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Publishing Translated Books for Young Readers in Australia

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Abstract

This article examines the various factors (beyond simply the perceived cultural and economic value) that influence a book being selected for translation and publication in the English language. More specifically, this article asks, “What influences the prospects of a book for young readers being published in translation in Australia?” Using a combination of literature review, the collection of publication data about translated books for young readers, and interviews with industry professionals, it was determined that there are three factors that influence a book being selected for translation and publication. These factors are the global language hierarchy, narrative structures and relationships.

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Appendix A: Books for Young Readers Published in Translation in Australia, 1993–2020

Appendix A: Books for Young Readers Published in Translation in Australia, 1993–2020

No

Title

Author

Year of Original Publication

Original Publisher

Original Language

Translator

Year of Australian Publication

Australian Publisher

Source of Translator

Genre/Summary

Page Count

1

Falling

Anne Provoost

1997

Houtekiet

Flemish

John Nieuwenhuizen

1997

Allen & Unwin

Australia

YA, post-WWII political conflicts, historical fiction

288

2

The Baboon King

Anton Quintana

1993

Wolters-Noordhoff BV

Flemish

John Nieuwenhuizen

1998

Allen & Unwin

Australia

Coming-of-age, survival, adventure, living among animals

192

3

And What About Anna

Jan Simoen

1999

Querido’s Uitgeverij BV

Flemish

John Nieuwenhuizen

2001

Allen & Unwin

Australia

YA, Coming-of-age, family drama

254

4

Against the Odds

Marjolijn Hof

2006

Querido Kinderboek

Flemish

Johanna H Prins

2001

Allen & Unwin

Canada

Juvenile fiction, survival, missing family member, war

144

5

Sleep Tight, Baboon Bear

Bette Westera

2001

Uitgeverij Hillen

Flemish

John Nieuwenhuizen

2001

Allen & Unwin

Australia

Juvenile fiction, sleeping over at a different house

24

6

The Book of Everything

Guys Kuijer

2004

Querido’s Uitgeverij BV

Flemish

John Nieuwenhuizen

2006

Allen & Unwin

Australia

Coming-of-age, family problems, domestic violence

123

7

With a Sword in My Hand

Jean-Claude van Rijckeghem and Pat van Beirs

2009

Uitgeverij Manteau/Standaard Uitgeverij, Antwerpen

Flemish

John Nieuwenhuizen

2010

Allen & Unwin

Australia

YA, fourteenth century historical fiction, romance

276

8

Mouse Mansion: Sam and Julia

Karina Shaanman

2011

Rubinstein Publishing

Flemish

in-house staff

2012

Allen & Unwin

Netherlands

Juvenile fiction, adventure, mice, friendship

58

9

Mouse Mansion 2: Sam and Julia at the Theatre

Karina Shaanman

2011

Rubinstein Publishing

Flemish

in-house staff

2013

Allen & Unwin

Unknown

Juvenile fiction, adventure, mice, friendship

65

10

Mouse Mansion 3: Sam and Julia at the Circus

Karina Shaanman

2011

Rubinstein Publishing

Flemish

in-house staff

2014

Allen & Unwin

Unknown

Juvenile fiction, adventure, mice, friendship

65

11

Nine Open Arms

Benny Lindelauf

2004

Querido’s Uitgeverij BV

Flemish

John Nieuwenhuizen

2014

Allen & Unwin

Australia

Coming-of-age, family/sisters, “house with a past”

