Tommy Wieringa and Otto de Kat were interviewed by the BBC at the Essex Book Festival.
]]>
Tommy Wieringa and Otto de Kat were interviewed by the BBC at the Essex Book Festival.
]]>NLPVF www.nlpvf.nl
Fonds voor de Letteren www.fondsvoordeletteren.nl
Nederlands Letterenfonds www.letterenfonds.nl
]]>Ted van Lieshout wrote the texts of the accompanying catalogue: interviews with the illustrators, a state-of-the-art essay on Dutch children’s book illustrations, and a story about an ‘Elephant that ambles through the exhibition’.
Philip Stroomberg was responsible for the layout of catalogue. The catalogue is in English, has 120 pages, is in full colour, and measures 33.5 x 24 cm.
]]>Right from the outset of her literary career, Ingrid Wikén Bonde has committed herself wholeheartedly to the ‘cultivation’ of new literary Dutch-Swedish translators, by jointly translating twenty Dutch-language titles, among other activities.
The NLPVF Translator’s Prize is awarded annually to a pioneer of Dutch literature abroad.
Anita Concas (1932, Ben-Arous, Tunisia) has been living in the Netherlands since 1957. From 1963 to 1991 she was a teacher at the Institute for Translation Studies and the Institute for Translation Theory, respectively, at the University of Amsterdam. In addition to work by Kader Abdolah she has translated books by H.M. van den Brink, Karel Glastra van Loon, Arnon Grunberg, Marek van der Jagt, Oek de Jong and Harry Mulisch, among others.
The prize-giving ceremony for the Prix des Phares du Nord 2009 will be held in Paris on 29 January 2010.
]]>Also nominated were Joris van Casteren (Lelystad), Joke van Leeuwen (Alles nieuw), Carolina Trujillo (De terugkeer van Lupe García), Christiaan Weijts (Via Cappello 23) and Tommy Wieringa (Caesarion).
]]>The new literary history has been long awaited, and not only by those working in the field of Dutch studies. Numerous Dutch authors have sold successfully in translation from Turkey to China and the Arab world, and interest in the literary tradition that produced these writers has increased markedly. Many outside the Netherlands will be surprised to discover that the land of Rembrandt, Vermeer and Van Gogh is also home to a sparkling literary culture.
The publication of A Literary History of the Low Countries has been made possible by financial support from the Foundation for the Production and Translation of Dutch Literature, the Dutch Language Union, the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds and the Flemish Literature Fund. A Literary History of the Low Countries is published by Camden House.
Foundation for the Production and Translation of Dutch Literature, Maarten Valken, tel: +31-20-620 62 61, m.valken@nlpvf.nl
]]>Peyman Jafari brings East and West together in his own life and work. Born in Iran, he has lived in the Netherlands for the past twenty years. No one is better able to explain modern Iran to a Western reader, and to reveal a different side to the image served up by the media.
Kester Freriks and Steven Adolf are very different writers, the first having a literary background while the second is a journalist, but both have written books about animals. The Falcon is the story of a personal passion, interwoven with the history of falconry. Giant Tuna describes the dramatic decline of this fish, which may disappear altogether within a few years, even though the alarm was first raised only a couple of years ago.
Film director Paul Verhoeven is a clear outsider in this brochure, but his debut as an author was an instant success. Jesus of Nazareth was favourably received, more than 20,000 copies were sold, and translation rights have been bought in five countries. Perhaps there will now be a film.
Biographies of famous Dutch people are sadly far from abundant, which is why a biography from several years ago has been included this time. Scientist Christiaan Huygens became famous for inventing the pendulum clock, but beyond that he was a dominant figure on the seventeenth-century European scientific stage.
Fifteen years ago Rik Smits published a thoroughly original book about left-handedness, and since then he has written a handbook about the Dutch language. Now he delves deeper into history, to the origins of language itself, and once more his findings are highly original, dispatching many myths.
Nicolaas Matsier has been a respected novelist and translator for many years. In The Eye Deceived he pursues his passion for the trompe l’oeil, producing the first general survey of the phenomenon to be written in Dutch. From an international perspective most reference books on the subject are outdated, but the world’s museums clearly remain interested (this autumn a trompe l’oeil exhibition will be held in Florence).
No book was available about the Dutch and water, and fortunately it was Maarten Asscher who stepped into the breach. He is ideally suited to treat a subject like this in an elegant, incisive and erudite manner. From many unexpected angles and with irrepressible good humour he observes the Netherlands as a saturated waterland.
The brochure ends with an overview of the most notable translations of the past year. In 2008 and 2009, Dutch non-fiction titles were still mostly translated into English and German, but Chinese has now joined them - an important emerging market for Dutch literature.
Maarten Valken
]]>The prize will be presented on 11 January 2010 at Kings Place in London, along with a number of other translation prizes. Sam Garrett is also a past winner, having won the 2003 Vondel Prize.
