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Major Books

Our Upcoming Releases - Fall 2024

About Major Books

Who We Are

Major Books is an independent publishing company dedicated to bringing Vietnamese literature to the English-speaking world.

Our Mission

Our name, Major
Books – devised by our brilliant friend Alina Martin – speaks as a clear, bold, and audacious resistance against the “minor” status attributed to certain languages and their literature in the global publishing scene. 

 

 

Our hope is to contribute, no matter how little, to growing awareness that there are no ‘lesser’ voices in world literature.

Vietnamese woman

Our Ethics

With the acute awareness of translation as an art form bearing immense potentials and challenges, our primary goal is to offer translations that are not only faithful but also true to the essence of the source book. Our translators, editors and illustrators, being mostly native speakers themselves, are committed to preserve the integrity and convey the originality of the author’s work.

 

We take immense pride in providing our authors, translators, and all stakeholders with fair and equitable compensation for their invaluable contributions, with the hope of fostering a thriving  Vietnamese literature and creative ecosystems. 

Vietnamese couple

Our First Chapter

Between literary treasures that have been overlooked or worse, poorly translated, and brilliant pieces yet to be written, we will bring a curated selection of works from a variety of authors, periods, and genres. Ranging from critically acclaimed post-war fiction, national epic poetry, to contemporary LGBTQ+ writings, we hope to present a well-rounded portrait of Vietnam and our diverse voices.

Our Team and Collaborators

Portrait Deborah Smith

Deborah Smith

Position: Editor
Categories: editors

DEBORAH SMITH yearns to support and participate in literary cultures that are liberatory, not complicit in structures of violence. This desire informed her founding Tilted Axis Press and translating from Korean, but also subsequently quitting both. These days she is feeling her way tentatively, in the uneven rhythms and nonlinear trajectories of neurodivergent living. She is grateful for every opportunity to do this work relationally.

Deborah Smith

Editor
Portrait DMH

Dương Mạnh Hùng

Position: Editor
Categories: editors

DƯƠNG MẠNH HÙNG is an independent art translator & writer. Hùng’s interest in the dynamics between literature, visual arts, and translation is informed by their close observation of global and Southeast Asian socio-political and ecological histories.

Dương Mạnh Hùng

Editor
Portrait Dusse Bui

Dusse Bui

Position: Illustrator
Categories: illustrators

Dusse Bui

Illustrator