On Tuesday January 5^th, 2010, Three Percent, the online resource for international literature, announced the 2010 Best Translated Fiction Award longlist. The list, compiled by nine scholar-panelists, comprises 25 of the top-nominated international books that have been translated into English and published in the United States in the past 12 months. It includes authors from 24 different countries, writing in 17 different languages, and published by 15 different publishers.

Three Percent, launched in 2007 by the University of Rochester’s translation program and Open Letter Books, is a self-proclaimed “place for students to present their translations and reviews, as well as a place to cultivate the next generation of literary enthusiasts.” According to the site, only about 3% of all books published in the United States are works in translation – hence the origin of their name. However, that 3% figure includes all books in translation – in terms of literary fiction and poetry, the number is actually closer to 0.7%. The University offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in literary translation studies.

The longlist, available here, was narrowed down on Tuesday, February 16^th, to a shortlist, containing the top ten fiction books in translation published this past year. Also on that day, Three Percent announced the ten titles in poetry nominated for the 2010 Best Translated Book Award in poetry. The ten fiction finalists can be found here, and the ten poetry finalists here. On Wednesday, March 10^th, 2010, the winning books in each of the two categories will be announced. Last year’s winners were the fiction novel Tranquility by Attila Bartis, translated from the Hungarian, and the book of poetry For the Fighting Spirit of the Walnut by Takashi Hiraide, translated from the Japanese. The books were respectively published by Archipelago Books and New Directions.

Look at the list and you will notice that most of the titles included have been published by independent and, relatively small book publishers. Coincidence? Well, the simple answer may be that the care and interest that fuels the publishing of translated foreign language books is motivated by the desire to introduce great literature of the world to the English-speaking-and-reading public. This is a goal that does not often coincide with the interests of the big publishing houses, whose money-hungry habits are perpetuated by the necessity to see big returns on their investments. The big publishers have little interest in introducing readers to new writers; they want only to release books that will sell in massive quantities. However, the independent publishing houses that are putting out translated works in America are doing so with an enthusiasm that is hard to find from any of the big houses.

Accordingly, it should be no surprise that most of the publishers of books included in the list are either not-for-profit organizations or presses managed by universities. It is not by coincidence that many of the publishers found on Three Percent’s list are continual contributors of titles included on each previous annual Best Translated Book Award list, as well as many other award lists, such as NPR’s and The Independent’s. Though few, the independent book presses that publish translated fiction remain strong and dedicated. Among the presses most commonly found on the list are Dalkey Archive, Archipelago, Open Letter, New Directions, Melville House, and various university presses, such as Northwestern and Columbia.

Dalkey Archive Press, founded in Chicago in 1984, began by publishing reprints of lost masterpieces and little-known translations by writers who were overlooked by the mainstream critical establishment. Soon after, they began releasing original works that had not before been published. In December 2006, Dalkey Archive relocated to the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana to be part of the university’s commitment to global projects that complement the Press’s commitment to translations.

At the start of this year, Dalkey Archive released 2010 Best European Fiction, the inaugural issue of an annual anthology of short stories from across Europe. Bosnian novelist and MacArthur “Genius-Award” winner Aleksandar Hemon edited the first book in the series, which includes 35 writers from 30 countries. According to Hemon, “American literature is crippled by the shortage of available translations.” Dalkey archive published about three to four books of fiction, poetry, and essays each month, a great majority of which are translated works from all over the world.

Archipelago Books is a not-for-profit press devoted to publishing translations of classic and contemporary world literature. Archipelago’s release of Tranquility by Attila Bartis, translated from the Hungarian by Imre Goldstein, was selected by Three Percent as the winner of the 2009 Best Translated Book Award.

Open Letter Books is the literary publishing house operated by the University of Rochester, where students and faculty in the Literary Translations program work to connect readers with international works of literature. Both Open Letter and Archipelago annually publish twelve books, most of which are novels or short story collections.

New Directions Publishing is, along with Dalkey Archive, one of the United States’ most prolific publishers of translated fiction. Founded in 1936 by a 22-year-old Harvard sophomore, New Directions has earned its reputation as one of the most well respected independent book publishers in the country. Today they publish about 30 books each year of work by both foreign authors and English authors alike, including such writers as Franz Kafka, Jorge Luis Borge, W. G. Sebald, and Roberto Bolaño.

Now that you know a little more about the small publishers behind some of the country’s best translated fiction, visit the Three Percent website to take a look at the books nominated for the 2010 Best Translated Book Award and support literary translation.

Michael Filippone is a senior at Drexel University. He is studying Music Industry.

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