The Vondel Translation Prize is awarded every two years for the best book-length translation into British or American English of an important Dutch or Flemish literary or cultural-historical work. The prize, worth €5,000, was established by the Society of Authors in Britain and is financed by the Foundation for the Production and Translation of Dutch Literature and the Flemish Literature Fund. Previous winners were Susan Massotty for her translation of Spijkerschrift (My Father’s Notebook) by Kader Abdolah, Diane Webb for her translation of Van karmozijn, purper en blauw (Colors Demonic and Divine) by Herman Pleij, Sam Garrett for his translation of De renner (The Rider) by Tim Krabbé, Hester Velmans for her translation of Een hart van steen (Heart of Stone) by Renate Dorrestein, Ina Rilke for her translation of De virtuoos (The Virtuoso) by Margriet de Moor and Omweg naar Santiago (Roads to Santiago) by Cees Nooteboom, and Stacey Knecht for her translation of Het grote verlangen (The Great Longing) by Marcel Möring.
Sam Garrett (b. 1956) is an American who currently divides his time between Amsterdam and the French Pyrenees. As well as work by Frank Westerman he has translated books by Karel Glastra van Loon, Arnon Grunberg, Tim Krabbé, Lieve Joris, Geert Mak and Nanne Tepper among others.
Developed by the Amsterdam-based Foundation for the Production and Translation of Dutch Literature (NLPVF) and Midland Creative Projects (based in Birmingham), the initiative aims to raise the profile of individual contemporary Dutch writers and their books in the UK, as well as drawing attention to Dutch literature as a whole.
]]> Working with a number of publishers including Harvill Secker, Portobello and Arcadia Books, Go Dutch! will highlight the work of eight authors all of whom are bestsellers in their native country.Between now and spring 2010 all the authors will be visiting the UK to take part in literary events around the country including festivals in Liverpool, Manchester, Durham, Ilkley, Birmingham and Essex. Some will be working directly with young British writers, for example with the Writing Squad in Yorkshire and on the University of Warwick’s Writing Programme. A taste of the authors’ writing will be showcased in a hundred-page sampler to be distributed up and down the country via readers’ groups, libraries, literary festivals and a selection of independent bookshops.
Mireille Berman, Head of International Literary Projects at the NLPVF said:
“The Netherlands is blessed with many wonderful writers, and we are delighted to see that so many British publishers have spotted and are supporting such talent by publishing translations of their work. It shows that there is an appetite for these books. However we felt it might be difficult for the publishers to draw attention to these individual Dutch writers in an already crowded book market. It was at this point that the idea of the Go Dutch! project came about; by collectively raising awareness of these authors, we will give many UK readers the opportunity to meet and read the work of some of our country’s finest contemporary writers.”
Philip Gwyn Jones of Portobello Books, publisher of the novelist Tommy Wieringa, said of the initiative:
“One of Portobello Books’ founding principles was a belief in the power of good stories to travel - and a commitment to seeking out the most indelible, vital and beguiling storytellers from all quarters of the world to bring back for our readers. It’s easier for words to travel, than for writers, so any initiative that enables English-speaking readers to meet writers from other lands is to be wholly welcomed. We are very grateful for the Go Dutch! project’s invaluable support of the terrific Tommy Wieringa and his first novel to be translated into English, Joe Speedboat. We hope the initiative will bring the UK recognition very much deserved for all of the eight writers involved.”
Prize-winning author Otto de Kat praised the project:
“Britain is the homeland of fiction, so for a Dutch author it’s of the utmost significance to be published in the English language. It’s wonderful to be welcomed by publishers, booksellers, critics and readers, and I do hope we can show them that there is something going on in the provinces of literature outside their splendid island!”
Anna Dreda of Wenlock Books, Shropshire, who will be distributing the samplers to her customers, explained why she’s supporting the campaign:
“Finding exciting new writers is always the dream and challenge of good bookselling and to find good work in translation is particularly rewarding. These contemporary Dutch writers are unknown in the UK - and that is our loss as well as theirs. As an independent bookseller I am so pleased to be able to bring new writers from other cultures to the heart of our reading lives by supporting Go Dutch!”
The full list of authors and titles involved in the project is as follows:
For further information or to request samplers / review copies contact: Preena Gadher on 020 3174 0118 / 07833 431119 or preena@riotcommunications.com.
—ENDS—
The Foundation for the Promotion and Translation of Dutch Literature (NLPVF) The NLPVF exists to promote interest in Dutch-language literature abroad. It maintains contacts with a large number of international publishers, and has a stand at major international book fairs, including the Frankfurt Book Fair, the London Book Fair and the Children’s Book Fair in Bologna.