257

12

Monster Nanny

Tuutikki Tolonen

2015

Tammi Publishers

Finnish

País Pitkanen

2020

Allen & Unwin

U.S.A

Juvenile fiction, fantasy, adventure, siblings

298

13

Ultimate Game

Christian Lehmann

1996

L’Ecole de Loisirs

French

William Rodarmor

1999

Allen & Unwin

U.S.A

Sci-fi, videogames, war-games, fantasy adventure, YA

168

14

The Killer’s Tears

Anne-Laure Bondoux

2003

Bayard Editions Jeunesse

French

Y. Maudet

2007

Allen & Unwin

U.S.A

YA, realistic fiction, mystery/crime

162

15

And Picasso Painted Guernica

Alain Serres

2007

Rue du Monde

French

Rosalind Price

2010

Allen & Unwin

Australia

Non-fiction, art education, art history

52

16

Press Here

Hervé Tullet

2010

Bayard Editions Jeunesse

French

Hervé Tullet

2011

Allen & Unwin

Author

Picture book, tactile book, sensations, colours

56

17

Mix It Up

Hervé Tullet

2014

Bayard Editions Jeunesse

French

Hervé Tullet

2014

Allen & Unwin

Author

Picture book, mixing colours

32

18

Let’s Play

Hervé Tullet

2016

Bayard Editions Jeunesse

French

Hervé Tullet

2016

Allen & Unwin

Author

Picture book, colours, shapes

60

19

Say Zoop

Hervé Tullet

2017

Bayard Editions Jeunesse

French

Hervé Tullet

2017

Allen & Unwin

Author

Picture book, making noises

64

20

Erebos

Ursula Poznanski

2010

Loewe Verlag

German

Judith Pattison

2012

Allen & Unwin

Australia

YA, dystopia, video-games

486

21

Mimus

Lilli Thal

2003

Gerstenberg Verlag

German

John Brownjohn

2005

Allen & Unwin

U.K

Middle grade/YA, adventure, historical fantasy

394

22

Dark Hours

Gudrun Pausewang

2006

Ravensburger Buchverlag

German

John Brownjohn

2006

Allen & Unwin

U.K

WWII, YA, family, siblings

198

23

Red Rage

Brigitte Blobel

2006

cbj Verlag

German

Rachel Ward

2007

Allen & Unwin

U.K

YA, coming-of-age, teen angst, anger at family/world

254

24

The Island

Armin Greder

2002

sauerlander verlag

German

Armin Greder

2007

Allen & Unwin

Author

Juvenile fiction, racism, refugees

37

25

The City

Armin Greder

2009

Orecchio Acerbo

Italian

Armin Greder

2010

Allen & Unwin

Author

Mother-son relationship, death, protection from the world

31

26

Mediterranean

Armin Greder

2017

Orecchio Acerbo

Italian

Brigid Maher

2018

Allen & Unwin

Unknown

Juvenile fiction, shipwreck, refugees

35

27

Elephant Man

Marianela Di Fiore

2013

Cappelen Damm

Norwegian

Rosie Hedger

2016

Allen & Unwin

Canada

Non-fiction, individuality, diversity

46

28

The Fly

Gustavo Rosemffet

2005

Abrapalabra

Spanish

Karen Coeman

2006

Allen & Unwin

Walker Books

Juvenile fiction, fun, expectations

30

29

It’s Useful to Have a Duck

Isol

2008

Fondo de cultura economica USA

Spanish

Isol

2009

Allen & Unwin

Author

Two stories in one, juvenile fiction, points of view, duck and boy

32

30

Secret in the Fire

Henning Mankell

1995

Raben & Sjogren Bokforlag

Swedish

Anne Connie Stuksrud

2000

Allen & Unwin

Australia

Political fiction, landmines, Mozambique

165

31

Playing with Fire

Henning Mankell

2001

Raben & Sjogren Bokforlag

Swedish

Anna Paterson

2002

Allen & Unwin

Unknown

Political fiction, Mozambique, family, poverty

240

32

Fury in the Fire

Henning Mankell

2007

Raben & Sjogren Bokforlag

Swedish

Anna Paterson

2009

Allen & Unwin

Unknown

Political fiction, Mozambique, family, poverty

168

33

X Changes

collaboration

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

2000

Allen & Unwin

Unknown

Unknown

 

