Lost to translation: how English readers miss out on foreign female writers

Only a third of books translated into English last year were by female writers. As Women in Translation month wraps up, we investigate why – and if things are changing• In their own words: 10 female translators on the work that inspires themWhen Argentinian author Samanta Schweblin’s first book, El núcleo del disturbio came out in 2002, she was 24 years old, a fresh, female voice in a Latin American literary scene dominated by male greats: Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar, Mario Vargas Llosa, Gabriel García Márquez. Every good review was important, even if the praise was occasionally backhanded: one well-known Argentinian critic loved her debut and said that she wrote like a man.More than a decade later, she rolls her eyes. “That’s a compliment? It was so strange to me … and he was trying to be very nice, trying to cheer me up and push my career,” says Schweblin, now with a Man Booker International prize nomination under her belt. Related: In their own words: 10 female translators on the work that inspires them Related: The malice and sexism behind the ‘unmasking’ of Elena Ferrante Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2017-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Other news stories related to: "Lost to translation: how English readers miss out on foreign female writers"


Lost to translation: how English readers miss out on foreign female writers

Only a third of books translated into English last year were by female writers. As Women in Translation month wraps up, we investigate why – and if things are changing• In their own words: 10 female translators on the work that inspires themWhen Argentinian author Samanta Schweblin’s first book,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-08-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #female writers #books translated


British readers lost in translations as foreign literature sales boom

Popular Scandinavian authors including Jo Nesbø and Stieg Larsson drive growing domestic demand for translated booksBritish readers are devouring foreign fiction in record numbers amid a mini-boom in translated novels, inspired by the success of Scandinavian authors such as Jo Nesbø.Among a... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #penguin classics #jo nesb


Koos Prinsloo: the cult Afrikaans writer has been translated to English – here's a review

Challenging myths about heterosexual white South African men, Prinsloo published four books of short stories in 12 years. Continue reading at The Conversation

[ The Conversation | 2022-11-28 05:37:53 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #short stories


Found in translation: the English-language writers who succeed abroad

Authors Donna Leon, Laura Kasischke and Simon Beckett ponder the happy mysteries of scoring hits with foreign-language readersFor the American writer Laura Kasischke, the first inkling of her second life in France came when a former student wrote to say her portrait was on the cover of Le Monde.... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-01-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dutch publisher to use AI to translate ‘limited number of books’ into English

Veen Bosch & Keuning, the largest publisher in the Netherlands, has confirmed plans to trial the use of artificial intelligence to assist in translation of commercial fictionA major Dutch publisher plans to trial translating books into English using artificial intelligence.Veen Bosch &... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2024-11-04 17:43:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #schuster #commercial director #limited number #artificial intelligence #largest publisher


A ghost story about new motherhood? A TV writer's debut novel explores the female psyche

Jacquie Walters' debut, 'Dearest,' is a horror novel about new motherhood, including the demands of a breastfeeding infant, as well as how postpartum hormones affect a woman's psyche. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2024-09-16 10:00:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #debut novel #tv writer #ghost story


Le Monde in English Misses Lofty Subscriber Goals But Remains ‘Optimistic’

French news publisher Le Monde launched its English-language product, Le Monde in English, two years ago, with the goal of generating 30,000 subscribers by the end of 2023. It has since fallen short of that goal, according to business development officer Arnaud Aubron,... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2024-04-25 10:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #news publisher #le monde


Uplifting Writers and Readers: ACFW 2023 In Photos

A selection of photos recapture the 2023 American Christian Fiction Writers conference, which took place in St. Louis from August 24-27. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2023-09-13 04:00:00 UTC ]
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London Book Fair: New Data on UK Readers of Translated Fiction

The Booker Prize Foundation reveals a Nielsen study's data on consumers of translated fiction in the United Kingdom. The post London Book Fair: New Data on UK Readers of Translated Fiction appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2023-04-19 03:19:31 UTC ]
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I believed readers only wanted trauma stories from writers of colour. Then I became an author | Zoya Patel

