In 2006, Daniel Wells of Biblioasis asked Stephen to become General Editor of the Biblioasis International Translation Series.

Since that time, BITS has grown into the most successful  international translation series in Canadian publishing history. The series now includes English translations of more than 35 books from  Austria, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Norway, Iceland, Spain, Catalonia, Quebec, Francophone Ontario, Mexico, El Salvador, Bolivia, Argentina, Angola and Mozambique. Stephen selected and/or edited most of these books.

Stephen’s own translations include

Good Morning Comrades (Biblioasis, 2008) by Ondjaki. Translated from the Portuguese.

The Accident  (Biblioasis, 2011) by Mihail Sebastian. Translated from the Romanian.

Granma Nineteen and the Soviet’s Secret (Biblioasis, 2014) by Ondjaki. Translated from the Portuguese.

— Longlist Finalist, Best Translated Book Award, 2015.

Transparent City (Biblioasis, 2018)  by Ondjaki.  Translated from the Portuguese.

—Longlist Finalist, Best Translated Book Award, 2019
—Longlist Finalist, International Dublin Literary Award, 2020

Transparent City (EuropaEditionsUK, 2021) by Ondjaki. Translated from the Portuguese (UK edition).

The Country of Toó (Biblioasis, 2023) by Rodrigo Rey Rosa. Translated from the Spanish.

On Stephen’s translations:

Stephen Henighan’s translation is no mean feat.

Financial Times (London, U.K.)

Stephen Henighan’s superb translation renders the unconventional narrative into something akin to a musical symphony, full of unexpected pauses and overlapping crescendos.

Toronto Star

One can only imagine the level of Stephen Henighan’s creativity to properly convey all of Ondjaki’s playfulness, nostalgia, and wistfulness without becoming mawkish, too flippant or irreverent.

Three Per Cent (Rochester, NY)

Stephen Henighan has done an excellent job of conveying the narrative qualities and wit of the original in his English translation.

H-Luso-Africa