Tilted Axis Press is a non-profit British publishing house specializing in the publication of contemporary Asian literature. Founded by Deborah Smith in 2015 following the success of her translation of Han Kang's The Vegetarian, the organization has gone on to publish 42 books and several chapbooks translated from 18 languages. Tilted Axis became known as the original translator and English language publisher of Tokyo Ueno Station by Miri Yu, which went on to receive critical acclaim as both a book and translation. Their profile rose higher in 2022, when Tomb of Sand, written by Geetanjali Shree and translated by Daisy Rockwell, won the International Booker Prize, marking the first novel written in Hindi to take the award.
History As of 2017, Tilted Axis Press made the largest share of their sales through traditional brick-and-mortar retail (35.1%), with the second largest channel being direct local and international sales through their website. Although the press has only received limited distribution outside of the United Kingdom, some books have been co-published internationally. For example, in 2018 The Lifted Brow, under their Brow Books imprint, co-published their translation of "The Impossible Fairytale" in Australia.
In 2021 Tilted Axis launched a crowdfunding campaign to support the translation and publication of several chapbooks covering feminist literature, raising over in total. One of the collections in the series, Pa-Liwanag, received a positive review from CNN Philippines, who stated the book "proves that writings by farmers and peasants are overdue".
In July 2022, following Tilted Axis's victory at The Booker International Prize, Deborah Smith announced that she was stepping down as Publisher and Managing Director. At the same time, Kristen Vida Alfaro was announced as her successor in these roles.
The publisher has been noted for its choice in content, often "unconventional" with a focus on feminist and queer themes, and its focus on the translators themselves, who are prominently credited and given royalties from book sales. As of 2025 Tilted Axis has eight part time employees.
Tilted Axis expanded its distribution network to the United States in February 2025. Previously, it had licensed works to American publishers.
Titles +Book indexTilted Axis Press numbers every major release. Chapbooks and other publishings of that sort are not indexed.TitleAuthorTranslatorPublication year1PantySangeeta BandyopadhyayArunava Sinha20162One Hundred ShadowsHwang JungeunJung Yewon20163Indigenous SpeciesKhairani Barokka20164The Sad Part WasPrabda YoonMui Poopoksakul20175The Impossible FairytaleHan YujooJanet Hong20176AbandonSangeeta BandyopadhyayArunava Sinha20177The Devils’ DanceHamid IsmailovDonald Rayfield20188Moving PartsPrabda YoonMui Poopoksakul20189I'll Go OnHwang JungeunEmily Yae Won201810Tokyo Ueno StationYu MiriMorgan Giles201911Sergius Seeks BacchusNorman Erikson PasaribuTiffany Tsao201912The YoginiSangeeta BandyopadhyayArunava Sinha201913Of Strangers and BeesHamid IsmailovShelley Fairweather-Vega201914Every Fire You TendSema KaygusuzNicholas Glastonbury2019Killing Kanoko / Wild Grass on the RiverbankItō HiromiJeffrey Angles202015Where the Wild Ladies AreMatsuda AokoPolly Barton202016Arid DreamsDuanwad PimwanaMui Poopoksakul202017No Presents PleaseJayant KaikiniTejaswini Niranjana202018Women DreamingSalmaMeena Kandasamy2020Pa-Liwanag (Translating Feminisms)2020Deviant Disciples (Translating Feminisms)202019Strange Beasts of ChinaYan GeJeremy Tiang202020Black BoxShiori ItoAllison Markin Powell202121ManaschiHamid IsmailovDonald Rayfield202122Tomb of SandGeetanjali ShreeDaisy Rockwell202123Love in the Big CitySang Young ParkAnton Hur202124Happy Stories, MostlyNorman Erikson PasaribuTiffany Tsao202126ChinatownThuậnNguyễn An Lý202225Father May Be an Elephant and Mother a Small Basket, But...Gogu ShyamalaDiia Rajan et al.202127Violent Phenomena: 21 Essays on TranslationKavita Bhanot et al.202229So Distant From My LifeMonique IlboudoYarri Kamara202228Unexpected VanillaLee HyemiSoje202230 No EdgesSwahili Authors (various)Various Translators202331I Belong To NowhereKalyani Thakur CharalSipra Mukherjee, Mrinmoy Pramanick202332The End of AugustYu MiriMorgan Giles202333A Book, UntitledShushan AvagyanDeanna Cachoian-Schanz202334dd’s UmbrellaHwang Jungeune. yaewon202435Again I hear these watersShalim M. Hussain202436To Hell with PoetsBaqytgul SarmekovaMirgul Kali202437Elevator in Sài GònThuậnNguyễn An Lý202438My Dream JobNorman Erikson Pasaribu202439Delicious HungerHai FanJeremy Tiang202440On a Woman's MadnessAstrid RoemerLucy Scott202440Revathi: A Life in Trans ActivismA. RevathiNandini Murali202441Our City That YearGeetanjali ShreeDaisy Rockwell202542Off-WhiteAstrid RoemerLucy Scott & David McKay2025
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