Metaglossia: The Translation World

Recently reissued Basti by Pakistani Intizar Husain, arguably 'the finest novel on Partition,' underscores the numerous difficulties of literary translation.

Many writers wonder about the various paths to publication. Is pursuing a traditional publisher the best route for their work, or should they consider the alternate paths that have become seemingly more accessible with the digital age?

A futurist author could help direct the publishing future. David Houle, author of “Entering the Shift Age,” is participating with Naperville-based Sourcebooks Inc. in an initiative that could redefine the definition of a book and how books are published. Sourcebooks refers to it as its “agile publishing model,” which seeks to hasten the publishing process, to shape a book's content as it's being written through feedback from an interactive community of readers and to nurture branding by releasing advance segments of the book in progress. Houle's book will be the first published under the Sourcebooks initiative — among at least a few innovative and interactive approaches that writers and publishers are attempting to further bring the market into the 21st century.

Houle is an Emmy and Peabody Award winner and keynote speaker who advises CEOs on future and global trends. He said the agile publishing model suits his subject matter well. In "Entering the Shift Age," for example, he asserts that humanity is transitioning from the Information Age to the Shift Age, a time of change and transformation — in which, as the book description says, "the speed of change is so fast that change itself is the new norm."

Google, publishers shelve book-scanning suit

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP

SAN FRANCISCO -Google and major book publishers have settled a lengthy legal battle over digital copyrights, but a bigger dispute still looms with thousands of authors who allege that Google is illegally profiting from their works.

The truce announced Thursday ends a federal lawsuit filed in 2005 by several members of the Association of American Publishers after Google Inc. began stockpiling its Internet search index with digital duplicates of books scanned from libraries.

Google has maintained that its scanning is covered by fair-use provisions of copyright law, although it offered to remove specific books from its index upon request. It also showed only snippets of the copyrighted books unless permission was given to show more.

Publishers and authors, however, insisted that Google needed explicit permission from them before making the digital copies, let alone showing even snippets of text from the books on Google's website.

Google worked out a $125 million settlement with publishers and authors in 2008, only to have a federal judge in New York reject it after the U.S. Justice Department and other critics contended that it would thwart competition in the rapidly growing digital book market and flout U.S. copyright law.

One of the reasons that settlement unraveled was because it would have given Google broad authority to copy books, unless an author or publisher notified the company not to make the duplicate.

Publishers Settle Long-Running Lawsuit Over Google's Book-Scanning Project
By Jennifer Howard
After a seven-year legal battle, American publishers and Google have come to terms over the company's ambitious book-digitizing project. A settlement of the publishers' copyright-infringement lawsuit, announced on Thursday by the Association of American Publishers and Google, "will provide access to publishers' in-copyright books and journals digitized by Google for its Google Library Project," according to the groups' statement, and "acknowledges the rights and interests of copyright-holders."

Litigation over the book project continues, however, between a group of authors and Google.

Under the settlement, American publishers can now opt to remove their copyrighted books and journals from Google's library project or choose to make them available for use and sale. Beyond that, the statement offered few details, not revealing what commercial terms Google and the publishers have reached.

"It's now clear that we can choose to make our works available or remove them from the project," Tom Allen, president of the publishers' association, said in an interview. "We think this clarifies a lot." Under the deal, publishers that do not remove their copyrighted material from the project can get a digital copy to use.

London, October 1 (ANI): Readers are paying far more for some ebooks than for the hardback versions, according to a new survey of bestselling fiction and non-fiction sold by online retailer Amazon.
Consumers say that electronic versions should be cheaper because they cost nothing to produce, store or transport, it said.
JK Rowling's new book for adults, The Casual Vacancy, costs 9 pounds if ordered on Amazon with its discount of 11 pounds on the original publisher's price. The ebook version, however, is being sold on the same website for 11.99 pounds, it revealed.
The Chronicles of Downton Abbey, a book sold alongside the TV series, costs 10 pounds in hardcover but 12.99 pounds for Kindle - an increase of almost a third, the survey found.
Publishers admit they save more than five per cent on titles sold as ebooks, although they pay extra in value-added tax for the electronic versions.
"A price of 2-3 pounds off the average selling price, including discounts, would be a fair price that the public would be more willing to pay for ebooks," the Daily Mail quoted Tom Tivnan, from industry experts The Bookseller, as saying.
"If you can get The Casual Vacancy for 10 pound in hardback, publishers should try to price the ebook around 7 pound -8 pound," he added.
The survey of Amazon sales found the biggest differences in price were for non-fiction titles.
Comedian David Mitchell's autobiography, titled David Mitchell: Back Story, is available for pre-order as an ebook for 12.99 pound - almost 30 per cent more than the price of 10 pound for the hardback version.
Olympic gold medal-winning cyclist Victoria Pendleton's autobiography, Between the Lines, costs 12 pound in hardback but 12.99 pound for kindle.

