Peirene Press was founded by novelist and journalist Meike Ziervogel, with the goal of bringing translated European novellas to a UK audience. Peirene began publishing in 2010 with Beside the Sea by Véronique Olmi, translated by Adriana Hunter. In the twelve years since this first (extraordinary) book, they have published over forty books, featuring translations from seventeen languages and twenty countries. Peirene titles have been listed for the International Booker Prize (previously the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize) seven times, and have been awarded numerous other accolades.