Midland Creative Projects is an independent agency working in the creative arts sector, specialising in literature activities. It currently manages the Birmingham Book Festival, the West Midlands Readers’ Network and Go Dutch! amongst other projects. www.midlandcreative.co.uk
Arnon Grunberg is the author of a collection of short stories entitled Amuse-Bouche, translated by Ron de Klerk & Lisa Friedman, and published by Comma Press. It is out now. Grunberg was born in 1971 and is one of the Netherlands’ most prolific and acclaimed writers. His first novel, Blue Mondays was published in 1994 when Grunberg was just 23. It was an instant success and he has since written numerous novels, plays, essays and travel columns. His work has been translated into twenty-one languages. Grunberg is a popular columnist for various Dutch newspapers and magazines and writes a blog for the literary online magazine Words without Borders. He lives in New York.
Otto de Kat is the author of Man on the Move, translated by Sam Garrett, and published by MacLehose Press. It has just been published.
Otto de Kat is the pen name of Jan Geurt Gaarlandt, born in Rotterdam in 1946. He is a former publisher and his first novel was published in 1998 and appeared in English translation in the UK as The Figure in the Distance (Harvill Press, 2002). His second novel, Man on the Move, was originally published in 2004 and was met with equally great critical acclaim. He is the winner of several prestigious prizes including Holland’s Halewijn prize.
Joris Luyendijk is the author of People Like Us - The Truth About Reporting the Middle East, translated by Michele Hutchison, and published by Reportage Press. It will be published this autumn.
Luyendijk was born in 1971 and studied Anthropology and Arabic at the Universities of Kansas, Amsterdam and Cairo. He was editor-in-chief of Move Your World Magazine, a publication about young people and development cooperation. Between 1998 and 2003 he lived in Cairo, then Beirut and finally East Jerusalem, working for the newspapers de Volkskrant and NRC Handelsblad as well as for Dutch radio and television. His book, People Like Us, has sold over a quarter of a million copies in the Netherlands. In 2002 he was awarded the Golden Pen, a prestigious Dutch prize for journalism. He lives in Amsterdam.
Geert Mak is the author of three non-fiction titles in English all translated by Sam Garrett: In Europe and The Bridge are out now; and An Island in Time will be published in autumn 2010, all by Harvill Secker/Vintage.
Mak is one of the most successful writers in Netherlands. All his works have been published to huge critical and popular acclaim; The Sunday Times hailed In Europe: Travels Through the Twentieth Century as “spectacular and beautifully crafted”. Last year, he was the winner of the prestigious German Leipziger Buchpreis, a prize awarded to an author whose work encourages dialogue between countries and citizens in Europe.
Cynthia McLeod is the bestselling author of The Free Negress Elisabeth, a novel translated by Brain Doyle and published by Arcadia. It is out now.
McLeod was born in 1936 in Paramaribo, Suriname. She is the daughter of Johan Ferrier, the last governor and first president of Suriname. In 1995, her debut novel How Much Was the Sugar? made McLeod and overnight sensation and remains a bestseller. She went on to publish several more works including The Free Negress Elisabeth in which she invested twelve years of historical research. McLeod is widely regarded as one of the leading authorities on Surinamese history.
Toon Tellegen is the author of a collection of poems called About Love and Nothing Else, translated by Judith Wilkinson, and published by Shoestring Press. It is out now. He is also the author of The Squirrel’s Birthday and Other Parties and Letters to Anyone and Everyone, children’s books translated by Martin Cleaver, illustrated by Jessica Ahlberg, and published by Boxer Books on 3rd September.
Tellegen is one of the Netherlands’ most celebrated writers. His animal stories have been translated into nineteen languages and are loved by children and parents the world over. As a poet, he is one of Holland’s finest, and he is increasingly gaining an international readership for his poetry. He lives in Amsterdam.
Frank Westerman is the author of Engineers of the Soul, to be published in hardback in May 2010 and Ararat to be published in paperback in May 2010, both translated by Sam Garrett, and published by Harvill Secker. Bestselling writer Westerman was born in 1964 and is the author of five books. His work has been published in more than ten languages and he is the recipient of two major literary prizes in the Netherlands. Ararat is his latest book. He lives in Amsterdam.
Tommy Wieringa is the author of Joe Speedboat, a novel translated by Sam Garrett and published by Portobello Books. It has just been published.
Wieringa was born in 1967 and grew up partly in the Netherlands, partly in the tropics. He began his writing career with travel stories and journalism and is the author of two previous novels, one of which was awarded Holland’s Halewijn prize and nominated for the AKO Literature Prize. Joe Speedboat has sold over 300,000 copies in its Dutch original and is the first of his books to be translated into English. It is also being translated into over a dozen other languages, and will shortly be made into a film.
