By Erin L. Cox, Publisher | @erinlcox
Last week, guest contributor Chad Post wrote about the recently-launched Literary Arts Fund in the United States which was founded last October to give away $50 million over five years to the nonprofit literary arts, including many translation publishers who have been impacted by the cuts to the National Endowment of the Arts.Around the world, there are a number of government and private institutions that support the publication of books in translation. In this series, Publishing Perspectives will highlight funding opportunities for publishers who are looking to bring books in translation to readers in their market.
The Sheikh Zayed Book Award is one of the Arab World’s most prestigious and well-funded prizes. In 2018, the award launch a translation fund initiative to support the publication of not only winning but also shortlisted titles in the Literature and Children’s categories by publishers in countries outside the Middle East.
The goal of the translation funding initiative is to promote the spread of Arabic literature around the world. The grant provides financial funding of up to $19,000 USD per title and is available to all publishing houses working to publish books in foreign languages.
This year’s titles for consideration are:
- Winner of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award in Literature – Births in the Zoo by Egyptian author, judge, and legal scholar Ashraf Elashmawy. The book is a satirical allegory of contemporary Egypt which portrays the Giza zoo as a microcosm of Egyptian society. Elashmawy’s works have been published in English, French, German, Japanese and Italian translations, including a series of English translations of his novels by the American University in Cairo’s Hoopoe Press.
- Fourrure by Iraqi author Nizar Abdulsattar sees its protagonist tracing the legacy of his mother from the Moulin Rouge cabaret in Baghdad to Egypt, Lebanon, and finally London, where he becomes immersed in the world of Christie’s auction house and the inner workings of the art market. Abdulsattar was previously shortlisted for the Sheikh Zayed Book Award in 2019 for his novel The Sequin Embroidery.
- Secret of the Al Za‘farana by Saudi author Badriah Albeshr portrays three generations of Bedouin women to create a tapestry of women’s lives in Bedouin society. In the novel, a young girl becomes a gifted storyteller, retelling women’s stories passed down through generations. The novel offers varied depictions of women’s lives in past and present Arab societies, celebrating the importance of women’s solidarity.
For information about additional titles, check out the Rights Guide featuring past winners and shortlisted books available for translation funding or visit their page on Frankfurt Rights.