34

Hugo

Yohann Devezy

Unknown

Unknown

French

In-house translation

2019

RedPaperKite

Australia

Diversity, juvenile fiction

40

35

Snoozette

Valentine Paradis

Unknown

Unknown

French

In-house translation

2019

RedPaperKite

Australia

Imagination, juvenile fiction, tea, sleepiness

39

36

Plastic: Past, Present, and Future

Eun-ju Kim

Unknown

Unknown

Korean

Joungmin Lee Comfort

2019

Scribbles

Australia

Non-fiction, plastic use, recycling

36

37

My Donkey Benjamin

Hans Limmer

2008

Lennart Osbeck

German

Elke Wakefield

2016

Scribbles

Unknown

Juvenile fiction, friends, animals, children

48

38

My Pig Paulina

Hans Limmer

2015

Tulipan Verlag

German

Elke Wakefield

2016

Scribbles

Unknown

Juvenile fiction, friends, animals, children

60

39

Little Mouse Helps Out

Riikka Jäntti

2016

Tammi Publishers

Finnish

Lola Rogers

2017

Scribbles

Australia

Juvenile fiction, mice, helping out

40

40

Little Mouse

Riikka Jäntti

2015

Tammi Publishers

Finnish

Lotta Dufva

2016

Scribbles

Finland

Juvenile fiction, mice, growing up

48

41

Little Mouse’s Christmas

Riikka Jäntti

2017

Tammi Publishers

Finnish

Lola Rogers

2017

Scribbles

Australia

Juvenile fiction, mice, Christmas

48

42

Little Mouse’s Holiday

Riikka Jäntti

2018

Tammi Publishers

Finnish

Lola Rogers

2019

Scribbles

Australia

Juvenile fiction, mice, country-side holidays

48

43

Lunch at Number 10 Pomegranate Street: A Collection of Recipes to Share

Delicita Sala

Unknown

Unknown

Italian

In-house

2019

Scribbles

Australia

Juvenile non-fiction, recipes

40

44

A Winter’s Promise

Christelle Dabos

2013

Gallimard Jeunesse

French

Hildegarde Serle

2018

Text Publishing Company

Europa Editions

Middle grade/YA, magic, fantasy, adventure

496

45

The Missing of Clairdelune

Christelle Dabos

2015

Gallimard Jeunesse

French

Hildegarde Serle

2018

Text Publishing Company

Europa Editions

Middle grade/YA, magic fiction, fantasy, adventure

511

46

The Memory of Babel

Christelle Dabos

2017

Gallimard Jeunesse

French

Hildegarde Serle

2020

Text Publishing Company

Europa Editions

Fantasy, middle grade/YA (13+) adventure, book 3

464

47

The Watcher in the Shadows

Carlos Ruiz Zafon

1995

Edebé

Spanish

Lucia Graves

2013

Text Publishing Company

Unknown

Mystery, adventure, friendship, 14+ 

240

48

The Beach at Night

Elena Ferrante

2007

Edizione E/O

Italian

Ann Goldstein

2016

Text Publishing Company

Europa Editions

Imagination friendship, picture book

40

49

Emil and Karl

Yankev Glatshteyn

1940

Unknown

Yiddish

Jeffrey Shandler

2008

Text Publishing Company

Unknown

Holocaust, friendship, survival, middle grade/YA

208

50

Max

Sarah Cohen-Scali

2012

Gallimard Jeunesse

French

Penny Hueston

2016

Text Publishing Company

In-house

Holocaust, moral choices, friendship

464

51

The Prince of Mist

Carlos Ruiz Zafon

1993

Editorial Planeta

Spanish

Lucia Graves

2010

Text Publishing Company

Unknown

Good and evil, friendship, 13+ 

208

52

I’m Not Scared

Noccolo Ammaniti

2001

Giulio Einaudi Editore

Italian

Jonathan Hunt

2003

Text Publishing Company

Unknown

Fear, family secrets, mystery, 15+ 

224

53

The Midnight Palace

Carlos Ruiz Zafon

1997

Editorial Planeta

Spanish

Lucia Graves

2011

Text Publishing Company

Unknown

Good and evil, honour, adventure, 13+ 

288

54

Brown Bear Can’t Sleep

Yijun Cai

Unknown

Unknown

Chinese

Unknown

2018

Starfish Bay Publishing

Unknown

Juvenile fiction, bear, hibernation

40

55

Have You Seen Mr. Robinson?

