I am currently recommending the following titles for translation.
For full details and translation samples, please contact me claire@cslanguages.co.uk or use the contact button below
Young Adult
The Hunt
by David Lozano (Spain) – Funding options available
Mixed reality gaming meets AI gone rogue
Six well-known figures in the gaming world are invited to trial a cutting edge new mixed reality gaming experience which is hoped to set the gaming world on fire. But once the game commences, AI goes rogue. Dependent on AI for everything from communication with the players to the electronic door locks, the developers can only watch in horror – locked in their top secret HQ – as the game takes a sinister turn and the players begin to die. The remaining gamers are now fighting for their very survival.
I asked my 14-year-old son for some gaming tips to help my translation. He read it and remarked that if the whole book were to be available in English, he would be interested in reading it. Great feedback from a boy who has gone off reading in favour of tech!
The Island of the Astonishing Orange Tree
by Mónica Rodriguez (Mexico | Spain) – Funding options from Spain
A delicious YA magical realism novel laced with humour
Written by award-winning children’s Spanish author Mónica Rodriguez, this delicious tale follows the style of the the great writers of magical realism and was first published in Mexico. Reminiscent of literary greats Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel, 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Marquez and The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende, this book for young adults is laced with humour as it retells the story of the island inhabitants and their astonishing Orange Tree.
Sleeping House
by Federico Ivanier (Uruguay) – Funding options from Uruguay
A thrilling read from start to finish!
Another fantastic novel for young people from award-winning Uruguayan writer Federico Ivanier, Sleeping House is a reimagining of Sleeping Beauty set in the modern day, combining horror with fantastical elements that will take readers to unimaginable places. An author who is incredibly supportive of the translation process, this is his latest release in the Spanish language, released the same week as his first UK-release Never Tell Anyone Your Name. My translation of Federico’s first ever book (published in Uruguay over 20 years ago) will released in Spring 2025 under Puffin’s Modern Classics imprint A Puffin Book: Sword of Fire.
With plenty more books in his back catalogue Federico is an author not to be missed!
The Path: The Story of a Flight to Freedom
Written by Rüdiger Bertram | Illustrations by Heribert Schulmeyer | Germany | 2017 (cbt Verlag)
UPDATE: ENGLISH RIGHTS NOW SOLD
FORTHCOMING AUTUMN 2025
The Path is a graphic thriller based in historical fact, bringing the story of a family’s hair-raising flight across the Pyrenees vividly to life … a classic page-turner, with well-developed characters and beautifully drawn relationships, all wrapped up in a striking comic-strip conclusion – New Books in German
- Ties in with UK KS2 and KS3 topic about the Second World War
- Discusses French and Spanish Resistance during WW2
- Marketing opportunities in 2024: 80 years since the liberation of France and the D-Day Landings
Award-winning film adaptation released in 2022 by Warner Brothers. You can watch the trailer here.
Us: In Between
Written by Julya Rabinowich | Austria | 2022 (Hanser Verlag) – Funding options from Austria
This book deals with the rise of xenophobia in Europe, showing how small words can lead to grave violence, and encourages young people to stand in solidarity with refugees.
There are those who are attacked, those who stand in solidarity and there are those who remain silent. Those who remain silent are complicit. Perhaps this book will help to give people courage, to help them search out allies.
Julya Rabinowich, The Austrian Riveter
Read the rest of my interview with Julya in The Austrian Riveter.
Read a review by Silvia Schwab and an extract in English translated by me on the Goethe Institut Litrix website.
Potential translation funding available.
My translation of Book One – Me, In Between – was published in 2022 by Andersen Press. Book Three is due to be released in Germany in August 2023.
Praise for Me, In Between:
…a serious contender for one the best books of this new year – Irish Times, January 2022
Claire Storey’s skilful idiom plays a considerable part in making this challenging story readily accessible to UK readers – Books for Keeps
Bergerac Syndrome: A Heroic Comedy
by Pablo Gutiérrez | Spain | 2021 (Grupo Edebé) – Funding options from Spain
In essence, everything we experienced that year is in here: the discovery of books and theatre; the awakening of love and friendship; the insecurities of adolescence; dreams and fears.
Pablo Gutiérrez
Laced with humour, this original plotline based
on actual events takes a classic play and
literary references and makes them palatable
to modern young readers
- Winner of the 2021 Edebé Prize
Translation funding may be available for this title
With services for teenage mental health more in demand than ever, the next two powerful novels tackle these struggles head on in forms that are both creative and unusual.
An Ewok in the Garden
by Pedro Ramos | Spain | 2022 (Edebé)
An impactful novel both in terms of the originality with which such a complex and moving story is developed, and for the beauty and humanity of its characters – Cuatrogatos Foundation 2023
- Edebé Young Adult Prize 2022
- Winner of the Fundación Cuatrogatos Award 2023
- Included in the White Ravens 2023
According to the WHO, suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among 15-29 year-olds. Men account for 75-80% of all suicides and for each one of these deaths there are about 20 other people who try to to take their own life (Heads Up Guys). In an era where supporting teenage mental health is more important than ever, this book tackles a difficult subject, giving us all the opportunity to consider our own reasons to stay alive.
Half a Banana and the Order of the World
by Sarah Michaela Orlovský | Austria | 2022 (Tyrolia Verlag) – Funding options from Austria
Shortlisted for the German Young Adult Book Prize 2022
Award-winning author
Helplessness and despair, but also love and hope come are expressed in this moving monologue by the younger sister, underpinned by the author’s creative, rythmic language – Jury of the German Book Prize 2022
Tyrolia Verlag are known for their unconventional and experiemental fiction. The format of this short 60 page book takes the form of free verse, condensed monologues addressed to an older sister from her younger sister. The older sibling is suffering from anorexia (although the condition is never named) and the effect is felt throughout the family and voiced by this girl who sits outside her sister’s closed bedroom door.
Middle Grade
The School of Magical Animals
Written by Margit Auer | Germany | 2013 onwards (Carlsen Verlag)
- Millions of copies sold
- Two films
- A spin-off series
- A joke book
- You can even take the quiz to find out which magical animal you are.
Translated into over 25 languages… but not yet English!
For full details and translation samples for any of these texts, please contact me at claire@cslanguages.co.uk.
As an international book scout, I work as a bridge connecting foreign rights agents and publishers with English-language publishers. I do not fuction directly as a rights agent, To acquire the rights of any of the books I am recommending for translation, direct contact and negotiation will be required with the original rights holder.
Claire Storey 