Exploring the changing world of literary translation

                                                                           

Nearly three weeks ahead of graduation and Victoria University of Wellington’s Sally-Ann Spencer has already won an international prize and secured a publishing deal for her PhD research.

On 10 December, the graduand will receive a Doctor of Philosophy in literary translation studies for her research into German-English literary translation in the digital age.

Sally-Ann turned her PhD research into a book proposal, which earlier this month won her the Women In German Studies Book Prize. The prize from the United Kingdom and Ireland-based organisation has led to a publishing deal with academic press Peter Lang.

Sally-Ann says her research is the first comprehensive study of the industry since 2000, during which time the book trade has undergone extensive changes, moving from traditional print medium into the digital space that includes e-books, online retail, literary blogs, new support schemes and digital marketing platforms.

Sally-Ann, who is a published German-English translator, wanted to draw on her practitioner’s experience as she investigated the industry’s transformation, its new technologies, strategies and subsequent challenges.

“First, I looked at German-English translation in a global context. I charted how publishers around the world are producing German-English translated books in new formats such as e-books and MP3 across a wide variety of genres,” she says.

The second part of her research investigated the new economics of digital German-English translation. “The translation industry relies on subsidies from cultural institutes and foreign governments. But at the same time translators have gained prestige and the official rates for literary translation are going up. My research shows this funding model lacks stability and isn’t sustainable in the long-term.

“Moreover, digital publishing brings with it new business models that ask the translator to take a greater share of the financial risk. There’s the potential for greater earnings, but at the expense of guaranteed payment.”

Sally-Ann also identified and evaluated new publishing models. For example, she noted internet retailer Amazon now publishes more literary translations annually than almost any other English-language publisher.

“But Amazon’s dominance isn’t stifling the market. By contrast, there’s a renewed attachment to printed books and live events in certain sectors. Some of the most successful models for publishing translations combine old and new technologies, such as beautiful print books published through crowd-funding.”

School of Languages and Cultures senior lecturer Dr Richard Millington says Sally-Ann’s research has the potential to be a valuable reference for literary translation and publishing professionals.

“Sally-Ann has not only analysed the challenges and opportunities of literary translation in the digital age, her thesis draws together useful information for practitioners from sources that are otherwise widely dispersed,” he says.