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)
On Stephen’s translations:
Stephen Henighan’s translation is no mean feat.
Stephen Henighan’s superb translation renders the unconventional narrative into something akin to a musical symphony, full of unexpected pauses and overlapping crescendos.
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.
Stephen Henighan has done an excellent job of conveying the narrative qualities and wit of the original in his English translation.
