Score

Thanks Tommi, you might want to add this forthcoming Japanese title The Rainbow

Thank you, Alwynne. The Rainbow is now added.

Thanks, Tommi. I was wondering whether someone had actually created a list of these releases (couldn't find them anywhere). Lo and behold, it was you! :)

Glad if it’s helpful, Samuel. It bugged me there was no list, so I created one.

I am so happy to see that this list exists! It was impossible for me to find them all myself. I added Dependency as I noticed it was missing from the list. I noticed that Golden Age has been published in hardback with the same style as others here, with the paperback coming 25/04/2024, although I am not sure if that will just be the standard Penguin Modern Classics edition. I believe The Portrait of My Double: And Other Dystopian Novellas will also be an edition with French flaps but it is to be confirmed.

Thanks for adding Dependency, Timothy, not sure how I missed that of the trilogy. Curious to see if the paperback of Golden Age will look like these. The hardback would sort of fit this list, too, though it’s not a French Flap one obviously... Hmm.

Hullo!

Upcoming, May '24: Matsumoto, Inspector Imanishi Investigates | 9780241694701

Two versions of the title, one for '24 and the following for '25, £12.99 and £9.99 respectively, and the dimensions seem to indicate it will be another Japanese title in pistachio green.

Edit: Included in the S/S 2024 Penguin Press catalogue (sans cover image), but with the appended 'Demy Octavo Trade Paperback' which denotes this size, listed as 352 pages.

Another upcoming, May '24: Kafka, Diaries | 9780241695746

Cover image confirmed, and comes in at 704 pages, transl. Ross Benjamin

And a most likely upcoming, Feb. '25: Tsushima, Wildcat Dome | 9780241649466

Listed price of £12.99 would indicate another Japanese title for the series.

The Adventures of Simplicius Simplicissimus looks like it is of the same edition, but I can't seem to find any copies online - perhaps it was a scheduled release that was cancelled in the end.

I'm confused of the availability of these books. I was just looking for a few on Blackwells, and most of them aren't available in this issue, but in the cheaper (but also nastily made) Penguin Modern Classics without the French flaps. Does anyone have any idea what's going on with this series? Are they limited editions?

Siblings and Peasants are still widely available in this format.

I can only speak from when I started trying to collect the Japanese titles from this series, but I assume this:

The first edition of a translation is released in the French-flapped paperback, reprinted or not as sales demand, and then later released in the standard cheaper (and smaller in dimensions: 216 x 135 mm vs. 198 x 129 mm) edition thereafter.

Example:
For Kawabata's 'The Rainbow,' the French-flapped edition was released in November of 2023. The standard paperback edition that follows is upcoming for publication in October of 2024, eleven months later.

Publication details for the three Japanese titles I have:

Kawabata, 'The Rainbow' | first printed 2023, my copy a first printing (001)
Matsumoto, 'Tokyo Express' | first printed 2022, my copy a first printing (001)
Mishima, 'Beautiful Star' | first printed 2022, my copy a third printing (003)

I would need someone with a far more extensive collection than I to know if any titles received more than three printings.

As to your two examples:

Reymont's 'The Peasants' was released in November of 2022, its replacement standard edition is upcoming for September of 2024.
Reimann's 'Siblings' was released in February of 2023, its replacement came out in February of 2024.

Looking at these two titles on Waterstones and Blackwells, it would appear that for 'Siblings' at least stocks are low, and it will not be over long before it joins the ranks of the other OOP French-flapped editions.

Thank you, this makes sense (although it is personally annoying to me as I thought these editions would be widely available). I've ordered a couple second hand. I can see I'll have to look sharp in the future for the ones I'm interested in.

Here are a few potential upcoming editions:

Lies and Sorcery by Elsa Morante / 9780241711194

There Lives a Young Girl In Me Who Will Not Die by Tove Ditlevsen / 9780241637364

This list is so helpful, thank you!!! Unfortunately many are hard to find for purchase.

Thanks so much for posting this list! I was beginning to think I was the only one looking to collect more of these; it's odd that Penguin give zero publicity to this series, and frustrating that they go out of print so quickly.

