This book is an encyclopedia. It's also a scrapbook of clippings, postcards, and other pools of memory. As an encyclopedia, it's both arbitrary and deliberately biased. But this doesn't make it incomplete: its many entries tell the universal story of one person. As a scrapbook, on the other hand, it progresses accurately, with the methodical finesse of a constellation governing a people's fate. Each essay in this volume, each entry in this vast and intimate encyclopedia, is a love letter. They're not merely feverish, though all of them pulse with sweet, melancholic intensity. Together, they form a wide-ranging map, encompassing topics as diverse as translation, motherhood, and the pandemic; highlighting as a form of tenderness; the seed of the future that sprouts in every empty pool. We also find a story about canine virtues, a small treaty on freedom, decorum at buffets, and a bird's-eye lesson on the possibilities of migrating within our own home. Translating Isabel Zapata's book Empty Book into English is essential for bringing its diverse themes and deep reflections toa wider audience. Cobining elements of an encyclopedia and a scrapbook, the book delves into personal and universal insights, touching on memory, motherhood, and daily life with philosophical depth. Its unique format allows for an exploration of individual experiences alongside broader themes, from translation to the pandemic. Translating this work would not only share its innovative narrative structure and exploration of diverse subjects but also allow non-Spanish speakers to connect with its profound reflections on human existence and relationships.

Isabel Zapata was born in Mexico City in 1984. She studied political science at Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) and philosophy at the New School for Social Research, in New York. Her work has been included in Mexican journals such as la Revista de la Universidad de México, Periódico de Poesía, and Letras Libres, among others; and international publications such as World Literature Today, The Common, Zyzzyva, and Ancrages (Canada). In 2015 she and four friends founded Ediciones Antílope with the motto"We make books that we'd want to read." Their catalog includes fiction, crónica, poetry, and essays. She received a 2016-17 grant from FONCA's Jóvenes Creadores, a prestigious government program supporting Mexican artists and writers.