Parthian Books were thrilled to attend the Frankfurt Book Fair this year, securing the translation rights to Bianca Bellová’s latest novel and to Stepsisters, a contemporary short-story anthology to be translated from Irish.
Richard Davies and Ela Griffiths represented Parthian’s titles and authors on the Wales stand, organised by the Books Council of Wales with thanks to funding from Welsh Government via Creative Wales.
It was a busy couple of days filled with meetings, exploring the fair and catching-up with our fellow Welsh publishers. We were delighted that The Last Day by Owain Owain (translated from Welsh by Emyr Wallace Humphreys), Fox Bites by Lloyd Markham and Local Fires by Joshua Jones were all selected by Wales Literature Exchange to be featured on their bookshelf and recommended for translation during the fair. View the full bookshelf here.
It was fantastic to meet with publisher, writer and translator Micheál Ó Conghaile to finalise and sign the rights for Stepsisters, a contemporary short-story anthology from female Irish writers. The anthology which will be introduced by Professor Brian O'Conchubhair will take a fresh look at Irish women’s fiction featuring eight authors and sixteen short-stories. It is a delight to further our collaboration with Micheál who we’ve previously worked with to bring Exiles and A Soldier’s Song by Dónall Mac Amhlaigh to an English audience.
We also met with Edgar de Bruin, PLUH Literary Agency to secure the English translation rights to The Invisible Man (Neviditelný muž, published by Host, Brno) by Bianca Bellová. With translation rights already sold to Italy, Finland and Denmark, the novel explores a family tragedy seen through the eyes of main character Emilia, set against the backdrop of a country at war. This is an ode to the strong women who can appear authoritarian and harsh, but at the same time care for their families with great love and sacrifice. Parthian previously published Bellová’s dystopian novel The Lake, translated from Czech by Alex Zucker to great accolade winning the EBRD Literature Prize in 2023.
With thanks to the Books Council of Wales for co-ordinating a Welsh presence at Frankfurt's international literary stage and to Creative Wales and the Welsh Government for their support and funding. We look forward to collaborating with writers, translators and publishers from across the globe further.
