UK charity BookTrust launches translated children’s fiction promotion

In the UK, children’s literacy charity BookTrust is launching an initiative to encourage the publication of more translated works for children, reports the Bookseller. The ‘In the Other Words’ initiative will see BookTrust pay for 10 sample translations of children’s fiction for six- to 12-year-olds, and present them to the UK publishing community at an event at next year’s Bologna Book Fair. Foreign publishers, agents and scouts are invited to submit work to be considered by a panel of expert judges, who will select the 10 titles to be translated, as well as four ‘honour titles’. The initiative also includes a grant of £1500 (A$2640) per book for any UK publisher acquiring rights to one of the texts. BookTrust CEO Diane Gerald said the initiative has drawn ‘an extremely positive response from publishers’. ‘We know children benefit enormously from reading widely and from stories set in other cultures, and now more than ever we are looking to diversify the books we offer children,’ said Gerald. Emma Langley from Arts Council England said the project aims to overcome ‘the cost of translation and of promoting overseas authors in the UK’. For more information on the initiative, click here.

Category: International news Junior