E-book price fixing a concern for libraries
High prices, publishers' refusal to sell to libraries limits e-books available to checkout
Callie Jones, Journal-Advocate staff writer
Posted: 09/13/2012 03:22:28 PM MDT

STERLING -- As e-books are increasingly taking the place of print copies, it's becoming more and more difficult for libraries to get books.
Parks, Library and Recreation director Jody Hungenberg discussed the challenge libraries are facing during a PLR board meeting on Tuesday.

Douglas County Libraries is trying to combat the problem. One of the things they're doing is creating monthly reports showing how much more libraries have to pay for e-books compared to consumers, based on prices from the top suppliers for libraries and consumers.

The Association of American Publishers and The Asia Foundation's Books for Asia program honor improvements in worldwide literacy with a joint event at the...

Cambridge University Press just launched a new API that is meant to make it easy for developers to add data from a variety of the organization’s dictionaries to their own sites and mobile apps. With the launch of this API, Cambridge University Press is following in the footsteps of other well-known dictionary publishers like Merriam-Webster and the Oxford English Dictionary, as well as startups like Wordnik.

The service gives developers access to API methods like “get an entry,” “get pronunciation” and “get thesaurus list.” Developers can take the API for a spin on the company’s demo site.

Dominic Glennon, Cambridge Dictionaries’ reference systems manager, said in a canned quote today: “The API makes our dictionary data easily available to any developer with a good idea and we can’t wait to see what they do with it. The API is language-independent – developers with any platform can use the API, and the only requirement is that the user has a working internet connection.”

The dictionaries that are accessible through Cambridge’s API are the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, Cambridge Dictionary of American English, Cambridge Business English Dictionary, Cambridge Learner’s English-Turkish Dictionary and the Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary.

An Update on the Case Against Turkish Translator and Publisher of Burroughs’ The Soft Machine
BY HARRIET STAFF

At her Translationista blog, Susan Bernofsky shares the latest update on the case against the Turkish translator (Süha Sertabiboğlu) and publisher (İrfan Sancı) of William S. Burrough’s 1961 novel The Soft Machine (Yumuşak Makine). As we noted previously, the two have been on trial in Istanbul for obscenity charges since June 2011. Bernofsky writes:
Various phases of the trial were postponed several times over the past year, but now, Sertabiboğlu informs me, a conclusion has been reached. Unfortunately it is an utterly inconclusive one. Acting on a new law recently passed by the Turkish parliament, the court declared that the trial will be considered indefinitely on hold as long as translator and publisher do not repeat their “crime” of publishing “offensive” books. I asked Sertabiboğlu what his plans were, and learned that early next month he will be publishing Lisede Kan ve Yürek, a translation of Kathy Acker’s Blood and Guts in High School, which prominently features an incestuous relationship. I’m afraid we probably haven’t heard this last of this trial. Watch this space for updates. And if you wish to protest on behalf of our Turkish colleagues, you’ll find the appropriate addresses here.
Image above: Turkish editions of The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs and Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk, from PEN.org.

There are so many good reasons not to write a novel. I'm busy with my day job, I'm stressed, I'm tired, it's too hard, some day I'll get round to it, but not today. But if it's your dream, the thing you've promised yourself faithfully you'll do before you turn up your toes, how do you get started? I've completed six novels - the latest When In Rome (Orion, $36.99) is published this week - and often meet aspiring writers who ask exactly that. My short response is: just sit down and do it. Set yourself a target, even if it's only 1000 words a week, stick to it faithfully no matter what else is going on in your life, and eventually you'll have the first draft of a book. Will it be any good? Will it get published? Ah, well that's where things start to get more complicated.

Peter Davison, the editor of The Complete Works of George Orwell, discusses its troubled genesis and what might loosely be called the autobiography Orwell never wrote--his Diaries and A Life in Letters--now to be published for the first time in the...

Whether you are a new author, a seasoned professional, or anywhere in between, we can help connect you with top publishers throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Australia. We have an untouchable record of success in finding top publishers for our clients. It’s your dream. Your book. Now, together, let’s get it published!

Most self-published books don’t sell a lot of copies. But it’s easier than ever to try one’s luck.

