About Us
Vietnamese literature in English translation.
Major Books is an independent publishing company dedicated to bringing Vietnamese literature to the English-speaking world — boldly, faithfully, and without compromise.
An independent publishing house for Vietnamese voices
Our catalogue spans critically acclaimed post-war fiction, national epic poetry, folk tales, children's books, and contemporary LGBTQIA+ writing. Each title is translated by a team of native speakers who treat translation as an art form, faithful to the source, yet fully alive in English.
We believe that Vietnamese literature, from ancient epic verse to urgent contemporary fiction, deserves to be read, taught, and celebrated alongside the great literatures of the world.
A clear, bold, and audacious resistance
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.
Translation as an art form
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 team — mostly native speakers — works to preserve authorial integrity and originality at every stage.
We take immense pride in providing our authors, translators, and all collaborators with fair and equitable compensation for their invaluable contributions, with the hope of fostering a thriving Vietnamese literary and creative ecosystem.
They Support Us
