Letter from the Publisher

Now more than ever: reading is resistance

Dear readers,

The terrorist attack in Charlottesville, Virginia this weekend left me stunned. This abhorrent display of hatred was doubtlessly rooted in our unstable, narcissistic president and his penchant for emboldening the extreme right. He is an unfit, ignorant, and dangerous leader whose actions—and silences—undermine the core values of American society.

Anger is, predictably, in the air.

But we cannot let that anger immobilize us. Like the protesters who resisted those displays of hatred—who were viciously attacked for defending the values this country truly represents—we must respond fiercely through reason, dialogue, and openness.

This type of catalytic resistance is what we stand for at Restless Books. As its publisher, I’m determined to endorse equanimity by opposing the tidal waves of racism, anti-Semitism, anti-immigration, and xenophobia currently sweeping through our nation. We are an international, independent publisher that both celebrates the differences of communities across the world, and finds a common ground that people across cultural and linguistic worlds can inhabit. Resistance should not be pursued through intolerance—rescuing the intelligence and inclusivity of our national conversation can only be achieved through enlightenment.

The shelves in our Brooklyn office embody our world vision: Miguel de Cervantes sits next to W.E.B. DuBois; our Icelandic visionary, Oddný Eir, shares a section of our walls with Mary Shelley; and our Zen-Buddhist author, Ruth Ozeki, seems to be at home alongside the Abu-Dhabian Deepak Unnikrishnan and the Cuban science fiction polymath, Yoss. Our office is where we first dreamed up Yonder, our new children’s imprint of picture, chapter, and YA books translated from other languages. It is also the place where we envisioned our Prize for New Immigrant Writing, a celebration of the richness immigrant literature adds to the varied fabric of American culture.

We pride ourselves on producing books that spotlight new literary voices and evince the multifacetedness of the human experience.

With your support for our ongoing crowdfunding campaign, we won’t merely survive; we’ll open new lines of dialogue through literature that highlights difference.

Con enorme gratitud,

Ilan Stavans

Publisher of Restless Books

Endless Love for ENDLESS POETRY: Jodorowsky dazzles once again

Check out Alejandro Jodorowsky's new surrealist memoir film Endless Poetry! 

To borrow from the legendary Alejandro Jodorowsky, "Birds born in a cage think flying is an illness.” Jodorowsky himself, whom groundbreaking artists of the likes of Yoko Ono and Kanye West have cited as a source of artistic inspiration, is certainly no caged bird. The incendiary author and cult filmmaker imbues all of his work with an energy that belies his age and takes on soaring dimensions. The most recent addition to Jodorowsky’s trajectory of experimental, airborne masterpieces is his latest film, Endless Poetry.

Endless Poetry is the second film in an intended trilogy, and was released in the United States in select theaters on July 14th. This thrilling, semi-autobiographical tale stars Jodorowsky both behind and in front of the lens—the filmmaker makes several appearances playing himself throughout the film. In a style often compared to Fellini, Endless Poetry’s protagonist is depicted via surrealist, color-saturated scenes that Boyd van Hoeij of The Hollywood Reporter aptly calls "a feast for the senses." This is undeniably the work of a master craftsman who delights in his trade.

Here at Restless, we're honored to say that this cinematic trilogy began with our publication of Jodorowsky's Where the Bird Sings Best, which NPR deemed one of the Best Books of 2015, calling it "a brilliant, mad and unpredictable semi-autobiographical novel...a fiercely original immigration tale.” The book tells the story of Jodorowsky's ancestors, exploring the ideas of “past" as legend and as an inextricable component of the interior self in a nearly mythical narrative of emigration. Askold Melnyczuk at the Los Angeles Review of Books says, "Jodorowsky aims to blind us until at last we see. In the end, Jodorowsky hopes to drive us toward the ultimate recognition: that we, or at any rate our selves, are the greatest illusion of all."

Where the Bird Sings Best makes an agile jump from page to screen, offering viewers a multifaceted chef d'oeuvre that demands reflection and leaves us here at the office in awe of the richness of the filmmaker’s creations. Having Alejandro’s seminal work on our shelves is a true pleasure, and one you too can enjoy by getting the signed copies of Jodorowsky's work available through our Indiegogo campaign, Reading is Resistance. Show your support for Jodorowsky and for Restless Books by donating to the campaign and getting your hands on one of these coveted copies before August 20!

Alejandro Jodorowsky was born to Ukrainian Jewish immigrants in Tocopilla, Chile, in 1929. Internationally renowned as a filmmaker for The Holy Mountain, El Topo and The Dance of Reality, and for his starring role in Jodorowsky’s Dune, Jodorowsky has also produced comics, plays, books on Psychomagic and Tarot, and three novels published by Restless Books: Where the Bird Sings Best, Albina and the Dog-Men, and soon to come, The Son of Black Thursday.

Women In Translation Month

Celebrate #WomeninTranslationMonth with these amazing authors from Iceland to Brazil.

Here at Restless we seek to defy the narrowness of mainstream publishing by championing oft-neglected voices. Women authors, particularly international ones, tend to be grievously overlooked—an error we are working hard to correct by granting these extraordinary ladies in translation this month's literary spotlight. We couldn't be more excited to celebrate the intersection of cultural exchange and brilliance with Women in Translation Month! 

To celebrate these visionary ladies, Land of Love and Ruins, The End, and The Winterlings will be 25% off on our website throughout this month. Use discount code WIT at checkout to delve into some fiercely brilliant literature, and check out our Indiegogo campaign to hear some of these book's authors speak up in favor of independent publishers!

Fernanda Torres

We have recently published the extraordinary debut novel The End by renowned Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres. The text was translated by Alison Entrekin, who has translated, among other acclaimed titles, Near to the Wild Heart by Clarice Lispector. Torres writes, as Kirkus puts it, "an unforgiving portrait of men at their worst," in a hilarious and searing feminist critique of the machismo culture of her hometown, Rio de Janeiro.

Oddný  Eír

From the other side of the globe, Icelandic author Oddný Eír brings us the unforgettable Land of Love and Ruins. The ever-relevant Björk calls Eír a "true pioneer!!!!!!!!"—with an excitement we more than match here at our Brooklyn office.  This masterful piece of auto-fiction follows finely wrought reflections about love, family, and our bonds to places.

P.s. we have a few exclusive signed copies of Land of Love and Ruins on our Indiegogo campaign that we think you should check out!

Cristina Sánchez-Andrade

The Winterlings is both an enchanting story about two sisters living in an idyllic village and a gripping portrait of the wounds the Civil War inflicted on Spanish culture and on Galicia. In it, Cristina Sánchez-Andrade deftly combines Spanish oral tradition, Latin American magical realism, and American gothic fiction. The author, who is also a translator and book critic, has been called by La Razón "one of the most powerful female voices Spanish literature has produced." 

Of course, we couldn't pass up this opportunity to celebrate the extraordinary female translators whose talents are so crucial in making our vision come true. We are forever grateful to this incredible list of women: 

Carol Ermakova, translator of The Underground; 

Rosario Moreno, translator of Letters to Yeyito; 

Achy Obejas, translator of The Cowboy Bible and Other Stories; 

Hebe Powell, co-translator of The Year 200; 

Barbara Harshav, translator of Between Life and Death; 

Megan McDowell, translator of Colonel Lágrimas and Jodorowsky's forthcoming The Son of Black Thursday; 

Allison Charette, translator of Beyond the Rice Fields; 

Shulamith Harever, translator of Thirst: The Desert Trilogy. 

Check out our amazing women in translation:

check out our indiegogo campaign #readingisresistance: