AmazonCrossing, the largest publisher of translated fiction in the United States, today announced that U.S. readers can download free Kindle books in translation for one week in honor of World Book Day–the annual April 23rd celebration of reading across the globe. Customers can download the English-language translation of award-winning foreign-language books curated by AmazonCrossing editors starting today and concluding at 11:59pm PDT on April 24 by visiting amazon.com/readtheworld.
“We believe books have the power to connect us across language, country, and culture,” said Mikyla Bruder, Publisher of Amazon Publishing. “Today we are making an investment in books in translation and giving readers access to stories from diverse cultural perspectives with an aim to reach one million readers in honor of World Book Day.”
AmazonCrossing is the literature in translation imprint of Amazon Publishing, translating award-winning, best-selling and important contemporary books from around the globe. In 2015, AmazonCrossing made a $10 million commitment to increase the number and diversity of its books in translation and today’s announcement is an extension of that commitment.
Customers can choose free Kindle books in translation from a list curated by AmazonCrossing editors:
- A River in Darkness: One Man’s Escape from North Korea by Masaji Ishikawa, translated from Japanese by Risa Kobayashi and Martin Brown: An Amazon Charts bestselling memoir about one man’s harrowing escape from the oppression of North Korea.
- The House by the River by Lena Manta, translated from Greek by Gail Holst-Warhaft: An epic saga of love, adventure and family from Greece’s reigning #1 best-selling author.
- Still Waters by Viveca Sten, translated from Swedish by Marlaine Delargy: The first book in the nearly 4 million-copy best-selling Swedish Sandhamn Murders series.
- The Great Passage by Shion Miura, translated from Japanese by Juliet Winters Carpenter: This award-winning novel, adapted into a major motion picture, about the making of a Japanese dictionary is a reminder that a life dedicated to passion is a life well lived.
- Last Train to Istanbul by Ayse Kulin, translated from Turkish by John W. Baker: A sweeping story of love, adventure and compassion, about a young Turkish couple traversing Nazi-occupied Europe to gain their freedom, from one of Turkey’s most beloved authors.
- The Gray House by Mariam Petrosyan, translated from Russian by Yuri Machkasov: An astounding and award-winning tale of a mesmerizing space where disabilities symbolize strengths.
- The Question of Red by Laksmi Pamuntjak, translated from Indonesian by Laksmi Pamuntjak: A saga of love, revolution and resilience and one woman’s courage to forge her own path, from an award-winning Indonesian novelist.
- The Light of the Fireflies by Paul Pen, translated from Spanish by Simon Bruni: A haunting page-turner about a boy who lives underground and discovers that light exists in even the darkest of places.
- Ten Women by Marcela Serrano, translated from Spanish by Beth Fowler: A group of women with divergent life stories bond over triumphs and heartaches in this beautiful tale about universal connections from an award-winning Chilean author.
In addition to downloading free Kindle books in translation, readers can visit amazon.com/readtheworld for a live count of Kindle pages read during the promotion from these nine AmazonCrossing books as customers #readtheworld. This live view of reader engagement is powered by Amazon Charts in celebration of World Book Day.
