Book publishers seek out Western authored Italian crime fiction over translated Italian fiction because it is a lucrative business, says Vice President of the Australian Association for Literary Translation Dr Brigid Maher.
“Translated contemporary Italian fiction is far outstripped by the commercial success of crime fiction set in Italy but written in English by British or North American authors including Donna Leon, Michael Dibdi, Magadeln Nabb and Tobias Jones,” said Brigid, who is also an academic at La Trobe University.
Dr Brigid Maher will deliver a guest seminar for the School of Languages and Linguistics on this current trend and its implications for readers, authors and translators.
She argues that popular Western crime authors use their considerable knowledge of Italian life to translate this “exotic culture” into a tourist friendly destination that non-Italian, English speaking audiences readily accept as authentic.
Western authors have used their popularity and well-known detective protagonists as a competitive edge over their Italian peers, said Brigid.
The seminar will explain the strategies Western crime authors use, and encourage translators of Italian literary works to use similar methods to appeal to a broader reading market.
WHAT: School of Languages and Linguistics presents Dr Brigid Maher ‘Language, (pseudo) translation and the foreign in Anglo-Italian crime fiction’ seminar.
WHERE: N53 (Willett Centre), Room 0.62.
WHEN: Thursday, 29 May at 3.00 — 4.00 pm.