In this week's edition of Endnotes, we take a look at Agnieska Szpila's debut Hexes of the Deadwood Forest, about a woman who loses her job as an oil company CEO after she’s filmed having sex with a tree in her sleep, translated by Scotia Gilroy.
Here's how the book came together:
Agnieszka Szpila
“I wanted to write a book not only with literary value but also with a real-world resonance—one that could provoke tangible social change and, last but not least, that can charge readers around the globe with the high voltage of sexual pleasure. I believe I succeeded.”
Scotia Gilroy
“Before beginning to translate the book, I went to Warsaw to spend time with Agnieszka Szpila, to talk with her so I could truly capture the book’s spirit in the English version. I wanted to convey the rhythm and musicality of Szpila’s prose, as well as its rebellious energy and dark humor.”
Christopher Combemale
“When Szpila’s Polish agent, Piotr Wawrzeńczyk, sent an English sample it was immediately clear that we were looking at an utterly original, wild, and radical book. Any truly unique work brings its own commercial challenges, but it is always a joy to tell an editor, You’ve never seen anything like this.”
Naomi Gibbs
“Acquiring work in translation can be a bit different than acquiring work in English, as you can’t necessarily read the entire book, just a sample. But I knew from what little I could read, and from the completely original and utterly unbridled pitch, that this was a book I had to bring to American readers.”
Linda Huang
“The moment I heard the synopsis, I knew this was an opportunity to create something wild. The challenge was straightforward: How do you visually convey tree sex?”
