of the art, the reputation of the artist, and the immediate emotional appeal; they do not
worry about the quality of the translated text. A rough version will give the general idea
and can be cleaned up later. Fiction requires that a reader be hired to read the book in
the original language and write a report attesting to its potential success in the market;
for this reason, the sale of fiction titles is significantly lower.
A special aspect of the Bologna Book Fair is that it is attended by many professionals
in the field; editors, literary agents, professors, and critics. These individuals often take
back reports to publishing houses of those books they see that offer potential to be
translated and published. It also has one of the three major juried awards for
illustrations in the world, the other two being the International Board on Books for the
Young’s (IBBY) Hans Christian Andersen Award and the Bratislava International
Biennial of Illustration’s (BIB) Gold Apple. The Bologna Illustrators of Children’s Books
(Illustratori di Eibri per Ragazzi) collection is shown at a special exhibition but also in a
yearly catalogue. At the same time, the winners of several graphic and illustration prizes
given by the fair are exhibited. These displays are important in the translation process
as they are viewed by publishers and editors looking for new talent. Very often co-
productions are developed on the basis of an editor viewing an illustration in this
exhibition.
The single most significant development in the international children’s publishing
industry has been the dramatic increase in the co-production of books. European
publishers have a long tradition of co-productions because this allows them to print
picture books of high quality: the size of the print run is directly related to the per unit
cost of the book; but it is only in the last fifteen years that English-speaking countries
have implemented co-productions more extensively. With the current printing
technology, it is now possible to do large run, five-colour separations, with only a pause
to change the black-and-white film for language texts. Thus, one of the costs of
translation is considerably reduced.
There is often the feeling that translators are the unsung heroes of the international
children’s literature scene. Rarely do they receive the credit and recognition that is due
them, although there are several awards. The Translators’ Association in London
administers four major awards: The Schlegel-Tieck Prize given annually for the best
translation of a twentieth-century German literary work published by a British
publisher; the John Florio Prize for a work from Italian; the Scott Moncrieff Prize for a
work from French; and the Bernard Shaw Prize for a work from Portuguese. Other prizes
include the PEN translation prize (USA), the Swedish Academy Prize for translation, and
the Canada Council translations prize. Rarely do children’s works receive serious
attention or are their translators recognised.
The only major award given to an individual for the translation of a children’s book is
the Astrid Lindgren Translation Prize. This award is sponsored by the International
Federation of Translators and is given every three or four years for either a single
translation of outstanding quality or for a translator’s body of work. The winners have
included Ake Holmber (Sweden) (1981), Patricia Crampton (Britain) (1984), Liselotte
Remane (German Democratic Republic) (1987), Anthea Bell (Britain) and Lyudmila
Braude (USSR) (1990).
520 THE CONTEXT OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE