FOR A FEMINIST GEOPOLITICS OF TRANSLATION: (GALICIAN) WOMEN WRITERS TRANSLATED IN THE BRITISH EDITORIAL MARKET

Abstract

In the last few years, translation has (timidly) achieved a greater role in the British book market, as shown by recent studies. This is especially true regarding fiction originally written in other European languages, published in English translation by small independent presses. I will begin by offering some context about the most significant translation trends in Great Britain at present. I will then analyse these trends from a feminist perspective, arguing for the need to articulate a feminist geopolitics of translation aimed at increasing the translation of women writers from minorised cultures and lesser translated languages into hypercentral and hegemonic spaces such as the British system. The aim of this article is two-fold. First, focusing on the target literary system, it seeks to analyse the significance currently achieved by women writers in translation in the British book market. In order to do this, I will assess the impact of different recent initiatives in social media (such as the #WITMonth twitter campaign and the “Women in Translation” tumblr), blogs and literary magazines (like Translating Women, LitHub or Words without Borders), literary prizes (such as the “Warwick Prize for Women in Translation”) and other initiatives (such as the “Year of Publishing Women” in 2018). This will allow me to conclude that the British book industry is currently welcoming foreign women writers in translation. Secondly, focusing on the Galician literary system as a paradigmatic case for a minorised culture, it aims to examine the particularities of Galician women writers in English translation in Great Britain, especially in relation to current exportation trends operating in the source system. I will also assess the contribution of the Galician case to wider debates on women writers in translation. All in all, this article offers convincing reasons to encourage the translation of women writers coming from lesser translated languages and minorised literatures, ultimately contributing to a feminist geopolitics of translation in the British book market.