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.
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.
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
We consider a privilege to work with such talented individuals who share the same passion for spreading Vietnamese literature. Should you seek literature specialists, writers, translators, editors or illustrators, do not hesitate to get in touch with them!
Jeet Zdũng
Comic creator-illustrator Nguyễn Tiến Dũng (pen name: Jeet Zdũng) was born in 1988 in Da Nang and grew up in Hanoi. He works mainly in the field of creating, writing and illustrating books for readers from 4 years old and up. His works are multiform, including manga/comics (with or without words), graphic novels and picture books. His work often depicts adventures and observations on nature, folk arts, sports, children, and wildlife. Jeet Zdũng has diverse drawing styles that change depending on the content, from realistic depictions to cartoon, manga, and Vietnamese Japanese folk styles. His favourite materials are watercolour paper, washi paper, Dó paper, canvas, comic pen, brush, ink, watercolour, gouache, acrylic, and acryl gouache. At present, jeet’s most successful works are two graphic novels: Saving Sorya: Chang and the Sun Bear and Saving H’non: Chang and the Elephant, co-authored with conservationist Trang Nguyễn.
He has won several awards, including a Silent Manga Audition Excellence Award for his manga Stand Up and Fly and was the first Vietnamese to have won the Yoto Carnegie Medal for the illustration of Saving Sorya.
Jeet Zdũng
Illustrator
Comic creator-illustrator Nguyễn Tiến Dũng (pen name: Jeet Zdũng) was born in...
Contact Us
If you you have an interest in helping us provide a more fair representation of minor literature, we would be delighted to hear from you.