Updated 2014 and 2015 Translation Databases

OK, so there are still titles to uncover for the 2015 Translation Database, but this update gives us a much clearer picture of how many translations of fiction and poetry will be coming out in the U.S. this year.

As a reminder, in 2014 (and this should be pretty close to 99% accurate), there were 591 translations published for the first time ever: 494 works of fiction and 97 poetry collections.

So far, I’ve identified 358 translations coming out in 2015: 307 works of fiction, 51 of poetry. (Once I find the time to spend a few days scouring catalogs on Edelweiss and poetry listings on SPD, this number will surely increase.)

As in most every year, French is the most translated language so far in 2015 (80 titles to date, far outpacing second place Spanish, which only has 50), and the top ten publishers of translations at this moment are: New Directions (20), Dalkey Archive (19), AmazonCrossing (15), Gallic Books (13), Seagull Books (11), Open Letter (10), Deep Vellum (9), Minotaur (9), Atria (8), and Syracuse University Press (8).

Again, I have some research to do—especially in relation to AmazonCrossing and Dalkey Archive—so don’t take these as final numbers by any means. It is fun to check in with these databases though and see what books are coming out, and from where . . .

One other thing worth noting: The next time I run these updates (probably in August or September), I should be able to break them down by male vs. female—both for the authors and translators. That should result in some really interesting figures . . .