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Ticker
  • [ August 28, 2026 ] Surface Olivier Norek Review Fiction
  • [ August 26, 2026 ] Reading Around the World Top 5 Books of the Month Reading Lists
  • [ August 26, 2026 ] Bridging the Gender Divide: Warwick Prize for Women in Translation Spotlight Spotlight on Publishing
  • [ August 25, 2026 ] Red River Somnath Batabyal Review Fiction
  • [ August 20, 2026 ] Maureen Freely Translator, Novelist & Advocate Interview Interviews
  • [ August 17, 2026 ] The Aquatics Osvalde Lewat Review Fiction
  • [ July 29, 2026 ] The Bureau of Unknown Fates Gaëlle Nohant Review Fiction
  • [ July 26, 2026 ] Reading Around the World Top 5 Books of the Month Reading Lists
  • [ July 12, 2026 ] My Dreadful Body Egana Djabbarova Review Fiction
  • [ July 9, 2026 ] Ever Land by Amy Abdelnoor Review Fiction
Homecentral asia

central asia

Central Asia is where the Silk Road echoes through Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan (all former Soviet republics). From the steppes of Kazakhstan to the bazaars of Uzbekistan, the storytelling from these countries tell of empire, exile and endurance.

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Top 5 Books to Read

Reading Around the World Top 5 Books of the Month

January 15, 2026 Georgia de Chamberet Comments Off on Reading Around the World Top 5 Books of the Month
Greetings readers! Here are Our Top 5 Books of the Month from around the world to kick off the new year, to refresh  perspectives and remind us why cultural literacy isn’t a luxury, but a […]
bookblast celebrates women's history month 2025
Explorations

Stalin’s Purges & Forgotten Women’s Histories Explorations

March 27, 2025 Guest Contributor Comments Off on Stalin’s Purges & Forgotten Women’s Histories Explorations
Stalin’s Purges & Forgotten Women’s Histories by Ekaterina Drozdovica is an exclusive Spotlight feature celebrating Women’s History Month. Working at BookBlast® as social media coordinator, a key feature of my role is supporting the promotion […]
The Crimean Tatars and Their Khanate Donald Rayfield Review
Non Fiction

A Seditious and Sinister Tribe, Donald Rayfield Review

July 29, 2024 Georgia de Chamberet 1
Donald Rayfield’s A Seditious and Sinister Tribe: The Crimean Tatars and Their Khanate, is a scholarly historical account of the origins of the Crimean Tatars which is loaded with intricate detail. He guides the reader […]
The Devils Dance Hamid Ismailov bookblast
Fiction

The Devils’ Dance Hamid Ismailov Review

April 11, 2024 Georgia de Chamberet Comments Off on The Devils’ Dance Hamid Ismailov Review
The Devils’ Dance by Hamid Ismailov is an unusual novel which shines a light on Central Asia, a region that is still little known in the West. Even today, the Sovietised khanates Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, […]
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Interviews

Donald Rayfield OBE Author & Translator Interview

April 3, 2024 Georgia de Chamberet Comments Off on Donald Rayfield OBE Author & Translator Interview
Donald Rayfield OBE is Emeritus Professor of Russian and Georgian at Queen Mary University of London. He has translated Georgian, Russian and Uzbek poets and prose writers, and won the EBRD literature prize in 2019. […]
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News & Events

Celebrating Translation at Hatchards, Piccadilly News & Events

March 12, 2024 Ben F Comments Off on Celebrating Translation at Hatchards, Piccadilly News & Events
Celebrating Translation at Hatchards, Piccadilly Join host Georgia de Chamberet and guests, Donald Rayfield OBE, translator from the Russian, Georgian and Uzbek – his translation of The Devils’ Dance by Hamid Ismailov won the EBRD […]

From The Vault

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    Forty Lost Years Rosa Maria Arquimbau Review
    July 13, 2021
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    Meike Ziervogel Author Interview
    May 22, 2017
  • why independent publishing matters bookblast spotlight
    Why Independent Publishing Matters Spotlight
    February 25, 2016

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Looking for an unputdownable crime read? Look no f Looking for an unputdownable crime read? Look no further! 
Surface by Olivier Norek translated by Nick Caistor is the ultimate police procedural due out with @openborderspress 
In her review for BookBlast Diary, Emily Unwin breaks down why this thriller delivers on every front:
- Deep suspense & clever twists
- High-stakes crimes & misdemeanours 
- A lead detective you’ll root for
As @emily.unwin puts it, genre writing requires a pact with the reader and @NorekOlivier delivers a perfectly packaged, gripping story from start to finish. One for your TBR pile that's for sure! 
Read her full review via link in bio
Women in Translation Month may be ending, but grea Women in Translation Month may be ending, but great literature is timeless. Whose world will you step into next?
We’re thrilled to be collaborating with Maureen Freely and her team @elifgulez.writer spotlighting @warwickprizewomenintranslation The annual prize celebrates the finest full-length book written by a woman translated into English, published in the UK or Ireland. All literary genres are welcomed: novels, poetry, creative non-fiction, graphic novels, children’s or YA fiction, short story collections, novellas and plays.
Established in 2017, the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation champions and propels international women’s voices from the periphery into mainstream cultural conversations.
‘We’ve come a long way with the championing of world literature over the past decade... In the same period, however, we’ve noticed that it is markedly more difficult for women to make it into English translation. This prize offers us an opportunity to welcome in the voices and perspectives we’ve missed thus far,’ Maureen Freely, BookBlast Diary - read the full feature on our website. 
🔗 Click the link in bio to browse & buy the Women in Translation Prize collection on Bookshop.org
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