Translation, publishing, and literary awards in the field of children’s literature

The seminar is open to all and given both via Zoom and at Stockholm University.
Language: English
For registration: please contact Elina Druker elina.druker@littvet.su.se

The seminar focuses on transnational literary and cultural mediation in the field of children’s literature publishing. Inês Costa, Aveiro University, Portugal, and Sara Van Meerbergen and Annika Johansson, Stockholm University, present their current research projects where publishing, translation and literary awards within European children’s literature is investigated.

Illustration: Don’t cross the line! © Bernardo P. Carvalho, Planeta Tangerina

Inês Costas research focuses on the internationalization of contemporary Portuguese children's literature, adopting the publishing house Planeta Tangerina as a case study. Within the framework of cultural transfer and literary mediation, one of the goals of the investigation is to identify and correlate the factors that influence the transaction of foreign rights, including state policies of financial support to translation, praises and awards, and interpersonal networks of mediators. From a literary perspective, one also aims to identify themes and stylistic features that appeal the most to foreign publishers, and to ascertain whether these preferences vary across countries and cultures.
 
In their project Sara Van Meerbergen and Annika Johansson investigate the consecrating role of cultural mediating institutions such as the state agent Flanders Literature and the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA), regarding their impact on transnational circulation. Furthermore, special focus is put on Lilla Piratförlaget and its translations of the ALMA-laureate Bart Moeyaert, hereby investigating so called  ‘multiple mediatorships’ constructed around and between actors and institutions of power that play a specific role in the chain of events leading to the circulation, translation and consecration of a specific authorship.