Trendy Titles in Translation
The Book Office team of the Institut Français du Royaume-Uni has been working to release an up-to-date list of French titles in translation published in the United-Kingdom. Please note this list has been compiled with the help of French and British publishers and agents. Some titles may be missing and mistakes may remain. Don’t hesitate to contact us at bdl@institutfrançais.org.uk if you come across any errors or omissions.
With 78 titles inventoried so far for 2016 (42 published from January to June and 36 yet to be from July to December), the publication of French books in translation in the UK is in progress as compared to the previous years.
Fresh French Fiction
In the UK, novels remain at the top of the list – representing 60% of our list of publications over the period 2015-2016. France has in common with the UK a tradition of crime and detective fiction that is reflected in publishers’ catalogues (6 titles in 2015, 9 in 2016). While some classic authors such as Thomas Narcejac & Pierre Boileau (Vertigo), Georges Simenon (My Friend Maigret and the whole series to come), and Frederic Dard (Bird in a Cage) are re-discovered, another generation born in the 1950’s-1960’s draws the attention: Fred Vargas, Dominique Sylvain, Bernard Minier, Hervé le Corre and particularly Pierre Lemaître (Blood Wedding and the relaunch of Irène, Alex, Camille trilogy this year).
French historical novels match the British taste, with authors Leila Sebbar (Confessions of a Madman, dealing with civil war), Lydie Salvayre (Cry mother Spain, a Goncourt-winning novel about Spain under Franco), or Adrien Bosc (whose novel Constellation is based on the crash of the eponymous plane) being published this year.
It seems French romance keeps arousing British publishers’ curiosity: you may read in English Anne Garreta, Emilie de Turckheim, Antoine Laurain (The Red Notebook) out last year, and Emmanuelle Pagano (Trysting) out this year.
As for fantasy, Muriel Barbery’s second novel The Life of Elves was longed-for by the readers of The Elegance of the Hedgehog.
Arab and African literature in French is getting more and more recognised in the UK, thanks to authors:
Alain Mabanckou (French-Congolese, The Lights of Pointe-Noire 2015)
Leïla Sebbar (French-Algerian, Confessions of a Madman 2016)
Faïza Guène (French-Algerian, Men don’t Cry 2016)
Yasmina Khadra (Algerian, The African Equation 2015, Angel Dies 2016)
Tahar Ben Jelloun (Morrocan, About My Mother 2016)
Fariba Hachtroudi (French-Iranian, The Man who Snapped his Fingers 2016)
Laabi Adbellatif (Morrocan, Beyond the Barbed Wire, selected poems 2016) – which is the only work of poetry in our list sor far with a new translation of Baudelaire’s The Flower of Evil by Anthony Mortimer.
To look forward to in 2017: Boualem Sansal (Algerian, whose last novel 2084 deals with religion, dystopia), and Venus Khoury-Ghata (French-Lebanese, Seven Stones for Adulterous Women)
This year's Man Booker International Prize honoured French women novelists: Marie NDiaye (Ladivine, translated by Jordan Stump) and Maylis de Kerangal (Mend the Living, translated by Jessica moore) were longlisted - along with Fiston Mwanza Mujila (Tram 83, translated by Roland Glasser).
New Non-Fiction
Second after novels come philosophy titles. Whether it is contested or looked up to, the figure of the French intellectual remains a reference in the UK. So far, we have counted 11 French philosophical books and essays to be released from January to December 2016 – representing 14% of publications. Among others: Jean-Paul Sartre (What is Subjectivity?), Henri Lefebvre (Metalophilosophy) or Lucien Goldman (The Hidden God), Jacques Rancière (The Method of Equality).
It is interesting to highlight the diversity of the topics addressed: theory of arts (Nicolas Bourriaud, The Exform), economics (Louis Althusser and Etienne Balibar, Reading Capital) and some very topical politics (Edwy Plenel, For the Muslims, Islamophobia in France)… and even deep thoughts on Football with Jean-Philippe Toussaint!
2015 was a good year with regard to sociology works in particular: Sylvie Tissot, Good Neighbours; Christine Delphy, Separate and Dominate; Pierre Bourdieu and Roger Chertier, The Sociologist and the Historian.
A few psychiatry/psychanalysis titles appear on the list (Jacques Lacan, Transference: The Seminar of Jacques Lacan Book VIII in 2015 and Marlène Belilos, Freud on War in 2016) as well as a two anthropology titles (Sylvain Lazarus, Anthropology of the Name in 2015 and Michel Agier, Borderlands, Towards an Anthropology of the Cosmopolitan Condition in 2016).
This year, history titles include The French in London by Isabelle Janvrin and Catherine Rawlinson and Gutenberg's Europe, The Book and the Invention of Western Modernity (13th-16th Century) by Frédéric Barbier. Historical graphic novels are also finding their way through the British market (Peplum by Blutch and Such a Lovely Little War by Marcelino Truong).
