ARCHIPELAGO BOOKS INC

ARCHIPELAGO BOOKS PUBLISHED FIFTEEN TITLES OVER THE COURSE OF 2025. IN FEBRUARY, WE BROUGHT OUT FELIX NESI'S DEBUT NOVEL, PEOPLE FROM OETIMU, TRANSLATED FROM INDONESIAN BY LARA NORGAARD, FOLLOWED BY THE HARMATTAN WINDS BY SYLVAIN TRUDEL, TRANSLATED FROM FRENCH BY DONALD WINKLER IN MARCH, AND STAY WITH ME, OUR FIFTH TITLE BY HANNE ORSTAVIK, TRANSLATED FROM NORWEGIAN BY MARTIN AITKEN. IN APRIL WE PUBLISHED WICKERWORK, A COLLECTION OF POETRY BY CHRISTIAN LEHNERT, TRANSLATED FROM GERMAN BY RICHARD SIEBURTH, AND IN MAY WE PUBLISHED THE LIVING AND THE REST BY JOSE EDUARDO AGUALUSA, TRANSLATED FROM PORTUGUESE BY DANIEL HAHN, FOLLOWED BY GERBRAND BAKKER'S THE HAIRDRESSER'S SON, TRANSLATED FROM DUTCH BY DAVID COLMER IN AUGUST. IN THE FALL, WE BROUGHT OUT EMMELIE PROPHETE'S NOVEL CECE, TRANSLATED FROM FRENCH BY AIDAN ROONEY, A POETRY COLLECTION TITLED SAY FIRE BY SELMA ASOTIC (BOSNIA), AND TWO CLASSIC ITALIAN WORKS-CESARE PAVESE'S THE LEUCOTHEA DIALOGUES, TRANSLATED BY MINNA ZALLMAN PROCTOR AND LUIGI PIRANDELLO'S ONE, NONE, AND A HUNDRED GRAND, TRANSLATED BY SEAN WILSEY, FOLLOWED BY WIESLAW MYSLIWSKI'S NEEDLE'S EYE, TRANSLATED FROM POLISH BY BILL JOHNSTON. WITH ELSEWHERE EDITIONS, OUR CHILDREN'S IMPRINT, WE PUBLISHED MY BROTHER BY LAURA DJUPVIK AND ILLUSTRATED BY OYVIND TORSETER, TRANSLATED FROM NORWEGIAN BY MARTIN AITKEN, AND LAUNCHED THE FIRST OF OUR FIVE-BOOK SERIES OF QUINO'S COMIC STRIP MAFALDA, TRANSLATED BY FRANK WYNNE. IN THE FALL, WE PUBLISHED MARIKA MAIJALA'S A MAGICIAN'S FLOWER TRANSLATED FROM FINNISH BY MIA SPANGENBERG, AND XIONG LIANG'S TAKE A WALK WITH THE WIND, TRANSLATED FROM CHINESE BY CHLOE GARCIA ROBERTS. WE REPRINTED NINE TITLES FROM OUR BACKLIST, INCLUDING WORKS BY ELIAS KHOURY, MAHMOUD DARWISH, MILJENKO JERGOVIC, KARL OVE KNAUSGAARD, JEAN GIONO, AND JULIO CORTAZAR. WE CONTINUE TO MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO KEEP ALL OF OUR BOOKS IN PRINT, CONSIDERING EACH ONE A CONTEMPORARY CLASSIC. FOR EACH TITLE ARCHIPELAGO PUBLISHED LAST YEAR, WE PRINTED 200-350 ADVANCE REVIEW COPIES TO SEND TO REVIEWERS, EDITORS, BOOKSELLERS, WRITERS, PROFESSORS, BLOGGERS, READING GROUPS, AND LIBRARIANS. WE TAILOR THESE LISTS TO EACH BOOK TO ENSURE THAT EVERY PUBLICATION HAS A CHANCE TO REACH READERS WHO ARE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND TO, DISCUSS, AND APPRECIATE IT. WE ALSO SOLICIT ENDORSEMENTS FOR EVERY BOOK, HANDPICKING AUTHORS AND BOOKSELLERS WHO WE FEEL MIGHT RESPOND TO A PARTICULAR VOICE OR SUBJECT. OUR MARKETING BUDGET INCLUDES THE PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF 6000 PRINT CATALOGS. WE HELD OVER 35 EVENTS IN 2025. WE HOSTED A BEAUTIFUL JAZZ POETRY READING AT A JAZZ CLUB IN QUEENS WITH BOSNIAN POET SELMA ASOTIC, WHO READ FROM HER WORK, SAY FIRE, AS A JAZZ PIANIST AND BASS PLAYER PERFORMED THEIR INTERPRETATIONS IN RESPONSE. WE ALSO PARTNERED WITH A FILM PROGRAMMING COLLECTIVE, THEATER OF THE MATTERS, TO PRESENT A SCREENING OF A FILM CALLED THESE ENCOUNTERS OF THEIRS, WHICH STAGES DIALOGUES THAT FIRST APPEARED