? These 12 books, all written and translated by women, are organized by reading mood, from quiet and healing fiction to history, psychological suspense and speculative horror.

When Han Kang accepted the Nobel Prize in Literature in December 2024, becoming the first Korean writer and the first Asian woman to receive it, she named her lecture Light and Thread. Such a humble title for the biggest moment of a writer's career. Something small and quiet, true to who she is.

Every so often a book lands in your lap at just the right time. The Vanishing Cherry Blossom Bookshop is healing, magical, and tender… a story about regrets, blossoms, and the quiet promise of second chances.