I did say I was made aware of this because of a link to my comments 
Larry Send a noteboard - 14/05/2010 09:09:34 PM
Larry Send a noteboard - 14/05/2010 09:09:34 PM
I'd say there's a good bit of coincidence in the matter, to be honest. Even in a language area like the Dutch one, where fantasy is rather popular and the bestsellers like Jordan, Martin and Goodkind sell tons of books as well, some authors are unheard of, for whatever reasons, while other authors who are nowhere near as famous in the Anglo-Saxon world do manage to get translated, or at least get sold in the original English. Why? Who knows. Better contacts with the right person, somebody in the big local publishing house picking up and liking some particular book, having the right timing, it can be so many things. Movie or television connections definitely help, too.
Oh, I agree to an extent, but I think some of it has to be due to regional/national tastes differing from linguistic area to linguistic area.
With regards to France and French, I'm not surprised by Dom's comments, France is still egocentric enough to mostly care about its own authors, and Quebec for obvious reasons is less so. Portugal is kind of interesting because Portugal itself is a small European country with a largely multilingual population, so you'd expect them to be very much in touch with the Anglo-Saxon world the way the Dutch-language world is. But then on the other hand you have Brazil, putting Portuguese in the top ten of the world's biggest languages, which puts the language in a position more like that of French.
I should introduce you to a few Brazilian authors/critics I've met in recent years. Their takes on the Brazilian market is surprising. It's a very nascent market from what I've seen. But I didn't say in any of the comments above that I do have more ties with both the Portuguese and Brazilian markets than what one might expect. Some of my columns and reviews have been/will be translated in a small, just-started Portuguese SF magazine called Dagon, and there's been quite a bit of discussion on Brazilian forums about my December 2009 review of the Brazilian Steampunk anthology. From what I've learned, it's much more akin to a workshopping/cutthroat environment than what is perceived to be the case in the larger Anglo-American markets.
I don't think the actual length of the books has much to do with it. I agree with Dom about the whole splitting up phenomenon having to do with book prices, and perhaps with not having to wait so long for a translation to be released. I do think fantasy has been bigger historically in the US than elsewhere (including the UK, I think). Even now, and now is already quite an evolution from twenty years ago I dare say, no fantasy book will ever make it into the top ten of any bestselling list here in Flanders, at least. They can sell well, but not *that* well. Mind, we do get lots of spec-fic-ish stuff on our bestselling lists - Shadow of the Wind was a ridiculous bestseller, Dan Brown obviously, and others. But real fantasy, no.
Of course, the issue of "real fantasy" is going to be a highly debatable choice. Something I might address in an essay later this year, but to read that one, it'll probably cost you the price of importing a book
Illusions fall like the husk of a fruit, one after another, and the fruit is experience. - Narrator, Sylvie
Je suis méchant.
Je suis méchant.
Interesting discussion on the series, for the few here who can understand it
- 13/05/2010 11:15:27 PM
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Speaking for my own culture...
- 14/05/2010 01:04:54 AM
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Nice counterpoints
- 14/05/2010 01:54:07 AM
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Re: Nice counterpoints
- 14/05/2010 10:53:33 PM
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But some translations are actually quite good
- 14/05/2010 11:38:19 PM
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Re: But some translations are actually quite good
- 15/05/2010 02:15:11 AM
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Have they finally released Monaldi & Sorti in the original Italian now?
- 15/05/2010 09:51:36 AM
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- 15/05/2010 09:51:36 AM
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Re: Have they finally released Monaldi & Sorti in the original Italian now?
- 15/05/2010 05:27:58 PM
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- 15/05/2010 05:27:58 PM
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Russia loves that sort of crap.
- 14/05/2010 03:59:52 PM
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After reading Alexey Pehov's first translated work, I can believe that 
*NM*
- 14/05/2010 04:12:07 PM
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*NM*
- 14/05/2010 04:12:07 PM
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You're just linking that because of the compliments they're making about you, admit it.
- 14/05/2010 09:00:35 PM
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- 14/05/2010 09:00:35 PM
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I did say I was made aware of this because of a link to my comments
- 14/05/2010 09:09:34 PM
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- 14/05/2010 09:09:34 PM
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