One comment - Lies and Sorcery appears to be published in paperback in the UK by NYRB classics (another great series).

EDIT - Lies and Sorcery now listed on blackwells.co.uk as a Penguin Classic with the expected french flap cover, publication date Jan 2025

'25, Released:

Jan. '25: Ditlevsen, There Lives a Young Girl in Me Who Will Not Die | 9780241637364
Cover image confirmed, 192 pages, transl. Sophia Hersi Smith & Jennifer Russell
(N.B. A Format p/b: 181 x 111 mm, as opp. to Demy Octavo Trade p/b | w/o illustration to front cover.)

Jan. '25: Morante, Lies and Sorcery | 9780241711194
Cover image cofirmed, 800 pages, transl. Jenny McPhee

Jan. '25: Mishima, Voices of the Fallen Heroes and Other Stories | 9780241723609
Cover image confirmed, 224 pages, transl. Stephen Dodd et al.

Mar. '25: Nedreaas, Nothing Grows by Moonlight | 9780241729663
Cover image confirmed, 208 pages, transl. Bibbi Lee

Apr. '25: Tsushima, Wildcat Dome | 9780241649466
Cover image confirmed, 288 pages, transl. Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda
feat. rear flap of Kafka's Diaries as 'In Preparation'

May '25: Matsumoto, Suspicion | 9780241756409
Cover image confirmed, 96 pages, transl. Jesse Kirkwood
(N.B. A Format p/b: 181 x 111 mm, as opp. to Demy Octavo Trade p/b)

Jul. '25: Oh, Chinatown | 9780241744369
Cover image confirmed, 96 pages, transl. Bruce Fulton & Ju-Chan Fulton
(N.B. A Format p/b: 181 x 111 mm, as opp. to Demy Octavo Trade p/b)

Jul. '25: Sundström, Engagement | 9780241688120
Cover image confirmed, 512 pages, transl. Kathy Saranpa

Aug. '25: Kristóf, I Don't Care | 9780241774052
Cover image confirmed, 80 pages, transl. Chris Andrews
(N.B. A Format p/b: 181 x 111 mm, as opp. to Demy Octavo Trade p/b) [This volume carries w. it the series name 'Penguin International Writers']

Aug. '25: Saisio, Lowest Common Denominator (The Helsinki Trilogy #1) | 9780241730096
Cover image confirmed, 288 pages, transl. Mia Spangenberg [Full image cover in the manner of Reimann's Siblings, this volume carries w. it the series name 'Penguin International Writers']

Sept. '25: Ditlevsen, Vilhelm's Room | 9780241628980
Cover image confirmed, 160 pages, transl. Sophia Hersi Smith & Jennifer Russell

Sept. '25: Nosaka, Grave of the Fireflies | 9780241780213
Cover image confirmed, 128 pages, transl. Ginny Tapley Takemori
(N.B. A Format p/b: 181 x 111 mm, as opp. to Demy Octavo Trade p/b)

Sept. '25: Qingzhao, The Magpie at Night | 9780241774076
Cover image confirmed, 128 pages, transl. Wendy Chen

'25, Upcoming:

Nov. '25: Cartarescu, Blinding: Volume I (or, Blinding: The Left Wing) | 9780241754894
Cover image confirmed, 464 pages, transl. Sean Cotter [Full image cover in the manner of Reimann's Siblings, this volume carries w. it the series name 'Penguin International Writers']

Nov. '25: Reimann, Woman in the Pillory | 9780241718971
Cover image confirmed, 128 pages, transl. Lucy Jones
(N.B. A Format p/b: 181 x 111 mm, as opp. to Demy Octavo Trade p/b)

Nov. '25: Simenon, The Cat | 9780241808030 (New ISBN.)
Cover image confirmed, 160 pages, transl. not yet noted

Dec. '25: Christensen, Natalja's Stories | 9780241790465
Cover image confirmed, 96 pages, transl. Denise Newman
(N.B. A Format p/b: 181 x 111 mm, as opp. to Demy Octavo Trade p/b) [This volume carries w. it the series name 'Penguin International Writers']

