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Open Letter Books Open Letter searches for international literature that is extraordinary and influential, works that we hope will become the classics of tomorrow.

FUN FACT: SONNETS TO ORPHEUS was the first hardcover book we issued since 2009, which is when we made the (mostly perm...
18/08/2025

FUN FACT: SONNETS TO ORPHEUS was the first hardcover book we issued since 2009, which is when we made the (mostly permanent) switch to paperback.

FUN FACT!: Prolific translator Janet Hong once said FLOWERS OF MOLD was the first book she translated—18 years before ...
17/08/2025

FUN FACT!: Prolific translator Janet Hong once said FLOWERS OF MOLD was the first book she translated—18 years before it was published in English! Today, it's one of our top ten bestselling titles (a feat it achieved in mere months after publication). It goes to show that the best books will always find their best homes, but also, that if a translator believes in a project, they shouldn't give up on it; its time will come!

FUN FACT!: AMERICAN FICTIONARY was originally published in English as HAVE A NICE DAY: FROM THE BALKAN WAR TO THE AMER...
16/08/2025

FUN FACT!: AMERICAN FICTIONARY was originally published in English as HAVE A NICE DAY: FROM THE BALKAN WAR TO THE AMERICAN DREAM (1994, Jonathan Cape). However, the original Croatian title Ugresic gave the book was, literally, AMERICAN FICTIONARY. For Open Letter's revised and updated edition, Ugresic also took the opportunity to bring back the original title ✨

FUN FACT!: Dubravka Ugresic's FOX is the only novel of hers that Open Letter published. The rest of our Ugresic collec...
15/08/2025

FUN FACT!: Dubravka Ugresic's FOX is the only novel of hers that Open Letter published. The rest of our Ugresic collection is essays, essays, and more glorious essays!

FUN FACT!: When it was published, THE BRAHMADELLS was one of only two novels from the Faroese published in the U.S., a...
14/08/2025

FUN FACT!: When it was published, THE BRAHMADELLS was one of only two novels from the Faroese published in the U.S., and the first Faroese novel published by a U.S.-based press. (Source: Translation Database 2008-2024) Faroese also became the FIFTH language translator Kerri A. Pierce translates from into English!

"He’s going to sacrifice Ukraine for Epstein,” Wolff said. “Essentially, this is, in his mind, a trade. It is the MAGA p...
13/08/2025

"He’s going to sacrifice Ukraine for Epstein,” Wolff said. “Essentially, this is, in his mind, a trade. It is the MAGA people who have pressed this Epstein issue constantly. I mean, they’re the threat.”
White House staffers were befuddled by Trump’s renewed direct involvement in brokering a settlement—including meeting with Putin directly, Wolff said—and they still weren’t sure what Trump would ultimately do. “Nobody in the White House can see this turning out so well for Ukraine,” he said. (Daily Beast)

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The Putin-Trump summit is scheduled for Friday, August 15th, and talks in the direction of peace are still nebulous at best. Past conversations between Trump and Zelenskyy posture a certain amount of respect and desire to attain the same things, but in addition to seeing Ukraine as a potential bargaining chip for Trump to finally shift attention off him+the Epstein Files, more than one media outlet echoes variations of: "Putin sees a meeting with Trump as a chance to cement Russia's territorial gains, keep Ukraine out of NATO and prevent it from hosting Western troops so Moscow can gradually pull the country back into its orbit." (AP)

Writer-in-Exile Dmitry Bykov and 's VZ: VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY AND THE MAKING OF A NATION is more than an exploration of how Zelenskyy got to where he is today—from civilian comedian to die-hard politician and leader. It is, as the title states, an approachable, nearly conversational look at the making of a nation, and more importantly, a nation's right to its continued independence. Slava Ukraini!

FUN FACTS: CHRONICLE OF THE MURDERED HOUSE was the first-ever Open Letter title to take home a Best Translated Book Aw...
13/08/2025

FUN FACTS: CHRONICLE OF THE MURDERED HOUSE was the first-ever Open Letter title to take home a Best Translated Book Award in fiction. The award year, 2017, also saw translator Margaret Jill Costa on FOUR of the longlisted titles. This was also Margaret's (and co-translator, Robin's) first time winning the BTBA 🥰

FUN FACT!: The font used on the front cover of ONE OF US IS SLEEPING is actually the author's own handwriting!
12/08/2025

FUN FACT!: The font used on the front cover of ONE OF US IS SLEEPING is actually the author's own handwriting!

FUN FACT!: We don't often change the titles of books for the English edition, but in the case of ROCHESTER KNOCKINGS, ...
11/08/2025

FUN FACT!: We don't often change the titles of books for the English edition, but in the case of ROCHESTER KNOCKINGS, we did. The original French title was "Théorie de la vilaine petite fille," which, try as we might, no variation of "The Theory of Naughty Little Girls" sounded quite right. With the translator's guidance—and of course, the author's consent—we came to ROCHESTER KNOCKINGS, highlighting the Rochester, NY, connection the book is based on, and the ghostly spirit "knockings" allegedly employed by the infamous Fox Sisters.

FUN FACT!: While THE PETS was originally published in 2008 as a hardcover, in 2015 it became our first hardcover to b...
10/08/2025

FUN FACT!: While THE PETS was originally published in 2008 as a hardcover, in 2015 it became our first hardcover to be reprinted as a paperback!

FUN FACT!: IN PRAISE OF POETRY was the first in a brief experiment of visually setting apart our poetry series titles,...
10/08/2025

FUN FACT!: IN PRAISE OF POETRY was the first in a brief experiment of visually setting apart our poetry series titles, but simultaneously blending them with our cover aesthetic at the time. The matching covers stayed around for three volumes of poetry, before we went back to designing individual covers per book (honestly, more fun that way!!).

FUN FACT: WHY I KILLED MY BEST FRIEND is still one of the top books that gets the most second-glances, side-eyes, and ...
08/08/2025

FUN FACT: WHY I KILLED MY BEST FRIEND is still one of the top books that gets the most second-glances, side-eyes, and outright lines of questioning whenever we have it at trade shows or book fairs. 👀‼️

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