Arwen Huang

Unknown

Unknown

Taiwanese

Unknown

2019

Starfish Bay Publishing

Unknown

Juvenile fiction, friends, meeting new people

40

56

I Need a Plan!

Federica Muia

Unknown

Unknown

Italian

Unknown

2019

Starfish Bay Publishing

Unknown

Juvenile fiction, friends, animals

32

57

The Flying Light

Yuanhao Yang

Unknown

Unknown

Chinese

Unknown

2019

Starfish Bay Publishing

Unknown

Juvenile fiction, friends, animals, children

32

58

Footprints in the Clouds

Zhiwei Xing

Unknown

Unknown

Taiwanese

Unknown

2019

Starfish Bay Publishing

Unknown

Juvenile fiction, friends, adventure

40

59

Mine!

Federica Muia

Unknown

Unknown

Italian

Unknown

2020

Starfish Bay Publishing

Unknown

Juvenile fiction, animals, hoarding, sharing

32

60

Bake Babushka

Celine Dupont

Unknown

Unknown

French

Unknown

2015

Berbay Publishing

Unknown

Juvenile fiction, dolls, love, baking

40

61

What Will I Do When I Grow Up?

Margherita Borin

Unknown

Unknown

Italian

Unknown

2019

Berbay Publishing

Unknown

Juvenile fiction, jobs, growing up

44

62

The Blue Bench

Albert Asensio

2016

Babulinka Books

Spanish

Unknown

2019

Berbay Publishing

Unknown

Juvenile fiction, passing time, growing up, love

40

63

365 Real-Life Super Heroes

Valentina Camerini

2019

De Agostini Planeta libri

Italian

Moreno Giovannoni

2020

Piccolo Nero

Australia

Juvenile non-fiction, jobs, growing up

360

64

Greta’s Story: The Schoolgirl Who Went on Strike to Save the Planet

Valentina Camerini

2019

De Agostini Planeta libri

Italian

Moreno Giovannoni

2019

Piccolo Nero

Australia

Juvenile non-fiction, saving the planet, climate change

144

65

The Two Acrobats, 2nd ed

Jeanne Ryckmans

1998

Seuil Jeunesse

French

Simon Leys

2015

Piccolo Nero

Australia

Juvenile fiction, acrobats, circus

32

66

The epic race

Marie Dolrleans

2017

les incorruptibles

French

Philippine McDonald

2018

Wilkins Farago

Australia

Juvenile fiction, horses, racing, animals

32

67

The Bureau of Weights and Measures

Anne-Gaelle Balpe

2016

Milan Editions

French

Unknown

2017

Wilkins Farago

Unknown

Juvenile fiction, measurements, emotions

32

68

My Father the Great Pirate

Davide Cali

2013

orecchio Acerbo

Italian

Unknown

2014

Wilkins Farago

Unknown

Juvenile fiction, pirates, adventures

48

69

What Is This Thing Called Love?

Davide Cali

2011

Sarbacane

French

Unknown

2011

Wilkins Farago

Unknown

Juvenile fiction, love, Q&A

32

70

Why

Lila Prap

2003

Mladinska knjiga

Solvenian

Lili Potpara

2006

Wilkins Farago

Unknown

Juvenile fiction, zebra, Q&A

32

71

Santa’s Suit

Davide Cali

2005

Éditions Sarbacane

French

Unknown

2008

Wilkins Farago

Unknown

Juvenile fiction, Santa Claus, comic-style

32

72

Sam and His Dad

Serge Bloch

1998

Bayard Editions Jeunesse

French

Unknown

2011

Wilkins Farago

Unknown

Juvenile fiction, family

40

73

Piano Piano

Davide Cali

2005

Éditions Sarbacane

French

Randi Rivers

2008

Wilkins Farago

Unknown

Juvenile fiction, piano, practice, family

28

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de Vicente Capua, M.C., Henningsgaard, P. Publishing Translated Books for Young Readers in Australia. Pub Res Q 37, 573–599 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12109-021-09841-6

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