Chinese, Lebanese Writers Among Finalists for Man Booker International Prize

In What's the Buzz by Edward Nawotka

The finalists for the biennial Man Booker International Prize have been announced. The winner — who receives £60,000 pounds — will be announced at the Sydney Writers Festival on May 18. Unlike the Booker prize, the award is open to living authors writing in English or those whose works are generally available in an English translation. If applicable, the winner can opt …

Book Review: Agaat by Marlene Van Niekerk (South Africa)

In Book Review by Gwendolyn Dawson

By Gwendolyn Dawson At the beginning of this epic novel, seventy-year-old Milla de Wet is confined to her bed. Once the strong and competent owner of a successful farm inherited from her mother, Milla suffers from A.L.S. and now is left with only the ability to blink her eyes and, after a while, not even that. Milla is entirely dependent on …

Publishing in Turkey: Expanding Horizons Between East and West

In Growth Markets by Chip Rossetti

With increased publishing professionalization and unique ability to bridge multiple cultures, Turkey is gaining credibility as a regional force. By Chip Rossetti In the field of publishing, Turkey’s international profile has risen dramatically in the last six years, particularly following Orhan Pamuk’s winning of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2006, and Turkey’s selection as the Guest of Honor at …

Book Review: On Elegance While Sleeping by Viscount Emilio Tegui

In Book Review by Gwendolyn Dawson

By Gwendolyn Dawson Emilio Lascano Tegui (1887-1966) was, at various times during his eventful life, an Argentinean, a Parisian, a self-labeled viscount, a translator, a journalist, a curator, a painter, a decorator, a diplomat, a mechanic, an orator, a dentist, and, fortunately for us, a writer. Tegui’s 1925 novel On Elegance While Sleeping, a cult classic in Argentina, Tegui’s home country, …

Mathias Énard’s ‘Zone’: Brilliance in a Single 517 Page Sentence

In Book Review by Guest Contributor

By Dennis Abrams It really shouldn’t work at all — Matias Énard’s Zone. This novel, the story of Francis Servain Mirkovic, fighter in the Balkan Wars, spy, and amateur historian, traveling from Milan to Rome by train, carrying a briefcase filled with names, photos, and information about the violent history of the lands surrounding the Mediterranean – the “Zone,” as …

Arabic and Hebrew: The Politics of Literary Translation

In Growth Markets by Olivia Snaije

This article is part of a series on publishing in the Middle East which is sponsored by the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. By Olivia Snaije Anyone involved in the art of translation knows the delicate balancing act it entails: remaining faithful to the original text but allowing the work to stand on its own in its new incarnation. It also …

Does Translation Have the Power to Change the World?

In Discussion by Edward Nawotka

By Edward Nawotka Israel and the Arab World . . . never the twain shall meet? Perhaps. But if anything has the power to change people’s minds, books do. Israel and the Arab World…never the twain shall meet? Perhaps, but — as discussed in today’s lead story — literary translation between the two cultures will surely help each side understand …