'26, Upcoming:

Feb. '26: Saisio, Backlight (The Helsinki Trilogy #2) | 9780241730072
Cover image confirmed, 256 pages, transl. Mia Spangenberg [Full image cover in the manner of Reimann's Siblings, this volume carries w. it the series name 'Penguin International Writers']

Mar. '26: Parsipur, Women without Men | 9780241792513
Cover image confirmed, 112 pages, transl. Faridoun Farrokh [Full image cover in the manner of Reimann's Siblings, this volume carries w. it the series name 'Penguin International Writers']

Apr. '26: Marienhof, Cynics | 9780241688540
Cover image confirmed, 128 pages, transl. Bryan Karetnyk
(N.B. A Format p/b: 181 x 111 mm, as opp. to Demy Octavo Trade p/b)

Apr. '26: Orengo, You Are the Führer's Unrequited Love | 9780241745694
Cover image confirmed, 272 pages, transl. David Watson [Full image cover in the manner of Reimann's Siblings, this volume carries w. it the series name 'Penguin International Writers']

May '26: Koda, Tree | 9780241735510
Cover image confirmed, 256 pages, transl. not yet noted
(N.B. A Format p/b: 181 x 111 mm, as opp. to Demy Octavo Trade p/b)

May '26: Matsumoto, Twilight in Musashino | 9780241688748
Cover image confirmed, 384 pages, transl. Jesse Kirkwood

May '26: Simenon, Letter to My Judge | 9780241808092
Cover image confirmed, 192 pages, transl. not yet noted

Jul. '26: Bajani, The Anniversary | 9780241766507
No cover image, 128 pages, transl. not yet noted

Jul. '26: Dazai, Schoolgirl | 9780241767054
Cover image confirmed, 128 pages, transl. Polly Barton
(N.B. A Format p/b: 181 x 111 mm, as opp. to Demy Octavo Trade p/b)

Oct. '26: Daugbjerg, The Troll | 9780241780831
No cover image, 112 pages, transl. Hazel Evans

'27, Upcoming:

Feb. '27: Markov, The Portrait of My Double: And Other Dystopian Novellas | 9780241545324
No cover image, 256 pages, transl. not yet noted,
feat. rear flap of Kafka's Diaries & Matsumoto's Inspector Imanishi Investigates as 'In Preparation'

---

[04.xi.25: Edited to include all other upcoming in one post. Added Sundström, Ditlevsen (Aug. '25), Saisio, Kristóf, Oh, Marienhof, & Reimann. Added n.b. re: smaller sized additions, and the Nosaka & transl. Added Qingzhao & Cartarescu. Nosaka confirmed. Qingzhao confirmed. Saisio confirmed. Added Parsipur. Added Saisio (ii). Added Simenon. Moved Markov to '27. Cartarescu cover confirmed. Saisio (ii) cover confirmed. Christensen & Orengo added. Simenon altered. Added Matsumoto. Added Simenon (ii) and Koda. Orengo cover confirmed. Parsipur cover confirmed. Koda cover confirmed. Bajani & Daugbjerg added. Dazai added. Matsumoto cover confirmed. Simenon (ii) cover confirmed.]

L. M. wrote: "Recently Released:

Jan. '25: Ditlevsen, There Lives a Young Girl in Me Who Will Not Die | 9780241637364
Cover image confirmed, 192 pages, transl. Sophia Hersi Smith & Jennifer Russell
(N.B. small..."


Many thanks for the update; if it's any kind of clue then penguin also lists Kristóf's I Don't Care in the same "Penguin International Writers" series (the cover has this above the title).

Alan wrote: "... if it's any kind of clue then Penguin also list..."

Yes! I was nigh-on certain the Saisio and Cartarescu belong here going by the given book dimensions.

Thanks again for the further update; I don't know if anyone has been able to find a copy of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms in this series' livery, but my searches so far have been fruitless and I'm beginning to think it was never published in that edition.

For interest, the Penguin Archives edition of The Maverick Pig follows this design