Literature knows no frontiers

When you read Tolstoy’s or Elena Ferrante’s novels, do you think about the fact that they’re translated? Probably not – they are examples of foreign novels that have ‘made it’ in the UK. But when a book finds success in another country, it has already completed a long journey. In this session we will explore the processes that lead to a book being published in translation, and the factors that can help or hinder that process, from money to gender to geography.

Theodora Danek is the Writers in Translation Programme Manager at English PEN, where she works to promote and facilitate the translation of literature from around the world. She also edits PEN Transmissions, a new online zine for international writing. Theodora previously worked at New Books in German, the Austrian Cultural Forum London and the Technisches Museum Vienna. She holds masters degrees in History and Religious Studies from the universities of Vienna and Durham.