Ukraine - A Spring for the Thirsty

How can Ukrainian literature flourish in the anglophone world?

Four translators and five publishers talk about how Ukrainian books are currently translated, marketed and distributed, and what they think will happen in the future.

The book was written to give Ukrainian publishers and writers some insight in to the motivations of English-language publishers of translated fiction, with a view to getting more rights sold and increasing the number of Ukrainian books available in English.

The topics covered in the conversations include:

• The imbalance of translated languages around the world and how this affects commissioning
• How editors and publishers choose which books to translate - and what turns them off
• Notable Ukrainian books and famous authors
• The translation process
• The history of Ukrainian literature
• The financial support available to publishers and translators - grants, subventions and institutional support
• Translators and publishers as ambassadors for Ukraine and the Ukrainian language
• The readership for translated literature
• Undertranslated authors and genres from Ukraine
• Pitching books to publishers
• Distribution channels, including Amazon
• Metadata, and why it''s important 
• Publishing fellowships and cultural trips
• The relationship between academia and translation work