Mirabell, he say:
Quote:
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Get Sillanpää in print, guys. He's worth it.
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So, how would
you set about familiarising a British or American publisher with a Nobel prizewinner that could be re-translated or, at the very least, re-printed in English and German?
Have you any idea how difficult it is to get British and American publishing houses (with a few honourable exceptions) to take on
anything in translation?
You need a willing publisher, a willing translator (such as, maybe, David Hackston, Hildi Hawkins, David McDuff, or me in five years' time), funds to pay for the translation (usually coming from, in this case, FILI). And then, when the book comes out, you need reviewers on tap to review it in visible, mainstream publications. Otherwise the book will have a shelf life of two months, get remaindered, and sink without trace. The Pushkin Press, with its history of classics, is a likely press, or maybe Norvik.
Like the translation itself, getting the book into the shops is a
practical problem. Planning, strategy and execution, not just good ideas.