Breaking Borders Launch Benefit, presented by Litro Magazine & Restless Books

Join Restless Books and UK-based literary magazine Litro as we celebrate Latin American culture in New York

THIS IS AN OFFICIAL 2017 BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL EVENT

We’re living in a time when open borders have come under threat. Thankfully, great literature stands in opposition to dividing lines, by building connections across cultures, languages, and identities.

Join London literary magazine Litro, Restless Books, and a continent-spanning array of writers, artists, actors, dancers and musicians—including Brazilian actress and writer Fernanda Torres, author of The End, who will also be part of the Brooklyn Book Festival on September 17th—as we celebrate the defiance of borders and the launch of Litro’s World Series—Latin America edition. The benefit will be an unforgettable evening of Latin American food, drinks from Estrella Jalisco and Brooklyn Gin, music, and culture at the East Village Mexican restaurant La Palapa on September 14th, 2017.

Plus, there will be an unforgettable after-party with a DJ and dancing sponsored by Herradura tequila!

Check out our Facebook event page for more information on the benefit program, and we hope to see you there! 

more latin american reading from restless:

Thank You to our 'Reading is Resistance' Campaign Donors!

Dear readers,

Our Indiegogo campaign ended on Monday, and as we look back on the weeks of fundraising that have come to a close, we are greatly heartened by the outpouring of support we received from an international community of readers. Your enthusiasm and generosity throughout the campaign has renewed our determination to publish emerging literary voices from unexpected places.  

All of us here at Restless Books would like to thank our donors. Your contributions support distinctive voices of international literature and sustain the resistance that we so passionately champion. With your help, Restless will be better equipped to navigate the next few months as we transition to a 501(c)3 nonprofit.

Your support will also be instrumental as we prepare to launch Yonder, our exciting new imprint of international books for young readers. Yonder's first title, The Wild Book, an adventure story about a boy who goes to live in a magical library, is scheduled for publication this Halloween. It has already sold over a million copies in Spanish, and we’re excited to bring it to young English-readers for the first time. With your backing, we will also be primed to expand our signature series of The Face, Restless Classics, and international science fiction. We’ll continue to publish cutting-edge, international Jewish literature and carry on awarding the Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing.

The next few months will be intense, exhilarating ones thanks to these projects—and these endeavors will be importantly sustained by you, our passionate readers. We hope our books will continue to feed your restless spirit and captivate you as they have us.

Gracias,
The Restless team

P.S. If you're in New York this September, we hope you'll come visit us at the Brooklyn Book Festival (booth 430) so we can thank you in person. Plus, you'll be able to meet our newest Restless author, Fernanda Torres. She'll be at our Breaking Borders benefit on 9/14 and at two different panels on 9/17.

Thank You to our Amazing Backers:

Abraham Burickson
Adam Bright
Adam Teicholz
Alison Sparks
Allison Charette
Alyssa Murphy
Ari Sommer
Barbara & Sheldon Rothblatt
Matt Cooley
Benjamin Samuel
Kellen Braddock
Caitlin L. Baker
Carlos Flores
Carol Mammano
Carolina Bassili
Carrie White
Cesar Antonio Alvarez-Moreno
Cristina Francisco-McGuire
Charles Dee Mitchell
Christina MacSweeney
Connie Josefs
Courtney Hodell
Charlie Brealey
Dalia Wassner
David Kipen
Deepak Unnikrishnan
Diana de Armas Wilson
Estela Valverde
Gregory Henry
Susan Harris
Ilan Stavans
Izaiah Buseth
James Crossley
James M Hicks
James R. Kelly
Janet Hiller
Jason Small
Jill Schoolman
John Hodell
Jonathan Cohen
Jorge Canizares-Esguerra
Joseph Cline
Joshua Thompson
Josie Johnson
Judith Gangle
Judith Hodell
Karen Cordero
Kate Layte
Kathleen Bolick
Kaylin Rostron
Steven G. Kellman
Kristen Northrup
Laura Ahrens
Laurence Roth
Leah Koenig
Leena Nanda
Leslie Shipman
Lisa Morrison
Liz Koch
Maria Beeche
Mary Ellen Sanger
Matthew Glassman
Michele Kelley
Michael Barron
Michael Taeckens
Michael Triebwasser
Miguel Angel Zapata
Nancy Pick
Nichole Davis
Norton and Jeanne Juster
Nephele Tempest
Oddny Eir Aevarsdottir
Olga Zilberbourg
Pamela Rostron
Paul Losensky
Rick Shor

Robert Con Davis-Undiano
Ruth Cooley
Sandro Bassili
Summer Dawn Laurie
Sean W FitzGerald
Stacy Klein
Gary Soto
Stan Brown
Stephanie Lawyer
Stephen Sadow
Stephen Sheinkin
Susan Miron
Taryn LaRaja
Teresa Villegas
Terri Saul
Juan Toledano Redondo
Valeria Wagner

Veronica Esposito

Village Lights Bookstore

William Newman

Letter from the Publisher: new members of the Restless family!

Dear readers, 

I’m thrilled to welcome into the Restless Books family two extraordinary people:

Benjamin Samuel is our new Managing Editor. He comes to Restless Books from the National Book Foundation, where he was Director of Programs. Previously, he was an Editor at Electric Literature, where he co-founded their weekly fiction magazine, Recommended Reading. Benjamin volunteers with the Brooklyn Book Festival, where he serves on its Literary Council and its Fiction Committee. He has an MFA in Fiction from Brooklyn College, and his writing has been published in McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Publishers Weekly, Men's Journal, and elsewhere. "Especially at a time when our president is building walls, alienating neighbors, and attacking allies,” Ben believes, “the work of independent, international publishers like Restless Books is vital. With the support of readers and donors, we can amplify voices that would otherwise be silenced and ensure that our humanity, culture, and values are shared across borders."

Alicia López is our new Editorial Assistant. She grew up in Costa Rica, and is joining Restless Books after graduating with a BA in English and Art from Amherst College, where she also received an award for excellence in writing and collaborated with the literary journal The Common. She is particularly thrilled at the prospect of making Central American literature available to an English-speaking readership. “Adhering to a concept of ‘national’ or ‘publishable’ literature,” she thinks, “is to turn books into narrow, nativistic territories. Translation celebrates varied world views and new means of literary expression. By rejecting literature in translation, mainstream publishing is closing itself off to enriching, cross-cultural exchanges of ideas.”

Ben and Alicia will help us enhance the quality of excellence in all our publications. Bienvenidos!

Ilan Stavans

Publisher of Restless Books