Villa Albertine works alongside Albertine Foundation, the Institut fran\u00e7ais, and the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs to promote French and Francophone literature, and to encourage English-language translations across all genres, including fiction, nonfiction, children\u2019s books, comics, and poetry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Created in 2022 with the support of the Florence Gould Foundation, the Albertine Translation Fund brings French-language books that highlight the richness and diversity of the contemporary French and Francophone literary landscape to American readers. Grants are awarded by a panel of experts who consider the quality of both the original French-language work and its English translation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Please note books that are marked with an asterisk (*<\/strong> ) are still looking for an American publisher<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Please contact translation@villa-albertine.org<\/a> for any questions regarding rights availability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To learn more about the next cycle of the grant and our activities across the U.S., sign up for our monthly newsletter<\/strong> here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sign to learn more about French-related events in NYC<\/strong> here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n Nonfiction <\/p>\n The Fayum portraits are a silent population, a mass of faces that excavations over recent centuries have brought out of the tomb and into the light. Painted in Roman Egypt during the first three centuries of the Common Era and blending Greek mimetic tradition with Egyptian funerary ritual, the portraits were never intended to be seen, yet ever since their discovery, our fascination with them has only grown. Today, although they are scattered in museums throughout the world, their enigma\u00a0<\/span>remains<\/span>\u00a0intact. A threshold lies between us and the portraits; from the realm of death into which they have passed, they gaze at us with eyes wide open,\u00a0<\/span>seemingly still<\/span>\u00a0alive.\u00a0<\/span>Emerging<\/span>\u00a0from the swathes of bandages in which the mummies were wrapped, their features and finery transport us to a long-vanished world. The history of portraiture and its connection to death begins here. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n In\u00a0<\/span><\/span>A Silent Apostrophe<\/span><\/span><\/em>, Jean-Christophe Bailly sets out to explore our relationship to the faces of the Fayum and to reconstruct the conditions in which the portraits were conceived and produced. This classic study from 1997 is translated into English for the first time, along with a new preface highlighting these ancient portraits\u2019 resonance for our contemporary world.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t Poetry<\/strong> This collection, winner of the 2021\u00a0<\/span>Copo<\/span>\u00a0prize, delves into body politics, motherhood, and the contradictory roles women hold. Initially focusing on the days after Battal\u2019s two pregnancies\u2014her experience being pregnant, giving birth, and the transformation of both body and life after those births, the collection quickly expands into broader territory, zigzagging between Morocco and Paris, and flashing back and forth between herself as a young teenager and her current roles as daughter, wife, lover, and now mother.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span> Rim Battal has published eight poetry collections and one autobiographical novel, which was recently awarded the 2025 prix de la\u00a0<\/span>litt\u00e9rature<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>arabe<\/span>\u00a0des\u00a0<\/span>lyc\u00e9ens<\/span>. Vogue Magazine named her \u201cone of the most powerful voices in young Francophone poetry.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t Fiction<\/strong> Ressacs<\/em>\u00a0is an exceptional, intimate story of the intergenerational impact of the historic, violent\u00a0<\/span>radeau<\/span>\u00a0de la\u00a0<\/span>M\u00e9duse<\/span>\u00a0tragedy in 1816, of which Clarisse Griffon du Bellay\u2019s great-great-grandfather was a survivor. His annotated version of the official account was passed down to her through the generations as a well-kept family secret, until it invaded her dreams and was transfigured by her imagination into her sculpture,\u00a0<\/span>and ultimately, this<\/span>\u00a0book.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t Fiction<\/strong> In the midst of<\/span>\u00a0a strange sandstorm, two men converge at Aunt Fatima’s house in Jerusalem, a city rich with history and intrigue. As night falls, the air thickens with desire as they weave tales of jinn, lions, and legendary knights.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span> Fiction <\/strong> H\u00e9l\u00e8ne\u00a0<\/span>Laurain\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Tambora<\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>explores<\/span>\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>turmoil<\/span>\u00a0of\u00a0<\/span>maternity<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>through<\/span>\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>metaphor<\/span>\u00a0of the\u00a0<\/span>Indonesian<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>volcano<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>whose<\/span>\u00a01815\u00a0<\/span>eruption<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>transformed<\/span>\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>world\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>climate<\/span>. The image of Tambora\u2014<\/span>vast<\/span>, violent, and world-<\/span>shifting <\/span>becomes<\/span>\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>writer\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>lens<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>through<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>which<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>she<\/span> explores the <\/span>magnitude<\/span>\u00a0of\u00a0<\/span>what<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>happens<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>inside<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>women\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0bodies. The\u00a0<\/span>narrator<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>mother<\/span>\u00a0of a\u00a0<\/span>young<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>daughter<\/span>, longs for\u00a0<\/span>another<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>child<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>with<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>her<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>partner<\/span>. But a silent <\/span>miscarriage<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>shatters<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>this<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>hope<\/span>, forcing\u00a0<\/span>her<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0<\/span>confront<\/span>\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>unspoken<\/span>\u00a0grief of \u201c<\/span>births<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>without<\/span>\u00a0cries,\u201d and the\u00a0<\/span>unsettling<\/span>\u00a0question of\u00a0<\/span>when<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>motherhood<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>truly<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>begins<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The book received the Wepler Literary Prize in\u00a02025.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\nTranslated by Samuel E. Martin
\n1997\/2024 (Macula | Zone Books)<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nTranslated by\u00a0Lizza Tripp<\/strong>
\n2019 (Le Castor Astral)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n
\nTranslated by Nancy Pick<\/strong>
\n2024 (Les Lettres Nouvelles | Bellevue Literary Press)<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nTranslated by Jeffrey Zuckerman<\/strong>
\n2024 (Elyzad | Restless Books)<\/strong><\/p>\n
<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
<\/span>During this tumultuous season, Gabriel and Isaac experience soaring passion, heart-wrenching loss,\u00a0<\/span>and ultimately, a<\/span>\u00a0reconnection that defies the odds. Despite the swirling sands and the ever-present checkpoints, they resolve to embark on an unexpected vacation. But can this adventure truly unfold in a fragmented and tumultuous landscape?<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
<\/span>Their journey takes them from Jerusalem to Jericho, to a mysterious village where memories of death fade, and finally to the serene Solomon’s Pools. This is not just a love story;\u00a0<\/span>it\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0a quest for light, freedom, and the enduring power of love against the backdrop of a complex and evolving world.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t
\nTranslated by Holly James<\/strong>
\n2025 (Verdier)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n