tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post2684284267598558824..comments2024-03-29T00:47:12.051+00:00Comments on Biblibio: 2015 Women in Translation Stats | Part 1 - PublishersMeytal Radzinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15805413335735169073noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-50623645325602388092016-01-25T09:22:28.438+00:002016-01-25T09:22:28.438+00:00The commercial aspect of Amazon is actually somewh...The commercial aspect of Amazon is actually somewhat up for debate since it has a fairly eclectic mix, but also not exactly my focus at this time (and I actually <i>did</i> note that one of the major factors in Amazon publishing more women writers seems to stem from a large set of German-language romance books they published). Other statistics would surely be valuable in order to better understand the industry and culture at large, but it doesn't change the huge disparity in publishing. There are MANY factors at play here, as well as many nuances covered in future posts.<br /><br />From anecdotes alone: I believe most book clubs read very few books in translation to begin with, yet in my experience there is actually gender parity when it comes to those books which <i>are</i> chosen, if not even a preference for books by women in translation (for example: Ferrante and <i>The Elegance of the Hedgehog</i> are two popular book club choices). My impression of the literary world and the blogging community shows a majority of women bloggers interested in translated literature, though this of course may be due to the prevalence of women in blogging circles overall...<br /><br />I do need to point out, however, that there is still no justification for such dismal ratios. Women read books by men, men should read books by women, and the demographic question is fraught with sexism in itself (well-documented by organizations like VIDA). It's important to look at all the factors, but the numbers themselves won't change. The only thing that can change is our recognition of "fault", "responsibility" and cultural baggage. We can change how we decide to fix the problem, but either way publishers - who serve as one set of gatekeepers when it comes to which books we have access to - have a major role to play in that change.Meytal Radzinskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15805413335735169073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-34779262504523355702016-01-25T09:10:36.416+00:002016-01-25T09:10:36.416+00:00You're right! However since the database never...You're right! However since the database never claims to be anything other than first-time translations of fiction and poetry (which is why I specifically noted this as my source data...) and since it is currently the only convenient resource at the disposal of a non-academic/industry-person such as myself, it'll serve quite nicely to give us an impression of the industry at large. I know there are many individual titles that are inevitably not counted in my assessment, however individual titles ultimately have little impact on statistics of this scale regardless...<br /><br />However, titles like these absolutely qualify for the women in translation database! Definitely not enough nonfiction in the database right now. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/tJmtIiB0T_RxRnwXBaw39Mw/edit#gid=0Meytal Radzinskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15805413335735169073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-19416243743965630392016-01-17T21:33:55.514+00:002016-01-17T21:33:55.514+00:00It would be valuable to have other statistics. For...It would be valuable to have other statistics. For example, since American women read a great majority of the fiction that is published in the U.S., do they read more of less literature in translation than men do? Also since women constitute the great majority of book group members, what percentage of book group books are literature in translation? In other words, is the paucity of literature in translation by women due to readers or are publishers making uneconomic decisions that are sexist? It's also notable that Amazon Crossing literature tends to be more commercial (at least at home) than most other literature that appears in English translation, which, except for "literary mysteries," is aimed toward a more literary crowd.Robert Wechslerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00254058854618664149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-58995383301853087172016-01-12T16:12:17.101+00:002016-01-12T16:12:17.101+00:00I wish you'd looked beyond the Three Percent l...I wish you'd looked beyond the Three Percent list, which excludes important works in translation by women because they're nonfiction. My translation of Karin Wieland's Dietrich and Riefenstahl (Liveright/Norton, 2015) is one example: woman author, woman translator, two women as subjects of the book, even a woman editor. But a book like this is off the Three Percent chart.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05787286675535585148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-67015906344362077982016-01-11T23:31:45.511+00:002016-01-11T23:31:45.511+00:00Excellent summary, and something to be aware of ev...Excellent summary, and something to be aware of even in my own reading -- I've committed to reading more Women in Translation this year, now I need more published!Melwykhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04885378201188978664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1246220242273461143.post-25191885421336358102016-01-11T20:19:29.974+00:002016-01-11T20:19:29.974+00:00Thanks for doing all this work and distilling the ...Thanks for doing all this work and distilling the results so clearly. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com