By Matías Fernández (translated from the Spanish by Emily Williams) Gabriela Adamo worked for a number of years as a literary editor for the celebrated imprint Sudamericana, now part of Random House Mondadori. When she left her editing post, she started off the new millennium working with TYPA, a non-profit institution that specializes in connecting Argentinian writers with editors abroad. …
A Little Bit of Brazil in Frankfurt
By Ricardo Costa In 2013, Brazil will be the Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair, and it’s not too early to consider what the country has to offer. With 220 million people and $2.5 billion in book sales for 2009, Brazil, has a book industry that is booming, one producing more titles –- with more efficiency –- and …
The American Gentleman: Roger Straus in Frankfurt
At first publisher Roger Straus was reticent to come to Germany for a book fair, but once he did, the legendary publisher made friends, struck deals, and left a lasting legacy. By Boris Kachka Roger W. Straus, Jr., the exuberant founder of Farrar, Straus & Giroux who died in 2004, carried himself like a born leader, a man who kept …
Want More Rights Deals and Translations? Try Taking Editors and Publishers Overseas
By Chad Post TURIN: “Let me tell you something: the U.S. market is closed to Italian books,” said Italian literary agent Marco Vigevani on a panel about translation at the Turin International Book Fair last month. “It may sound crazy,” he continued, “but I want you to face the facts. Yes, it used to be different. There were editors like …
Who is Your Favorite Foreign Rights Rep?
By Edward Nawotka Today’s lead story profiles Graham Cook who recently won the Rights Professional of the Year Award, sponsored by the Frankfurt Book Fair, at the UK Bookseller Industry Awards. Of course, that competition was limited to the UK. So tell us, who is your favorite foreign rights rep from around the world? Tell us a little bit about …
Beyond “Blokey” DIY: UK Rights Pro of the Year Graham Cook on Expanding Opportunities
By Liz Bury LONDON: In the eight years that Graham Cook has sold rights for Haynes he’s seen it transform from being “the car manual specialist” into a publisher with much broader reach. In its early days Haynes produced books about how to deconstruct and reassemble cars. Its range of customers was limited to car book publishers. Since branching into …
Selling Amanda Abroad: How Transmedia Storytelling Challenges Foreign Publishers, Licensees
By Siobhan O’Leary Translating and adapting a book to a foreign market can be a demanding enough task, but when it comes to transmedia storytelling, the process of “translating” a story world and attracting a following can pose even greater challenges — even if a book or series is already a proven success in its original language. It’s not so …
How Will Transmedia Storytelling Change Narrative?
By Edward Nawotka Today’s lead story discusses The Amanda Project and the challenges posed by translating it into foreign languages and transferring it into foreign markets. The challenges are not so much issues of translation, but of transference. How do you take a relatively open-platform, Web-based story, that is itself organic and changing, and transfer it into another culture and …
Expatland: On Working in Publishing in Switzerland, Australia
By Daniel Kalder In part three of Publishing Perspectives’ series on publishing professionals working abroad, Daniel Kalder, himself a Scot transplanted to Texas via Moscow — talks to two Americans who discuss their experiences working in publishing abroad and how it has enhanced their careers. Read parts one and two. Going Global in the Swiss Alps Natasha De Bernardi is …
The Translation Gap: Why More Foreign Writers Aren’t Published in America
By Emily Williams NEW YORK: Parts one, two and three of my series on scouting looked at American efforts to sell American books overseas. Today, this fourth and final installment of the series looks at the other side of the equation and brings us to a question most scouts run into sooner or later, often posed by one of their …