Dialogue Through Literature
The International Frankfurt Book Fair which focussed on Latin America (1976), Black Africa (1980), India (1986), Mexico (1992) and Brazil (1994) has amply shown that in literature there are no "under-developed areas". However, literature from Africa, Asia and Latin America is not yet adequately represented on the German book market which is especially the case with South East Asia and the Arab region.
Although quite a number of important books by authors from Africa, Asia and particularly Latin America have been translated into German, they are very often seen as something "exotic" or "foreign". Since literature is one of the most important means of cross-cultural learning, and since books do provide a unique opportunity to learn about foreign cultures, it is imperative that efforts to have books by "Third World" authors translated into German be intensified.
Who are we?
litprom - the Society for the Promotion of African, Asian and Latin American Literature was founded in Frankfurt in 1980 on the occasion of the Frankfurt Book Fair which then focussed on creative writing from Africa. It is an association of professionals in the fields of publishing, journalism and literary studies and criticism.
Its Board of Directors consists of:
- Juergen Boos, Director of the Frankfurt Book Fair (President)
- Monika Bilstein, publisher (Vice-President)
- Ruth Kumpmann, Frankfurt Book Fair (Treasurer)
- Volkhard Brandes, publisher
- Thomas Brückner, translator
- Chudi Bürgi, cultural mediator
- Michael Kegler, translator
- Tobias Voss, Frankfurt Book Fair
What are our goals?
litprom, registered as a non-profit association in Frankfurt, has set itself these objectives:
- to monitor literary trends and developments and select the best examples of creative writing from Africa, Asia and Latin America for translation into German, and to promote them in Germany, Switzerland and Austria by encouraging contacts between authors and publishers from the "Third World" and those in the German speaking region;
- to serve as an information centre and clearing house about literature from Africa, Asia and Latin America;
- to help establish and encourage a forum of debate about "Third World" literature.
litprom has been founded because we felt a strong need to actively promote literature from "Third World" countries in the German speaking region. It is through literature from the "Third World" that eurocentric views, ignorance about conditions in Africa, Asia and Latin America, prejudices and stereotyped views can be overcome. It is through translations into German that German speaking readers can learn how authors from Africa, Asia and Latin America view their world and their cultures and thus learn that there are different, but equally relevant perspectives of the one world in which we live.
How do we operate?
Making publishers more sensitive
At the centre of our activities is a special network of information for many publishers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, in essence a database of recommendable books (fiction and poetry) by authors from "Third World" countries; this database is backed by reviews, written by competent experts. Thus we draw the attention of publishers to books which deserve a translation into German, which they might otherwise not have noticed given the fact that the world market for translation rights is still mainly focussing on trade among "Northern Hemisphere" countries.
Since its creation, litprom has been instrumental in the publication of several hundred books by authors from "Third World" countries in German translations, books which without us may not have reached German readers. Among them were also books by authors who later won internationally acclaimed awards.
A Translation Programme
Since 1984 litprom is also administering a special programme of grants for translations into German of relevant books by African, Asian and Latin American authors; this programme is funded by the German Foreign Office and the Swiss cultural foundation PRO HELVETIA and allows for subsidies of about 20 translations per year.
We do this bearing in mind that generally the publication of a German translation of a book by an author from Africa, Asia or Latin America is only the first step and that special efforts have to be made for German readers to realize that books from foreign countries ought to be regarded simply as good fiction or good poetry.
In addition, litprom is publishing the quarterly LiteraturNachrichten (in German) with news, authors' portraits and analysis about literary and related events and developments with regard to the "Third World"; this quarterly, the only publication of its kind in Germany, has developed into a useful source for editors in publishing houses and media alike.
Our digital database "QUELLEN" ("Sources") lists all fiction titles available on the German market which have been translated from languages of the "South".
The Frankfurt Book Fair
litprom also has a stand at the annual Frankfurt Book Fair, closely cooperating with those publishers from "Third World" countries who come to the Fair, some of them for the first time. This stand displays among other things those books which litprom has recommended for translation into German. It also functions as a meeting-point for authors and publishers from many countries around the world.
How do we promote reading?
Generally, litprom is seeking to promote a better understanding of creative writing from Africa, Asia and Latin America. We do so through a wide range of other activities. Among them:
- the organisation of seminars and conferences in cooperation with other institutions with authors from various regions of the world;
- the organisation of reading tours in Germany for these authors, in cooperation with their publishing houses and other organisations;
- special promotion campaigns for good books for younger readers;
- the organisation of exhibitions of books from Africa, Asia and Latin America in libraries, schools and other places of learning.
The "Book Club with a difference"
We do this bearing in mind that generally the publication of a German translation of a book by an author from Africa, Asia or Latin America is only the first step and that special efforts have to be made for German readers to realize that books from foreign countries ought to be regarded simply as good fiction or good poetry.
It was in this vein that we started a unique venture on the German book market in 1985 when we founded the "Book Club with a difference" (Der ANDERE Literaturklub). For a modest annual contribution, members of this special book club get four especially selected books by "Third World" authors per year; these books are published in cooperation with those publishers who take a sustained interest in creative writing from the "South". Members are also kept informed about literary developments in Africa, Asia and Latin America. In addition, the "Book Club with a difference" gives support to projects in the "South" where literature is being produced or encouraged.
How do we cooperate with publishers from "Third World" countries?
litprom is offering its advice and assistance to all "Third World" publishers (and authors) in their contacts with German publishers; this includes matters relating to the establishment of first contacts, negotiations about translations and contracts, selection of translators, public relations etc.
In fact, we serve as a non-profit, non-commercial literary agency for those publishers and authors who do not or cannot employ the services of a commercial literary agent. Because litprom is funded by German sources (among them funds from Government and the Evangelical Church in Germany) we do not charge any commission for our services.
All that a publisher (or an author for that matter) with relevant titles has to do is to provide us with all relevant information about his/her books and send us review/reading copies of those books which according to his/her knowledge of the European market might be of interest to a German publisher. This book is then reviewed by one of our experts; in case of a favourable reader's report, it is then presented on a database of recommended titles and a newsletter to a wide range of German language fiction publishers.
Thus a "Third World" publisher can reach many more publishers than he/she would be able to do by providing reading copies of relevant titles to individual publishers in the German language area. All aspects pertaining to negotiations about translation rights remain with the original publisher or copyright holder, although litprom is offering its expertise in this field to those who might need or want it.
How to contact us
litprom - Society for the Promotion of African, Asian an latin American Literature
P.O.B. 10 01 16
D-60001 Frankfurt am Main
Reineckstr. 3
D-60313 Frankfurt am Main
Tel.: ++49-(0)69-2102 143 / 250
Fax: ++49-(0)69-2102 227
e-mail: litprom@book-fair.com
Regionalstelle Leipzig:
Dr. Thomas Brückner
Müllerring 67
D-04466 Lindenthal
Tel./Fax: ++49-341-46 19 725
e-mail: Brueckner-Lindenthal@t-online.de