IN THE LEUCOTHEA DIALOGUES BY CESARE PAVESE. OUR TRANSLATOR MINNA SPOKE BEFORE AN AUDIENCE OF 250 THEATER-GOERS ABOUT THE TRANSFORMATIVE ART OF TRANSLATION. THROUGH EVENTS THAT STAGE DYNAMIC READINGS, MUSICAL PERFORMANCES, AND FILM EXPERIENCES, WE ARE REACHING COMMUNITIES OF READERS AND ARTISTS BEYOND OUR IMMEDIATE CIRCLE. WE ALSO WELCOMED TWO AUTHORS FROM ABROAD FOR EVENTS HERE IN NEW YORK CITY. XIONG LIANG TRAVELLED FROM CHINA TO PRESENT TAKE A WALK WITH THE WIND IN BILINGUAL PRESENTATION WITH THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY IN MANHATTAN AND IN THE BRONX, AS WELL AS AT BOOKSTORES IN MANHATTAN AND SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN AND MANHATTAN. EMMELIE PROPHETE, AUTHOR OF CECE, VISITED FROM HAITI TO PRESENT HER WORK TO READERS AT THE BROOKLYN BOOK FESTIVAL AND FOR AN EVENT AT THE FLATBUSH BRANCH OF THE PUBLIC LIBRARY. SHE AND TRANSLATOR AIDAN ROONEY ALSO PRESENTED THE BOOK AT THE BROOKLINE BOOKSMITH IN BOSTON. OUR DEDICATION TO COMMUNITY AND ACCESS EXTENDS TO OUR DONATION EFFORTS. THIS YEAR, WE DONATED TO THE POULIN PROJECT, THE BROOKLYN BOOK BODEGA, LISA LIBRARIES, NYPL JAIL & PRISON SERVICES, NYC BOOKS THROUGH BARS, AND THE PRISON BOOK PROGRAM. WE INTEND TO EXPAND THESE EFFORTS IN THE YEARS AHEAD, WITH A FOCUS ON INCARCERATED YOUTH AND ADULTS AND UNDER-RESOURCED RURAL LIBRARIES.THE CRITICAL RECEPTION AND READER RESPONSE TO ARCHIPELAGO'S 2025 BOOKS WAS POSITIVE, WITH REVIEWS IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE WASHINGTON POST, HARPER'S MAGAZINE, THE ATLANTIC, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, WORLD LITERATURE TODAY, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, AMONG OTHER PROMINENT PUBLICATIONS. JUST TO SHARE A FEW RESPONSES TO THE BOOKS:"THE CITE OF DIVINE POWER IS BROUGHT TO LIFE WITH SKILL. ITS STREETS BLAZE AND VIBRATE, ITS MAKESHIFT HOMES ARE SHADOWY WITH DISMAY . . . CECE IS A COOL, CLEAREYED NARRATOR, WHO TAKES PAINS NOT TO SENSATIONALIZE. SOMETIMES HER RESTRAINT MAKES THE READER FEEL IMPERTINENT FOR DRAWING CONCLUSIONS AT ALL. THERE IS ALWAYS THE SENSE THAT CECE COULD PUT IT BETTER HERSELF . . . UNSPARING OBSERVATION IS CHARACTERISTIC OF THIS BRAVE NOVEL-A BOOK THAT MARVELS AT PEOPLE WHO FEEL ENTITLED TO THEIR TEARS." -SUSIE BOYT, THE NEW YORK TIMES"PROPHETE'S ACHIEVEMENT IS TO MAKE THE REAL AND THE VIRTUAL SIDES OF CELIA'S LIFE EQUALLY VIVID. THIS IS A VOICE-DRIVEN NOVEL, AND AIDAN ROONEY'S TERRIFIC TRANSLATION FROM THE FRENCH CONVEYS THE HEROINE'S PROFOUND DESPAIR AND SNARKY RESILIENCE. CELIA IS OPINIONATED, VULNERABLE, MORDANTLY FUNNY AND OFTEN OVERWHELMED . . . STATUS UPDATES ARE HER EXPRESSIONS OF DEFIANCE AND DETERMINATION. FOR CELIA, TO POST IS TO BE."