With Sharjah as London Book Fair’s guest of honour in 2022, the time is nigh – nay, now – for publishers to acquire Arabic titles for translation. But where to start? Unlike other languages such as Korean or Swedish, which have robust agenting infrastructure, very few Arab authors have agents to get them through the door. As such, the majority of Arabic titles that one finds in English have been championed by a translator (not necessarily always the one on the by-line). Translators are the ones with their fingers on the pulse, their ears to the ground. They stay abreast of titles winning critical acclaim and those with an energetic fanbase. The list below of must-translate titles includes not only two of my own recommendations but those of some of my esteemed colleagues, too, because it would be unfathomable to come up with such a list without turning to them for their invaluable input.1. Inaam Kachachi’s The Outcast (Dar al-Jadeed, 2017) Luke Leafgren – winner of the 2018 Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation – advocates for The Outcast, “a story of three characters whose lives intersect across continents and decades. Two are based on real people: an Iranian-Iraqi woman, Taji, one of the first female journalists in Baghdad in the 1940s; and a young Palestinian man, Mansour, who falls in love with her in Karachi before emigrating to Colombia. Through their eyes, the reader experiences many of the political and cultural events that shaped the Arab... Continue reading at 'British Council global'
[ British Council global | 2021-06-29 14:19:46 UTC ]
Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 22/08/2011 - 14:15 Bloomsbury has bought a non-fiction title about one of the great footballing rivalries in the modern game, between that of Real Madrid and Barcelona. Sport and Wisden publisher Charlotte Atyeo bought world English rights to El... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 29/07/2011 - 11:18 John Murray has acquired a non-fiction title by ex-paratrooper Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Tootal about the Second World War British operation to take the Merville Gun battery, part of the Nazi's Atlantic Wall, to help the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 01/07/2011 - 11:09 The Bodley Head has acquired a non-fiction title about the developmental issues facing Africa, written by the founder of a Ugandan-based social enterprise that supplies processed coffees to the global market. Editor Kay... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 30/06/2011 - 13:09 Harvill Secker has acquired a non-fiction title about the work of British lawyer Clive Stafford Smith over 25 years to save those on death row in the US. Editor-at-large Rebecca Carter bought UK and Commonwealth rights... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 03/06/2011 - 09:59 Constable & Robinson has acquired a non-fiction title about looking on the bright side by University College London neuroscientist Tali Sharot. Commissioning editor Jamie Joseph, who is building the publisher's... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-06-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 16/05/2011 - 09:03 Faber has acquired a non-fiction title by novelist Rachel Cusk, about contemporary mid-life femininity. Publishing director Hannah Griffiths bought UK and Commonwealth rights from Tracy Bohan at the Wylie Agency. The... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 03/03/2011 - 15:39 Hodder & Stoughton has won a seven-way auction to publish a non-fiction title by "How to Mend a Broken Heart" presenter Dr Kevin Fong. Non-fiction publisher at Hodder Rupert Lancaster acquired British Commonwealth... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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