For so long, it seemed that readers were only interested in the experiences of people like me if we were traumatised, not triumphant – and I internalised this as an indisputable factGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailI can’t pinpoint exactly when I started imagining myself in the stories... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-03-18 19:00:19 UTC ]
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‘Things are definitely opening up’: the rise of older female writers

Unpublished authors in their 60s, 70s and 80s are now at a premium in the book world – with radical, edgy women in high demandThe literary world is often accused of an obsession with youth, from multiple awards targeted at authors under 40 to publishers who hunt for new voices exclusively among... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-02-25 07:00:46 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book world #literary world #unpublished writers #young writers #unpublished authors


Ancient Drama for Modern Readers: Top 5 Greek Plays to Read in Translation

Bestseller lists of recent years have shown that our interest in the tales of the ancient Greeks is still going strong after three millennia, and even experiencing a renaissance. This is a testament, I think, to the timelessness of their content: the deeply human passions and agonies that they... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-02-24 09:52:27 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bestseller lists #modern readers


Carmen Callil, pioneering champion of female writers, dies aged 84

Publisher who founded Virago Press began as a campaigning outsider who introduced UK readers to authors including Angela Carter and Margaret AtwoodCarmen Callil, the publisher and writer who championed female writers and transformed the canon of English literature, has died of leukemia in London... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-10-18 09:09:25 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #english literature #royal society #literary establishment #willa cather #modern classics #bringing back #angela carter #maya angelou #female writers #pioneering champion #carmen callil


‘The pendulum has swung’: Why we female Trinidadian writers are having our moment

Monique Roffey, the Costa-winning author of The Mermaid of Black Conch, on the lit-boom that’s happening on the Caribbean islandLast week, Trinidadian writer Lisa Allen-Agostini’s novel The Bread the Devil Knead landed a coveted spot on the Women’s prize shortlist. As a fellow Trinidadian... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-05-03 13:03:34 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #historical fiction #global stage #developing countries #literary world #prize shortlist #coveted spot #black conch


What is it Like to Be a Blind Writer Writing for Sighted Readers?

What is it like to be blind in an industry overwhelmingly dominated by sighted individuals? Jessica Powers, founder and publisher at Catalyst Press, spoke to George Mendoza and Kristen Witucki about crafting stories for sighted readers, finding community and release in fiction, and battling... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-04-28 08:58:13 UTC ]
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1968 signs first English translation of Becker-Ho's 'immensely important' work

Radical left publishing house 1968 Press has signed the first English translation of Alice Becker-Ho’s “immensely important” The First Ghetto. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-12-13 18:56:30 UTC ]
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Lost and Found in Translation: Storytelling and the Untranslatable, by Michał Rusinek

Essay Photo by Eileen Pan / Unsplash “Instead of a totalizing interpretation,” writes the author, translators should seek a dialogical one. “We have to leave space,” he writes, “for a story, an anecdote, a metaphorical footnote.” We all spend a... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2021-10-20 18:36:14 UTC ]
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Female Spanish thriller writer Carmen Mola revealed to be three men

Trio step out from behind pseudonym marketed as ‘Spain’s Elena Ferrante’ to accept €1m prizeA million euro literary prize has lured three Spanish men out of anonymity, to reveal that they are behind ultra-violent Spanish crime thrillers marketed as the work of “Spain’s Elena Ferrante”The men had... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2021-10-16 22:37:44 UTC ]
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Evaristo and Faulks among writers calling for translator cover credits

Bestselling authors including Bernardine Evaristo, Sebastian Faulks and Preti Taneja have called on writers to ask their publishers for translator names to appear on book covers. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-30 06:26:35 UTC ]
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Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival apologises for absence of female writers of colour

The organisers of the 2021 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival have apologised for not including any female writers of colour in the programme . Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-07-02 16:32:23 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #female writers