Collection Development Alert: Translated Books and Resources for Your Collection and Patron Service

Books in translation are hot. Some of the very best fiction from around the world, originally NOT published in English are starting to become more easily available.

In the last few days in particular, we have had a flurry of activity that is relevant to every single one of you reading this.

First, HarperCollins announced its new imprint, HarperVia which will focus on getting the best non-English international titles[mostly fiction] translated and onto American, British, and Australian  shelves. Click here for the full story from The Bookseller.

This is huge news. One of the big 5 is putting resources [monetary and editorial] into getting more books in translation into our market in a more efficient manner. I am quite excited about this news.

Second, the Man Booker International Prize was just announced. From their press release:

2019 longlist announced- Man Booker International Prize

The Man Booker International Prize has today, Wednesday 13 March, revealed the ‘Man Booker Dozen’ of 13 novels in contention for the 2019 prize, which celebrates the finest works of translated fiction from around the world. The prize is awarded every year for a single book, which is translated into English and published in the UK and Ireland. Both novels and short-story collections are eligible. Authors and translators are considered to be equally important, with the £50,000 prize being split between them. In addition, each shortlisted author and translator will receive £1,000. The judges considered 108 books. 2019 longlist is:Author (Original Language –Country/territory), translator, title (publisher/imprint)

• Jokha Alharthi (Arabic / Omani),  Marilyn Booth, Celestial Bodies (Sandstone Press Ltd)

• Can Xue (Chinese / Chinese), Annelise Finegan Wasmoen, Love In The New Millennium (Yale University Press)

• Annie Ernaux (French / French), Alison L. Strayer, The Years (Fitzcarraldo Editions)

• Hwang Sok-yong (Korean / Korean), Sora Kim-Russell, At Dusk (Scribe, UK)

• Mazen Maarouf (Arabic / Icelandic and Palestinian), Jonathan Wright, Jokes For The Gunmen (Granta, Portobello Books)

• Hubert Mingarelli (French / French), Sam Taylor, Four Soldiers (Granta, Portobello Books)

• Marion Poschmann (German / German), Jen Calleja, The Pine Islands (Profile Books, Serpent's Tail)

• Samanta Schweblin (Spanish / Argentine and Italian), Megan McDowell, Mouthful Of Birds (Oneworld)

• Sara Stridsberg (Swedish / Swedish), Deborah Bragan-Turner, The Faculty Of Dreams (Quercus, MacLehose Press)

• Olga Tokarczuk (Polish / Polish), Antonia Lloyd-Jones, Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead (Fitzcarraldo Editions)

• Juan Gabriel Vásquez (Spanish / Colombian), Anne McLean, The Shape Of The Ruins (Quercus, MacLehose Press)

• Tommy Wieringa (Dutch / Dutch), Sam Garrett, The Death Of Murat Idrissi (Scribe, UK)

• Alia Trabucco Zeran (Spanish / Chilean), Sophie Hughes, The Remainder (And Other Stories) 

The longlist was selected by a panel of five judges, chaired by Bettany Hughes, award-winning historian, author and broadcaster, and is made up of writer, translator and chair of English PEN Maureen Freely; philosopher Professor Angie Hobbs; novelist and satirist Elnathan John and essayist and novelist Pankaj Mishra. Bettany Hughes, chair of the 2019 Man Booker International Prize judging panel, said: ‘This was a year when writers plundered the archive, personal and political. That drive is represented in our longlist, but so too are surreal Chinese train journeys, absurdist approaches to war and suicide, and the traumas of spirit and flesh. We’re thrilled to share 13 books which enrich our idea of what fiction can do.’ The shortlist of six books will be announced on 9 April at an event at Somerset House in London, and the winner of the 2019 prize will be announced on 21 May at a dinner at the Roundhouse in London.

These are all titles you should consider adding to your collections. 13 titles to enhance your in translation collection, a collection that is only going to gain in popularity. These are solid titles, reviewed by experts that represent voices form all over the world.

Finally, it is important for you to stay up to date on trending areas of popular fiction even if you aren't able to buy many titles for these collections. Right now the best and most up to date coverage on what is happening in the world of transitions is found on Book Riot using their #In Translation tag. They not only have news and new releases, but they also provide reading lists like this one frequently.

Don't sleep on this trend. I have given you plenty here today to get started. Here is also a link to all of the times I have posted about books in translation in the past, and I noticed that those posts go back quite far into my archives.