Allele Books
Every variant tells a story
Allele Books publishes authoritative works where scientific rigor meets compelling narrative. We bring readers the stories behind discoveries and the discoveries within stories.
Your science, we carry it to the world.
The world, we bring it to you.
Cover: Os Retirantes (The Migrants, 1944) by Cândido Portinari. Reproduced by kind permission of João Candido Portinari and the Projeto Portinari, Rio de Janeiro.
Allele Books
In the Northeast of Brazil, under a sun that scorches the land and dries life to the bone, a family moves through the caatinga scrub: Fabiano the cowhand, Sinhá Vitória his wife, two sons without names, and a dog called Baleia who understands more than the people do. They own nothing, they barely speak, and they do not give up. Graciliano Ramos writes in a language that is as bare, brittle, and radically impoverished as the lives of this family. This new German edition is translated by Sven Philipp Müller, with an afterword by Julio Licinio.
The author. Graciliano Ramos (1892 to 1953) is among the great novelists of Brazil. He grew up in the Northeast he wrote about, was jailed under the Vargas regime without trial for his communist sympathies, and turned that hard knowledge into a spare, unsentimental prose that few have matched.
German edition will be made available for sale in the European Union.
Scheduled release date: August 15, 2026.
ISBN 979-8-950232-09-1
Our First Title
Forthcoming 2026
Part III · The Sister
They called her the pretty one. She was a model, she was brilliant, she was beloved. The illness did not care.
Paty · Torreón, Mexico · Early 1990s
Why My Sister? is not a book with translations to follow. It is a book conceived from the outset to belong to the entire world. What begins as a Mexican-American family story, rooted in Torreón and in Texas, reveals itself as something every reader knows. The silence. The shame. The question no one is allowed to ask out loud. This book asks it in seven languages at once, a landmark in the global struggle for mental health awareness and against the stigma that has silenced families like Chelo's for generations.
Why My Sister?·¿Por Qué Mi Hermana?·Por Que a Minha Irmã?·Pourquoi ma sœur?
Warum Meine Schwester?·Perché Mia Sorella?·なぜ私の妹が？
Americas
Four languages. One hemisphere. Within weeks of one another in 2026, Why My Sister? launches in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French, the four tongues that carry the literary life of the Americas from Nunavut to Patagonia. Ninety-nine percent of the Western Hemisphere, in their own language.
1.3 billion readers.
Europe
Then the book crosses the Atlantic. German, the largest book market in continental Europe. Italian, the fourth largest in the European Union. Six major European languages now. The shared reading currency of educated Europe, the six tongues in which the continent does its serious thinking.
600 million European readers.
The World
Seven editions. Seven literary traditions. The Lusophone reach into Africa and into East Timor. The Francophone geographies stretching from Quebec to Dakar to Beirut to Noumea. The English that has become the working language of educated humanity. The Hispanic, Germanic, and Italian traditions that have shaped world letters for five centuries. And Japanese, carrying the book to one of the great reading cultures of Asia.
More than 3 billion readers. Well beyond one third of humanity.
Eighth Language · 中文
An informational site in Chinese is now live at wms-zh.com. Over one billion readers, which would carry this book past half of humanity. Allele Books is seeking a Chinese publishing partner to bring Why My Sister? to that readership.
Get notified when the book launches
The Allele Model
T
The narrative trusts its own authority. It does not stop to explain. The memory, the physical detail, the gesture only someone who was there can return to the page.
The context walks beside the narrative without ever pouring into it. Science boxes, afterwords, translator's notes, apparatus, image. Each form brings its own light.
The reader should never feel they are studying, and should close the book knowing far more than they expected.
The voice that does not break off. Memory, detail, the breath of someone who was there.
The ordered knowledge that walks beside the voice, without ever speaking over it.
What We Publish
Scientific Memoirs
Researchers and clinicians sharing their journeys through discovery, failure, and breakthrough. These are the human stories that scientific papers cannot tell.
Evidence-Based Personal Development
Practical guidance grounded in research, not trends. Books that translate scientific findings into actionable insights for living better.
Accessible Science
Complex discoveries made clear without sacrificing depth. For curious readers who want to understand how science shapes our world.
Narrative Nonfiction
True stories grounded in scientific understanding. Personal journeys that illuminate the human dimensions of research and discovery.
Textbooks and Professional References
Foundational works for students and practitioners. Rigorous, current, and built on decades of expertise.
Why Allele Books?
Global Reach
Through Genomic Press, our titles receive unprecedented media visibility. Our sister journals have generated coverage in The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, and over 4,000 news stories across 35 languages. Your book deserves the same attention.
Editorial Excellence
We invest in your manuscript. Our authors work with professional editors through multiple revision rounds. We prioritize quality and craft over speed to market. Your story matters, and we treat it accordingly.
Submit Your Manuscript
Who Should Submit
Scientists, clinicians, researchers, and science writers with stories to tell. Whether you have a completed manuscript or an idea taking shape, we want to hear from you.
We seek manuscripts that transform scientific knowledge into narratives that resonate.
What We Offer
- Dedicated editorial partnership with professional editors
- Multiple revision rounds to refine your work
- 30% royalties, double the industry standard of 15%
- Global distribution through bookstores and online retailers
- Marketing support through established media channels
Forthcoming
We have several other titles in various stages of development, from signed contracts to final discussions. These works explore the boundaries where personal experience meets scientific inquiry, weaving together stories of resilience, discovery, and the human side of science.
New title announcements coming soon
Stockholm Public Library. Photo: Climadeo, 2019. CC0 Public Domain.
A Boston Public Library Minute.
Video: Rob Van, 2014. CC BY 3.0
