Which European countries seem to do better at getting their literary books published in English?
France and Germany loom largest, and the main reason for this is obvious. Of all the non-English-speaking countries, these two have the longest traditions of promoting their cultures abroad, the largest networks of institutions for doing so, and the greatest ongoing commitment to this activity. Additional factors in the case of France may include vigorous critical attention to literature in French media and the fawning admiration of US academics for almost anything French. Additional factors for Germany may include a reading public that routinely generates strong sales for serious books (including books translated into German); vigorous critical attention to literature in German media; Germany’s role in WWII and the many issues of continued relevance that flow from it; interest in those issues among English-speaking readers. The translation and publication of Russian books in English seems to have been supported by longstanding (often self-congratulatory) interest in the West in what l