-SAM SACKS, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL"THOUGH HER FAMILY WAS SOLIDLY MIDDLE CLASS, MAFALDA DIDN'T LET THAT FOOL HER INTO THINKING THAT EVERYTHING WAS FINE IN HER UNEQUAL SOCIETY. SHE WAS TOO SHARP FOR THAT, TOO OBSERVANT . . . SHE WORRIES ABOUT THE KINDS OF THINGS THAT MANY PARENTS WANT TO PROTECT THEIR CHILDREN FROM EVEN NOTICING-POVERTY AND WAR AND REPRESSION . . . THE EXPANSIVE, BIGHEARTED POLITICS OF QUINO'S STRIP FEEL OUT OF STEP WITH THIS TERRIFYING MOMENT, BUT, THEN AGAIN, THAT MAY BE PRECISELY WHY NOW IS THE RIGHT TIME TO RETURN TO ITS HEROINE"-DANIEL ALARCON, THE NEW YORKER"WHEN WIDER AMERICAN AUDIENCES DO MEET MAFALDA, THEY'LL FIND A GIRL WHO RESEMBLES ERNIE BUSHMILLER'S ICONIC CHARACTER NANCY, BUT WHOSE ANTICS ARE ENTIRELY HER OWN . . . EVEN IF SHE'S UNLIKELY TO HELP DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS GET ALONG, HER BRAND OF INNOCENT BUT OPINIONATED CURIOSITY COULD SHOW THE SO-CALLED ADULTS IN THE ROOM HOW TO DO BETTER BY FUTURE GENERATIONS . . ."-BENJAMIN P. RUSSELL, NEW YORK TIMES"FOR MANY IMMIGRANTS LIKE ME, MAFALDA IS MORE THAN A CARTOON CHARACTER. SHE'S A CORE MEMORY, A MINDSET, A LATIN AMERICAN CULTURAL ICON. AND IN A COUNTRY ONCE AGAIN LED BY A PRESIDENT ALLERGIC TO DISSENT, NUANCE, AND THE TRUTH, WHAT WOULD MAFALDA SAY TO TRUMP? WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE, IT WOULD BE SHARP AND RIGHT ON TIME."-MARCELA GARCIA, THE BOSTON GLOBE"ON EACH SPREAD, XIONG'S PAINTINGS INTRODUCE THE READER TO ANIMALS THAT ARE SWEPT UP BY THE WIND'S MIGHT. BENDING BIRD LEGS, FLAPPING WINGS, A PONY'S WILD MANE, BOULDERS AND STONES ALL QUIVER AND FLY IN THE WIND'S WAKE. XIONG'S ILLUSTRATIONS ARE FULL OF MOVEMENT AND SPONTANEITY." -POOJA MAKHIJANI, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY"WHAT IS IT TO BE IN LOVE, TO BE CURSED, TO BE LOST, TO LOSE ONE'S LOVE, TO REMEMBER, TO SMILE? . . . BRIEF INSTANTS OF ANIMATION, IN THE HANDS OF PAVESE AND PROCTOR, ARE MIRACULOUS. THE CHARACTERS IN THESE DIALOGUES ARE BOTH IN AND OUT OF TIME, BOTH MOBILE AND STATIC. THAT DIALECTIC AND ITS UNCANNINESS CLEARLY FASCINATED PAVESE, WHOSE SMILING GODS ARE TRAPPED WITHIN A CONTINUOUS PRESENT."-ALEC MAPES-FRANCES, THE PARIS REVIEW"THESE DIALOGUES TRANSFORM MYTHOLOGY, OUR OLDEST STORIES, INTO A NEW AND UNIQUE FORM. COMBINING POETRY AND PROSE, THEY ARE CRUCIAL TO UNDERSTANDING PAVESE'S THEMES-HIS PREOCCUPATION WITH ANTIQUITY, WITH SILENCE, AND WITH TIME. PROCTOR'S ENCHANTING ENGLISH VERSION HONORS THE AUTHOR'S PROFOUND ENGAGEMENT WITH TRANSLATION WITH PRECISION, MODERNITY, AND WIT." -JHUMPA LAHIRI2025 WAS A STIMULATING, GRATIFYING, AND CHALLENGING YEAR FOR THE PRESS. PRINTING AND PAPER COSTS HAVE NOT RETURNED TO PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS, WHICH AFFECTS OUR ABILITY TO PRINT QUANTITIES NEEDED FOR OUR FRONTLIST AND TO REPRINT OUR BACKLIST TITLES THAT CONTINUE TO SELL STEADILY. TARIFFS HAVE AFFECTED OUR SHIPPING EXPENSES. WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO FUNDRAISE CREATIVELY AND ENERGETICALLY, AND TO PLACE OUR BOOKS IN THE HANDS OF A WIDE ARRAY OF READERS. IT IS AN ONGOING CHALLENGE TO KEEP OUR BACKLIST IN BOOKSHOPS AND ON READERS' RADAR, HOWEVER RELEVANT AND NECESSARY THEY REMAIN. WE DO ACTIVELY PROMOTE OUR ENTIRE LIST OF 260 BOOKS AND OUR MEMBERSHIP PROGRAM HAS BEEN GROWING AS WE CONTINUE TO ATTRACT NEW COLLABORATORS AND READERS.