Not long ago, an aspiring book writer rejected by traditional publishing houses had only one alternative: vanity publishing. For $5,000 or $10,000, or sometimes much more, he could have his manuscript edited and published, provided that he agreed to buy many copies himself, often a few thousand or more. They typically ended up in the garage.
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Minh Uong/The New York Times
Digital technology has changed all that. A writer turned down by traditional publishers — or even avoiding them — now has a range of options. Among them are self-publishing a manuscript as an e-book; self-publishing through myriad companies that print on demand, in which a paperback or hardcover book is printed each time it is purchased; and buying an array of services, from editing and design to marketing and publicity, from what are known as assisted self-publishing companies.

“It’s the Wild West in a lot of ways — people who are innovators can do remarkable things,” said Mark Levine, whose own self-published book, “The Fine Print of Self-Publishing,” is now in its fourth edition.

Startup bookseller Zola Books rose from the war between competing e-book systems regarding open source versus closed source books. Conflict also arises between competing mobile reading platforms from Barnes and Noble (NYSE: BKS), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL). Zola Books plans to revolutionize the industry, according to CEO Joseph Regal.

In an interview with Benzinga, Regal said his next step was “going live." Regal went on to say, "We have 6 months worth of tasks scheduled and a mature version of Zola Books needs to be ready next month."

Regal may have a monumental task ahead of him. Obstacles will include negotiating with publishers and bookstores and converting thousands of books to Html5. Zola Books is going to be an open retailer with a universal format, as Zola's Html5 books will be compatible with the iPad, Kindle, Nook and Kobo.

Read more: http://www.benzinga.com/general/topics/12/08/2831096/zola-books-to-revolutionize-e-book-market#ixzz23XfScmF0

The Indira Gandhi National Open University’s (IGNOU) School of Humanities (SOH) offers admission in post graduate diploma in book publishing (PGDBP). The programme is meant to provide an opportunity for self employment to aspiring/ practicing publishing professionals for skill upgradation/ skill acquisition in various aspects of publishing.

The programme aims at training aspiring publishing professionals in marketable skills in the various areas of publishing, including specialised editing, copy-editing and proof reading online, marketing, distribution, sales, et al.

AS the 2012 indigenous language programme begins next week across the country, legislators have expressed the need for greater emphasis on minority languages, especially those at the brink of extinction.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Culture and Tourism and leader of the delegation, Senator Ahmed Hassan Barata, on oversight tour of the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO), organisers of the language programme, pointed out that most languages in the South/South, North East and North Central geo-political zones are more likely to suffer extinction in the near future.

Recalling the lingering crises in the Jos, Plateau State, which many have blamed on internal migration, Barata warned that unless some urgent steps are taken to revitalise most minority languages and groups across the federation, many Nigerians may lose their identities and consequently, impose themselves on others.

The language training programme was initiated in 2007 with only three main Nigerian languages in the syllabus, including Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. The number was later increased to include some minority languages such as Efik, Fulfulde, Gbagyi, Izon, Nupe as well as Tiv to enable more people benefit from the programme.

Earlier, the Executive Secretary, NICO, Dr. Barclays Ayakoroma, briefed lawmakers on some of the Institute’s programmes and projects. While some of the programmes have been successfully implemented this year, the on-going capital projects appeared to be foot-dragging due to paucity of fund. One of such projects, he said, was the Institute’s permanent site, which ought to have been completed.

He also highlighted some of the measures taken to increase the number of state offices from six to nine across the federation. While some of the new offices have been allocated office blocks, about two – Niger and Gombe, are in the process of taking off.

Internship in Publishing Literary Translations (Arabic)
3-month fulltime internship offered by the Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World (CASAW, University of Edinburgh) and funded by the AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council, UK).

Internship at Arabia Books, 70 Cadogan Place, London SW1X 9AH, www.arabiabooks.co.uk. Fulltime (Mon-Fri, 9am-5am), October – December 2012 (with slight flexibility on dates)

We are offering a versatile internship with a lot of opportunities to work independently. The Internship will primarily involve Editorial work with a contemporary literary text translated from the Arabic, though the successful applicant will have an overview of the entire publishing process. This is a great opportunity for those looking to begin a career in publishing, as you will gain an insight into the operations of a publishing house, as well as valuable contacts and hands-on experience.

Applicants must have a Masters degree or the equivalent or higher from a UK HEI, or be enrolled in a PhD programme at a UK HEI, and be able to secure a leave from studies for the period of the internship. Eligibility follows AHRC PG studentship guidelines.

