Indie publisher Foundry Editions launches with translated titles from the Mediterranean Basin

A new independent publisher is launching in the summer, publishing its first three English-translation titles from and about the Mediterranean Basin.

Based in London, Foundry Editions has been set up by linguist Richard Village, who is joined by a team of two. “We are on a mission to uncover authors who are new to English speakers," Village said. “Foundry Editions wants to bring that writing to a wider audience." 

Foundry Editions will be launching its catalogue from June 2024, with three titles that "offer unique social commentaries and viewpoints from the region". The publisher holds UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, to the books, as well as Irish and European rights.

The first country to be spotlighted is Cyprus, in Constantia Soteriou’s novel Brandy Sour, translated from Greek by Lina Protopapa. The synopsis of the book, which won the 2023 National Book Prize in Cyprus, says: "Set against the backdrop of the Cypriot civil war, Soteriou cleverly uses Nicosia’s iconic Ledra Palace Hotel—built in the 1950s as the first grand hotel in the region, and a symbol of the island’s modernisation—as a metaphor to explore the turbulent history of Cyprus."

The second title hails from Italy, bringing Maria Grazia Calandrone’s autobiographical work, Your Little Matter, to English readers for the first time, translated from Italian by Antonella Lettieri. The book, which was shortlisted for the 2023 Premio Strega, explores the reasons why a mother might abandon a child, "giving voice to the impoverished, marginalised women of the Italian south".

Lastly, the publisher turns its attentions to Spain with the crime fiction title Far by Rosa Ribas, translated from Spanish by Charlotte Coombe. "Painting a truly evocative picture of post-crash Spain, Ribas’ satirical novel places her unnamed characters in an urbanisation in the middle of the nowhere, one of the many that were built in Spain, but never finished due to the country’s financial crash," the synopsis says. 

Foundry Editions will be publishing one further book this year and eight books in 2025, with the ambition of eventually publishing between 10 and 12 books a year. The titles have all been designed with a "consistent branded look" by Richard and Hélène Marchal from Murmurs Design, and the aesthetic is inspired by design and artists from the origin countries. 

"Because of the increasing acceptance of non-Anglophone cultural output as part of the mainstream and the more porous nature of national and linguistic boundaries, the need for dedicated presses which can satisfy the increasing demand for international fiction and have the courage to bring it to market, is also growing," the founder commented. "We want to be an exemplary part of that significant cultural movement that puts quality translated fiction into the hands of readers."