Perhaps because the Netherlands share so many characteristics with the UK, literature in Dutch has many parallels. The post-colonial experience is central to the work of Cynthia Mc Leod (who lives in Suriname, the former Dutch colony in South America), while a rites ritesof- passage to adulthood is the focus of Tommy Wieringa’s novel, Joe Speedboat. Joris Luyendijk’s book, People Like Us - The Truth About Reporting The Middle East, explores the relationship between Islam and the West. All these are subjects shared with UK writers.
Personal experience as a basis for deeply considered books on contemporary history and politics is a characteristic of many Dutch writers. Another is a gift for narrative - whether it be of wartime travels around the globe as in Otto de Kat’s Man on the Move, Arnon Grunberg’s playful and beguiling stories of modern life or the stories of Toon Tellegen, loved by adult readers as much as by the children for whom they were written.
None of this writing would reach readers in the UK without the inspired work of their translators, including Sam Garrett, Michele Hutchison, Brian Doyle, Lisa Friedman and Ron de Klerk, Judith Wilkinson and Martin Cleaver. Go Dutch! is supported by the publishers Arcadia Books, Boxer Books, Comma Press, Harvill Secker, Portobello, MacLehose Press, Reportage Press and Shoestring Press. We are grateful for the support of Arts Council England and the Foundation for the Production and Translation of Dutch Literature.
By Jonathan Davidson
In March the Dutch Language Union announced that its Committee of Ministers was willing to support a study of the feasibility of a Master’s Programme in Literary Translation, to be established in both the Netherlands and Flanders. The association of deans of Dutch and Flemish faculties of literature has meanwhile agreed that the University of Utrecht and the Lessius College of Higher Professional Education in Antwerp will provide the necessary team of experts. The Committee of Ministers is prepared to grant an annual subsidy of up to €100,000 for an initial three-year period. Pilot programmes are scheduled for September 2010 in the Netherlands and Flanders.
The Dutch Foundation for Literature is to deploy extra resources to promote the expertise of literary translators and encourage fresh talent. Mentorships will be linked to incentive subsidies, the mentorships budget has been increased (also for more experienced translators), and courses and master classes will continue during the 2009-2012 policy period. The budget for project grants has likewise been increased, one of the aims being to step up investment in high-quality translation projects by excellent translators. Scope will also be extended for accommodating translators in European translation centres or enabling them to participate in specific translation programmes abroad, and the Foundation will work with partners on initiatives designed to increase translators’ visibility and strengthen their position as cultural entrepreneurs.
The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science has allocated extra resources to the Foundation for the Production and Translation of Dutch Literature (NLPVF) for the 2009-2012 period, to promote the quality of translations of Dutch literature. These funds will be used to set up more translation workshops and increase the number of mentorships for translators of Dutch literature and literary non-fiction, in partnership with the Expertise Centre for Literary Translation. Where the need arises, the NLPVF is now also urging foreign publishers to pay translators a fairer fee, offering a 70% subsidy from its extra resources.
In the European context, too, the English translation of the Pamphlet appears to be bearing fruit; the background paper of the European Commission’s Conference on Literary Translation and Culture, held on 20 April 2009 in Brussels, drew heavily from the Pamphlet, as did the speeches by Commission President José Manuel Barroso and EU Commissioner for Multilingualism, Leonard Orban. It is gradually beginning to dawn on ‘Brussels’ that literary translation is a form of cultural mediation, as posited in the Pamphlet, and that such mediation, by arousing interest in other cultures, has the potential to counteract the apathy that has up to now characterised the European electorate’s attitude towards the Union. CEATL, the European Council of Associations of Literary Translators, and RECIT, the European Network of International Centres for Literary Translation, will shortly submit proposals to the European Commission for a new European Culture Programme for 2013-2019, with a central focus on the remuneration and mobility of literary translators.
The Dutch Foundation for Literature and the NLPVF are working on a new website designed to bring interesting authors and books from less well-known and less translated literatures to public notice, with a view to promoting the diversity of literature on offer.
The new literature fund that will result from the merger of the Dutch Foundation for Literature and the NLPVF will request extra resources from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science for the three objectives listed in the Pamphlet, i.e. increasing the visibility of literary translators, providing extra financial scope for translations of culturally significant works of non-fiction and protecting literary diversity by providing publishers with translation and production subsidies for ‘difficult’ books or genres. When the merger was decided upon by the foundations and the ministry, the latter was in favour of intensifying translation policy and undertook to support such a move.
Research and original Dutch text: Martin de Haan and Rokus Hofstede. The Pamphlet was commissioned by the Dutch Foundation for Literature, the Flemish Literature Fund, the Foundation for the Production and Translation of Dutch Literature, the Dutch Language Union and the Expertise Centre for Literary Translation.
The Dutch and English versions of the Pamphlet can be downloaded at www.vertaalpleidooi.nl, www.fondsvoordeletteren.nl and www.nlpvf.nl.