Guest Post by Holly Thompson
How many children’s books in translation do you read each year? What types of translations do you read? Picture books? MG/YA Novels? Nonfiction? Manga? Graphic Novels? And have you tried translating children’s books or stories from other languages into English?
Living in Japan for many years meant translating my way through most every day–memos from our kids’ schools, homework assignments, community announcements, faculty meetings. Yet I never thought I’d try translating books from Japanese into English.
Thanks to the energy and efforts of SCBWI’s Avery Fischer Udagawa and other translation members of SCBWI Japan, the region has had a translation group since its first Translation Day in 2010 roughly a year before the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami. See Translation in SCBWI Japan.
Soon after the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami in 2011, I began to develop the fundraiser project of Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction--An Anthology of Japan Teen Stories (Stone Bridge Press, 2012), and this project helped to further coalesce the SCBWI Japan translation group. In a matter of months, not only did Japan-based or Japan-connected authors submit stories to be considered, but Japanese-to-English translators also teamed up with Japanese authors to ensure that this anthology of 36 YA short stories would include ten stories in translation. Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction, was a fundraiser publication–the book raised money to support programs for teens in the ravaged region of Tohoku, along the northeast coast of Japan’s main island.
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| Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction cover with launch announcement created by Debbie Ohi |
Through the intense process of compiling stories and closely editing the translations, my interest in translating children’s books from Japanese to English grew.
Still, I never expected to try literary translation myself. But in my role as SCBWI Japan RA/Co-RA, we hosted a total of seven SCBWI Japan Translation Days: 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022. This biennial event enabled translators–beginners to professionals–to gather; learn and share experiences, advice and information about translation of children’s literature; hear from translation editors; and try Japanese-to-English translation exercises in a supportive environment. These events ultimately led me to begin work on translations—a verse novel, a historical fiction novel, and a number of picture books, two of which were published by a local press in Saitama.
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| Originals and translations of two books translated by Holly Thompson and published by a local press in Saitama |
Japanese grammar and language structure differ drastically from English, and I discovered that I enjoy the puzzling challenge of reordering sentence components. I like mulling over whether to add a gloss for reader understanding; when to tuck setting context into a paragraph; how to capture an author’s voice; and how to keep tone and voice faithful to the original. Translation did not require having to grow an idea from scratch, as my own writing did. And, full confession, sometimes I worked on translations to take a break from the challenge of crafting my own novels and picture books.
So, do you speak a language other than English? What languages can you read? Have you tried translating a children’s book into English? Can YOU help bring more of the world into English-language children’s literature? Have you attended an SCBWI Translation event? Have you joined the SCBWI Translation Listserv? Read about Translation in SCBWI.
Even if you don’t opt to work on translations, here are some Translation Tactics you can try:
Explore translations in libraries; find out where and how children’s books in translation are shelved.
Read reviews of translations and request books that interest you from your local library.
Give books in translation to the children in your life, to traveling friends, and to family.
Share enthusiasm and curiosity for translations at bookstores.
Include books translated from languages other than English when you share or recommend favorite books with kids, teachers, and librarians during author visits.
Encourage young readers to read around the world with translations.
Follow SCBWI member translators on social media.
Study covers and copyright pages of books in translation–do they credit the translator? The Three Cs for Translators, as explained in this post by SCBWI Global Translator Coordinator Avery Fischer Udagawa, include credit, copyright, and compensation.
I love that reading books in translation enables me to meet characters living around the world in settings and situations I may have never encountered. I encounter children and teens centered in cultures, traditions, and circumstances less familiar to me; discover more about places I visit; dip into school systems, communities, sports, and entertainment I've never experienced; and encounter fresh approaches to structure, pacing, voice and characterization. I read books recognized with the Mildred L. Batchelder Award and the Global Literature in Libraries Translated Young Adult Book Prizes.
I hope you, too, will travel the world through translated books for children and teens.
And watch out! You may find yourself, like me, getting pleasantly lost in the art of translation.
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