At two ends of the publishing continuum: Harvill Secker’s celebrates its (cumulative) centenary and Vagabond Voices

‘International Writing with a Wayward Streak’ is the headline in Booktrade.info announcing Harvill Secker’s approaching centenary celebrations in 2010.
From January through to December 2010, the Random House imprint Harvill Secker will be celebrating a centenary of publishing. Harvill Secker has published some of the most iconic and inspiring literary works of the last 100 years, [...]

Muggle and Quidditch in 67 languages, and counting…

At a unique event, summarising a 10-year translating phenomenon, all the translators of the Harry Potter books met in Paris to discuss “what was lost in translation” and to celebrate their shared experience.
To mark international literacy day on 8th September, a Unesco-backed inititiative turned Paris’s Institut de France into a Hogwarth’s workshop as scores of [...]

Happy birthday, Samuel

I missed his birthday on 7 September, but there’s a chance for more cake and 300 candles on 18 September (apparently after the change of calendar in 1752 he celebrated his birthday on 18 September).
There’s been so many wonderful Johnson features on radio and in the press, but I just wanted to comment on a [...]

Copyright debate on the day for the Google Settlement deadline

I know the Google Settlement is a hotly contentious issue which is vitally important to authors and probably of zero interest to most others.  But in fact it is going to introduce a whole new dimension for readers as well – especially those in the USA.
Today one of main UK radio news programme carried an [...]

“Marmalade for Comrade Philby”, or the dilemma of the translator’s share

At whisky distilleries the difference in quantity – but undoubtedly, also in quality – between a newly casked whisky and the resulting golden, mature liquid is known as the “angel’s share” (it is calculated as approximately 2% of the volume per year, but without this evaporation whisky wouldn’t be the magical brew that it is).
There’s [...]

European Union Prize for Literature makes its debut

The first tranche of prize-winning authors was announced yesterday for the new EU Prize for Literature.  This year’s awards have been presented to 12 authors from Austria, Croatia, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Sweden.
Another round will take place in 2010, with authors selected from Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Finland, [...]

Cover story in Solander

This piece appeared as the cover story for the latest issue of Solander.
More than a Matter of Words: Lucinda Byatt looks at four Italian historical novels in translation
I’ve included the full article on a separate page (click to read it here)
Just to whet your appetite, the novels I’ve chosen are The Leopard,  The Name of [...]

Gifted amateurs

I caught up the other day with an article that appeared in last Saturday’s Guardian.  (N.B.  It always takes me most of the week to work through the weekend papers, which is why I only buy papers on Saturdays – Guardian, Telegraph and FT – while I can afford it, because the price keeps rising [...]

The BBC World Service is at a turning point

I’m sorry that I haven’t posted on this earlier but – like many interesting topics – I came across the whole question by chance.  Having read a little more about the issues involved, the whole subject  seems so fundamental that I hope as many readers as possible will follow it for themselves and sign the [...]

Pound of Flesh

Giving a new twist to the usual flurry of New Year’s resolutions to lose a pound or two of excess weight, a rather bizarre exhibition trial was staged in New York recently. As was widely reported, both in the New Yorker and on Radio 4’s Today programme, the Shylock v Antonio proceedings were -

held [...]