The successful applicant will have excellent written and spoken English, good communication and organisational skills, be proficient in MS Office and have a passion for publishing and literature in translation, particularly Arabic literature. Experience in Arabic-to-English literary translation is desirable.

Translations are emerging as the new big story in Tamil publishing.Polemical political writing to self-help guides to classics from other languages, Indian and European, are now being translated into Tamil.

For those of us who like to understand a little bit about the theoretical basis of our practice, the Routledge Translation Studies portal offers extensive resources to scholars and teachers of translation, including video and audio interviews and lectures, sample chapters from key publications, exercises, glossaries, and other very useful material from the likes of Lawrence Venuti, Mona Baker, Anthony Pym and many more.

Voici une présentation des livres disponibles dans trente-trois langues parlées dans les pays d’Afrique francophone, écrites avec des caractères basés dans l’alphabet latin - on peut lire une brève présentation générale de l’édition jeunesse en langues maternelles africaines dans « Langues et lecture dans les bibliothèques africaines ».
Certains ouvrages s’adressent spécifiquement aux jeunes, d’autres à un public plus large incluant les jeunes. Ils sont parfois bilingues français.
Cette bibliographie se veut exhaustive mais très certainement, d’autres éditeurs et d’autres titres existent. Par avance merci de nous contacter et nous les faire connaître, et nous pourrons ainsi compléter ce répertoire : les nouveaux livres seront présentés, dans le futur, dans la Bibliographie Afrique, comme les livres en français et bilingues.
Il n’est pas facile de trouver des renseignements sur des éditions en langues africaines, ni d’obtenir les livres. Ainsi, pour certains titres présentés, les informations que nous donnons sont moins complètes. Mais justement parce qu’il est ardu de connaître ces éditions, il nous a semblé important de signaler toutes les informations que nous avons, même parcellaires et même si nous n’avons pas pu voir ou lire le livre – ceci est une exception unique à la pratique du Centre national de la littérature de jeunesse – La Joie par les livres, de toujours publier ses propres critiques, issues d’un comité de lecture qui a examiné un ouvrage, présent dans son catalogue. Les notices critiques ne provenant pas de la rédaction de Takam Tikou sont citées entre guillemets et suivies de la mention du lieu de provenance.
Les ouvrages sont classés par langue - selon le nom le plus répandu de la langue, suivi des autres appellations. Pour savoir quelles sont les langues parlées dans un pays, on peut consulter le site Ethnologue ; la Bibliothèque nationale de France propose, elle, un choix important de sites Internet sur les langues africaines.

Iranian translator and author Mohammad Baghaei (Makan) believes that parallel translations are caused due to the publishers or translators who aren’t aware of their colleague's works.

Google Penguin – Friend or Foe? The April 2012 Google Penguin update will go down in record books as one of the major shake-ups that rocked the Internet world in 2012.

Knowledge of the nature of African publishing helps us better to understand the context of African literatures. Language policies and realities in African countries are complex, often controversial, and influence patterns of publishing and writing. This situation is tied to the diverse languages spoken in territories carved under colonialism, but also to national and international power relations as well as economic and educational policies pursued since independence. This useful book explores the trends, problems and opportunities of publishing in the many and varied languages of Africa from the varying perspective of publisher, writer, and state, and raises important themes for H-AfrLitCine members to ponder.

Language is a crucial vector and symbol of identity and social participation. Educationalists generally agree that learning and associated publication in first languages effectively promotes and maintains literacy. Yet the problems facing local or indigenous publishers in Africa are legion. In this book, eight well-qualified scholars and publishers share their knowledge and experience of the literary, historical, educational, social, economic, and political dimensions of publishing in the face of these problems. They present case studies from Tanzania and Kenya (Swahili), Ethiopia, Southern Africa, Francophone West Africa, and Nigeria. Introductory and concluding chapters discuss broader issues of language and publishing. A chapter on India's successes in local language publishing adds a comparative vista.

The practice of African language publishing influences the nature of African literatures [1], education, and politics. Literary awards such as the Nobel, Commonwealth Literature, and even the Africa-centric Noma prizes rarely go to writers in African languages that are, after all, spoken by the majority of Africans. The fragility of African publishing is an indicator of the state of African economies. In 1981, 'the vast continent of Africa, with ten percent of the world population, produced a meager two percent of the global output of books'.[2] A decade later, Africa's share was one percent, with seventy percent of its book needs imported.[3] On the other hand, whereas world linguistic surveys point to growing language rationalization (consolidation into major languages) and a decline in the number of living languages, African languages continue to reproduce and generate ever-new dialects and lingua francas.[4]