Detectives to demons, translation to transfiguration — English avatars of Bengali favourites and magical creatures are making it to the good books of teen readers and publishers are lining up one treat after another.

A brand new fantasy novel about a half-demon girl in search of her identity and good-ol’ Kakababu in a novel format are set to hit bookstores soon.

Starmark has lined up Sunil Gangopadhyay’s much-loved Kakababu adventures in graphic novel format and the first to hit the racks will be Bhoyonkor Sundor (Incredible Splendour), Kakababu’s first adventure that takes him to Kashmir.

“We have rights for nine Kakababu stories to turn them into graphic novels in English. Incredible Splendour, in the comic-book format, will be the first to be published. We chose this series because of its popularity and like in Tintin and Asterix, the series goes on and on. The translation will encourage children to read Bengali literature in English,” Starmark CEO Gautam Jatia said.

The bookstore had earlier released a translation of Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay’s Gosain Baganer Bhoot (The Ghost of Gosain Bagan) in the same format and it proved to be a huge hit. “Gosain Baganer Bhoot has been translated into several languages and has done very well. A lot has to do with the style and standard of translation. The essence ... is not lost if the translation is good,” the author said.

One of the introductory launches of Inked, Penguin’s new imprint targeted at 13- to 20-year-olds, is Cracked, a fantasy novel by Eliza Crewe about a half-demon girl trying to find her identity.

Crewe’s protagonist is no goody-two-shoes. “The characters are believable and engaging. And (the protagonist) Meda’s voice is simply superb, she’s not the powerless heroine you usually see in supernatural fantasy; she herself isn’t sure if she’s good or evil, and she enjoys exploring the wicked side of her personality. The world is most definitely not black and white, and choices are complicated,” said Ameya Nagarajan, the assistant commissioning editor at Penguin Books India. “We chose this book because it is funny, tightly plotted and exceedingly well-written.”

Nagarajan sees a “move towards dystopia, whether fantasy or real world”. “The recurring themes in the books loved by children include romance, tragedy and dystopia.”

“Young readers are into fantasy and the world of magic. Translations are doing well too. Younger kids love them and there has been a spike in their sales,” said Jatia of Starmark.

Crossword, too, confirmed an increase in sales of translations, while the sales figures at Oxford Bookstore show that almost 25 copies of translated works are sold every month.

Disha Mooljee, executive, corporate communication and marketing, at Crossword, attributed the popularity of translations to “Bengali parents eager to teach children about their culture”. “They want to encourage their children to acknowledge the fact that there is a whole new world of Bengali fiction and literature waiting to be explored,” she said. “Translations also give non-Bengali-speaking people an opportunity to read Bengali literature.”

Sipra Bhattacharya, an independent writer and translator, says the demand for translations has increased with more and more Bengalis living outside Bengal craving for Bengali literature. “So many young Bengalis live out of Calcutta and yet have a strong sense of nostalgia. My son lives in Mumbai and asks me to send him translated books, so that he can share them with friends,” said Bhattacharya, who also teaches at South Point High School.

Nine-year-old Ruhi Bhattacharyya lives in Dubai but every time her father travels to Calcutta, he makes it a point to buy her translations of Bengali books. “My father introduced me to Bengali books. Initially, I wasn’t too fond of them but gradually I found interest. I have read Thakurmar Jhuli and Feluda in English. Now I am hooked to Feluda’s adventures,” said the Class V student at Indian High School, Dubai.

Adventures of a more fantastic kind with a young hero overcoming obstacles are a favourite too. The top-selling titles for young adult readers include the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan, Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman, Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud and, of course, the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.

“The protagonist in these stories is very Harry Potterish, facing challenges and surpassing them.... a young girl or boy, so the readers can relate to them easily. Dragons, like in Eragon, are a hit too. Vampires are for children above 16,” said Jatia of Starmark.

Ahan Chakraborty, who just gave his Class XII exam from South Point High School, identifies with Rick Riordan’s fantasy hero Percy Jackson, a bestseller at Crossword along with Potter. “I read The Lightning Thief, the first of the five-book series starring ordinary-boy-turned-extraordinary hero Percy Jackson, in Class IX and was hooked. Riordan spins a fantasy world of satyrs, monsters and ancient Greek heroes… blends fast paced action-adventure with witty one-liners and a good dose of modernised Greek mythology. Percy Jackson is the new cult icon.”