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Join the for a virtual event with author Rene Karabash and translator Izidora Angel to discuss and honor the release of . They will be in conversation with writer Kristin T. Lee.

She Who Remains, Rene Karabash’s landmark Bulgarian queer novel, secrets readers into a rural Albanian village where the Kanun of Lekë Dukagjini—a collection of archaic laws—looms over the lives of the residents with the same haunting presence as the surrounding mountains. Bekija, painfully aware of why she cannot have what she most wants, chooses to become a “sworn virgin,” setting off a bloody and heartbreaking chain of events that shatters a family and destroys a cherished relationship, but also reveals how trauma can lead to vital, if uncomfortable, truths.

Karabash’s poetic stream of consciousness traces gender evolution with innovative grace. This probing exploration of what it means to be a woman in a world defined by the violence of ancient patriarchal traditions has resonated with readers across Europe and beyond, and now English-language readers won’t soon forget Izidora Angel’s hypnotic, award-winning translation.

Rene Karabash (b. Irena Ivanova) is a Bulgarian poet, writer, screenwriter, actor, and playwright. She has won multiple awards for her work, including several best actress awards for her role in the film Godless and the Elias Canetti prize—Bulgaria’s most prestigious literary award—for She Who Remains, her debut novel. She Who Remains has been translated into over a dozen languages, including French, Italian, Swedish, Portuguese, and Arabic, and a film based on Karabash’s adaptation of the novel is being produced. She is also the author of Omar’s Letters to His Future Wife.

Izidora Angel is a Bulgarian-born memoirist and literary translator based in Chicago, Illinois. Her translations from Bulgarian include The Same Night Awaits Us All by Hristo Karastoyanov, Four Minutes by Nataliya Deleva, and Keder by Yordanka Beleva, for which she received a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. Her work has appeared in A Public Space, Astra, Best Literary Translations 2024, Chicago Reader, Electric Literature, Words Without Borders, and elsewhere. She received a PEN/Heim Translation Fund Grant and the Gulf Coast Prize in Translation for her translation of She Who Remains. She is at work on a memoir, first excerpted in The American Scholar.

Moderator Kristin T. Lee is the author of We Mend with Gold: An Immigrant Daughter's Reckoning with American Christianity. She writes about faith, culture, and solidarity in her Substack newsletter, The Embers, and highlights the best books you haven't heard of (and some that you have) in her reviews on Instagram @ktlee.writes. She lives in Cambridge.

The Transnational Literature Series at Brookline Booksmith

The Transnational Series focuses on stories of migration, the intersection of politics and literature, and works in translation and is supported by the independent bookstore Brookline Booksmith. for information on upcoming events, book recommendations, and more.

What You Need to Know to Attend

This virtual event is free to attend but please consider purchasing She Who Remains from us. Register on this page to receive a Zoom link on the day of the event. If you don't receive a confirmation email after registering, contact us right away.

Get Your Book

Books are held for pickup or shipped after ticket sales have closed.

• Store Pickup: Pick up your book in person at Brookline Booksmith (). You will receive an email alert when your book is ready.
• Shipping: Have your book shipped via USPS priority mail. Shipping is only available in the United States.

About Donations

We are pleased to make this event free for entry, but you may notice you have the option to donate. By donating, you help Brookline Booksmith build toward a stronger future. Every dollar of support means the world to us. Thank you for your continued support!