“Was your book originally written in English? If so, we regret that we may not be the best publisher for you.” So begins the courteously-written online FAQS section of MacLehose Press, the English-language translation imprint of Quercus Books. This little publisher has good reason to remain direct, as they rarely accept original English-language works. Instead, … Continue reading Publisher Spotlight: MacLehose Press
May GLLI Blog Series: Japan in Translation, No. 29 Editor's note: Though it took 18 years from publication in Japan until translation and publication in English, Kazuki Kaneshiro’s Go: A Coming of Age Novel, just released in March by AmazonCrossing, is already eliciting superlative reviews. Go's zainichi protagonist Sugihara is “one of the most memorable characters … Continue reading Takami Nieda on Kaneshiro’s Zainichi Tour de Force “Go”
The #TA60 list of classics in translation celebrates the 60th anniversary of The Society of Authors Translators Association by acknowledging the translators who rewrote these wonderful books so anglophone readers could enjoy them. Please share, and remember: always #namethetranslator! THE DEATH OF ARTEMIO CRUZ by Carlos Fuentes was first published in English in 1964, translated … Continue reading Translators Association – 60 Years of Classic Translations: The Death of Artemio Cruz (1964)
May GLLI Blog Series: Japan in Translation, No. 26 Editor's note: Kadono Eiko is the recipient of the 2018 Hans Christian Andersen Award, the most prestigious prize given in children's literature worldwide. She is best known outside of Japan for Majo no Takkyubin, ("Kiki's Delivery Service"), which was made into a popular animated movie by … Continue reading Sharing the Magic: Translating Kadono Eiko, by Lynne E. Riggs
May GLLI Blog Series: Japan in Translation, No. 24 Photo courtesy of Jonathan Armstrong, for the Documentist Photography In 2016, I and my colleagues Allison Markin Powell and Lucy North realized we would all be attending the London Book Fair. We decided to take advantage of this to organize a reading at the Society … Continue reading Strong Women, Soft Power — by Ginny Tapley Takemori
May GLLI Blog Series: Japan in Translation, No. 17 I would argue that any literature, translated or not, is part of the international trove of human cultural production. But it is true that those of us who can’t read works in the original have to rely on translation to hear otherwise inaccessible literary voices. It … Continue reading Melek Ortabasi on Japanese Literature as World Literature
Three Percent announced the shortlists for 2018’s Best Translated Book Awards this week, officially revealing all finalists in poetry and fiction categories. Since its inception in 2008, the BTBA has aimed to showcase “a blend of contemporary writers and modern classics, of writers from cultures around the world”, and this year is no exception. The … Continue reading Publisher Spotlight: Ugly Duckling Presse
May GLLI Blog Series: Japan in Translation, No. 15 Editor's note: Fred Schodt is best known for his work popularizing manga and anime outside of Japan. But he has also spent much of his career shedding light on little known aspects of Japanese popular culture and history: for instance, the story of Native American adventurer Ranald … Continue reading The Four Immigrants Manga — Frederik L. Schodt
May GLLI Blog Series: Japan in Translation, No. 14 Editor's note: When I approached Canadian poet/translator Sally Ito about acting as translator for Are You an Echo? The Lost Poetry of Misuzu Kaneko, she and her aunt Michiko Tsuboi, her co-translator, had already translated at least a dozen of Misuzu's poems on their own. The … Continue reading The Compassionate Imagination – Sally Ito on Translating Misuzu Kaneko
May GLLI Blog Series: Japan in Translation, No. 13 Editor's note: Today begins the second installment of Smithsonian BookDragon Terry Hong's current favorites in Japanese translated fiction. It's interesting though perhaps coincidental to note that five of Terry's nine recommendations were written by women, and seven of the nine were translated by women. I point … Continue reading Anglophoned Fiction Favorites — by Smithsonian BookDragon Terry Hong, part 2
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 