Russian Matryoshka
By Hamid Ismailov
Epic novel in 6 parts (Russia/Uzbekistan)
Translation funded by Arts Council England. Seeking publisher
Renowned Uzbek author-in-exile Hamid Ismailov returns with his most ambitious project to date: an Uzbek take on the classic Russian novel, with a post-modern twist. More than one twist, to be precise. In 6 books of diminishing size, we experience the bohemian youth of writer Xamid in 1970s Soviet Tashkent; the odyssey of an older man, Georgy, spanning most of the Russian/Soviet 20th century; the career of Georgy’s true love, Lizzy, a professor in England; the mystery of Tsar Alexander I and the hermit Fyodor Kuzmich, who may have been one and the same; the story behind Prince Oleg’s selection of a religious creed for Ancient Rus’; and a post-Soviet tale of political upheaval and dastardly crime. Throughout, Xamid’s life and work is presented in contrast to that of his lost friend Oleg, who once wrote his own masterful novel, but burned it. As Xamid consciously and unconsciously recreates Oleg’s lost masterpiece, this pattern of X and O, opposites and reflections, substitutions and absences, connects all the diverse styles and stories in the book. Translation complete and fully funded. English rights available.
Read published samples in Turkoslavia and Asymptote
Fiberglass and Sonnets to Shoqan Walihanov
Poems by Rena Zhumanova
Poetry (Kazakhstan)
Samples available. Seeking publishers
Rena Zhumanova’s verses burst with originality and individuality, relishing in rhyme, irony, and cross-cultural identity crises. Her multilingual, multicultural writing manages to be playful and sharp, sentimental and insightful, often all at the same time. Seeking publication for a chapbook of 20 sonnets dedicated to the life and questionable legacy of Kazakh-Russian explorer Shoqan Walihanov as well as individual poems. Read sample translations
Read published poems in English
Sonnets accepted for publication in 2027 – announcement coming soon!
The Last Hope Foundation
By Lilya Kalaus
Novel (Kazakhstan), est. 93,000 words
Sample translated. Seeking publisher
Asya can handle her abusive stepfather, layoffs at work, and the debauchery of a corporate retreat with her wacky coworkers. She can probably even cope with the homicidal ghost in Room 4. But can she survive a slowly budding romance with a sophisticated stranger from Moscow? Critic Maia Stavitskaya calls Kalaus’s writing “A bewitching word game careening freely through a four- or five-dimensional universe of words and expressions that are paradoxically both thoroughly carnal and extremely meaningful.” The Last Hope Foundation was partly inspired by the author’s experience working for the Soros Foundation Kazakhstan. It was longlisted for the prestigious Russian Prize in 2010.
Kronos
By Sabina Tussupova
Novel (Kazakhstan), est. 92,000 words
Sample translated. Seeking publisher
Kronos is a dark tale of love and corruption set in today’s Almaty, Kazakhstan, in a time of genuine political turmoil. As armed men patrol the streets, the misanthropic Mark finds himself speaking to a ghost and falling rapidly for a mysterious detective, until, one chaotic night, events finally spiral out of control. This is the first novel by rising star Sabina Tussupova, whose Murakami-like sensibilities and courage in tackling taboos put her in a class of her own in new Central Asian literature.
The editors of Embark Literary Journal cited the wry tone and ominous atmosphere in accepting the first chapters for publication in English. Read the excerpt in Embark
Metamorphoses of a Dream
By Sharif Ahmedov
Essays on literature (Uzbekistan), est. 160 pages
Title essay published. Seeking publisher for individual essays or collection
Sharif Ahmedov is the translator of Jorge Luis Borges into Uzbek. Inspired by that experience, Ahmedov wrote this cycle of metamorphoses, exploring the interconnection – and disconnects – between cultures, dreams, masterpieces, and creative genius, not to mention uninvited visitors, illness, and other more mundane misfortunes. Ahmedov presents his thoughts in a smart but accessible way that is sure to charm readers eager to glimpse the view from his unique vantage point at a previously uncharted cultural crossroads. Read a published sample
The Skull
By Rahimjan Otarbayev
Absurdist novel (Kazakhstan), est. 60,000 words
Translation fully funded, commencing September 2026. Seeking publisher.
From celebrated Kazakh author Otarbayev comes this quick-moving and very funny tale of an archaeologist who discovers the missing head of a great warrior poet from pre-Soviet Kazakhstan – and then watches a series of bureaucrats pass it around like a worthless piece of junk. Their attitudes change, however, when the skull goes missing and an award is announced for its safe return. Everything would be simpler if the skull didn’t keep speaking to those willing to listen… Will the powers that be recognize what a treasure they have on their hands, or will another part of Kazakhstan’s past be cast aside and ignored forever?
Registan
By Shahzoda Samarqandi
Historical fiction (Uzbekistan), est. 90,000 words
Translation sample available. Seeking funding and publisher.
Shahzoda Samarqandi’s followup to her critically acclaimed work of ecofiction, Mothersland, turns the author’s sharp feminist gaze to an urban setting: Samarkand, once a renowned city of the ancient Silk Road. By the year 1991, while there is still a large Persian-speaking community there (the ethnic Tajiks), Samarkand has been relegated to a secondary, provincial role in the Soviet Socialist Republic of Uzbekistan – a place which is soon to have independence thrust upon it. As the Soviet Union collapses and
Uzbekistan’s elites debate its political future, the novel’s protagonist Sharareh works on behalf of her fellow speakers of Tajik, whose fate as a minority group in the new political order seems precarious. Fiercely independent, Sharareh sidesteps gender norms to navigate local politics and academic bureaucracy throughout the hot, hungry summer of 1991. Samarqandi’s word is banned in Uzbekistan and she lives in Western Europe.