Literary Translation Lifecycles

This collection examines how translated books come into being and circulate across languages.

Using Dutch as a case study of a source language at the margins of the world literary system, the volume sets out an innovative conceptual framework for understanding the making of translated literature, covering discovery, selection, acquisition, translation, production, marketing, and reception. It brings together fifteen accounts of recent literary works translated from Dutch, spanning five genres and fourteen different target languages. This comparative approach, keeping the focus on the same source language at the periphery of the world literary system across examples, allows for a deeper look into the numerous agents involved in the lifecycle of a translated book, including translators, editors, agents, rights managers, marketing staff, and government representatives. Chapters explore the connections between production-side decisions and how translated books were ultimately received in the market, from success stories and breakthroughs to works that faced delays, setbacks, or limited uptake, thereby illustrating a variety of trajectories within the global translation system. Taken together, the collection provides a comprehensive picture of the circulation of Dutch literature in translation and contributes to broader discussions on the translation of less widely studied languages.

This book will appeal to scholars in translation studies and world literature, particularly those interested in literary translation, the sociology of translation, and translation publishing.