Chenxin Jiang

Hong Kong’s fiction scene punches above its weight, and it’s not all political allusion. From magical realism to detective fiction, award-winning writer Wong Yi recommends her five favourite novels from a city depicted in fictional form as simultaneously claustrophobic and cosmopolitan.

The short story form allows for instinctiveness in a way that novels don’t, says Israeli writer Etgar Keret, whose stories have won a number of awards and been translated into dozens of languages. He talks us through some of his favourite short story collections of the 20th century (in English).

There’s always been a fondness in the English-speaking world for novels about German history, but recently the books being translated into English have become much more diverse and interesting, says award-winning translator and publisher Katy Derbyshire. She introduces us to some her favourite German novels from recent years, taking us beyond Germany to Bosnia, Donbas and even Ghana.

The European graphic novel scene has unparalleled range. From indie science fiction to historical fiction, from France to Slovenia, there’s a sheer diversity of styles, palettes, and stories on display. Fulbright-winning and Eisner-nominated translator Edward Gauvin recommends five European graphic novels that show off the continent’s best writers, artists, and writer-artists.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, many people around the world have become more familiar with the country’s recent history, but many of us still don’t know much about its literary traditions. Academic and activist Sasha Dovzhyk introduces five works of Ukrainian literature, from an early 20th-century dramatic poem to devastating first-person accounts of the war that started in 2014.