The same trend applies to graphic biographies. The Crime of Jean Genet by Dominique Eddé and Barthes: A Biography by Tiphaine Samoyault are the only non-graphic biographies we have on our radar so far. The Institut Français hosted an event for both French graphic (auto)biography published in the UK this year: Agatha: The Real Life of Agatha Christie, by Anne Martinetti, Guillaume Lebeau and Alexandre Franc, and The Arab of the Future by Riad Sattouf (released by Two Roads, who had never done comics before - follow this link to listen to the interview). In 2015, two graphic biographies were published as well – this time both on painters: Modigliani by Laurent Seksik and Pablo by Julie Birmant and Clément Oubrerie.
Challenging Children’s BOOKS
French creativity is dear to the British children & young adult section. This year is marked by the presence of challenging authors such as Bessora and Barroux (author and illustrator of Alpha, a powerful graphic novel on migration), Sarah Cohen-Scali (Max, a novel dealing with nazism) or Timothée de Fombelle (The Book of Pearl, a story addressed to a wide age-range). Finally, classics remain classics, as goes to show the publication of Belle and Sebastien: The Child of the Mountains by Cécile Aubry.
Live Literature
Wish to meet French/Francophone writers in the United Kingdom? Here is a list of authors who crossed the Channel this year to talk about their work. Do not miss those to come!
Past
26.02 Antoine Cossé (Institut Français in London)
01.03 Edouard Louis (UCL conference)
11.03 Etienne Balibar (Institut Français in London)
31.03 Laurent Seksik, Fabrice Le Hénanff (Institut Français in London)
03.04 Bernard Minier (Oxford Literary Festival)
06.04 Riad Satouff (Institut Français in London)
13.04 Florence Cestac (Institut Français in London)
09.05 Fariba Hachtroudi (European Literature Festival, Free Word Centre)
10.05 Fariba Hachtroudi (Talk at the Lycée Charles de Gaulle)
11.05 Anne Martinetti and Guillaume Lebeau (Institut Français in London)
13.05 Yasmina Khadra, Martin Bakero (European Literature Festival, Edinburgh)
14.05 Martin Bakero, Iris Colomb (ELN, the Enemies Project)
17.05 Muriel Barbery (Mr B's Emporium of Reading Delights, Bath)
19.05 Jean-Christophe Bailly (Institut Français in Scotland)
20.05 Maylis de Kerangal (Institut Français in London)
02.06 Jean-Philippe Toussaint (Institut Français in London)
10-12.06 Joelle Jolivet, Vincent Mahé, Jean Jullien (5th East London Comics & Arts Festival)
11.06 Anna-Louise Milne (Balham Literary Festival)
13.06 Timothée de Fombelle (Free Word Centre)
23.06 Boulet (Orbital Comics)
To Come
13.08 Barroux (Edinburgh International Book Festival)
Barroux presents the world première performance of Alpha, a son-et-lumière dramatic realisation of his powerful graphic novel on migration, launched here in the English language for the first time. With translator Sarah Ardizzone and actor Thierry Lawson. Book here.
13.08 Adrien Bosc (Edinburgh International Book Festival)
1949 - an Air France flight crashes into a mountain, no survivors. Adrien Bosc's Constellation tells the stories of the 48 passengers. 1970 - Palestinian guerillas hijack a plane. In Girl on a Plane, Miriam Moss fictionalises her memory of the event. Book here.
14.08 Faïza Guène (Edinburgh International Book Festival)
Faïza Guène’s novels offer subtle political and bittersweet cultural insights into the life of French-Algerian communities in the Parisian suburbs. She will discuss her new book 'Men Don't Cry' with translator Sarah Ardizzone. Book here.
17.08 Bessora (Edinburgh International Book Festival)
The graphic novel Alpha, written by Bessora and translated by Sarah Ardizzone, is a story of great humanity. Both writers will talk about the book and discuss the materials that have been developed to challenge the dehumanising discourse around migration. Book here.
27.08 Jean-Christophe Rufin (Edinburgh International Book Festival)
J-C. Rufin is a French diplomat, co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières and a novelist. He will join journalist Been Rowlatt to discuss travel writing. In 'Santiago Pilgrimage', Rufin shares his thoughtful 800km pilgrimage on foot to Santiago de Compostela. Book here.
28.08 Tahar Ben Jelloun (Edinburgh International Book Festival)
Tahar Ben Jelloun, Morocco’s greatest living author, presents a compelling novelisation of his mother’s life. 'About My Mother' beautifully and tenderly tells the story of her descent into dementia. In discussion with rising author Irenosen Okojie. Book here.
14.08-28.08 Cafés Littéraires (Institut Français in Edinburgh)
In partnership with the Book Department of the Institut français du Royaume-Uni, we are delighted to welcome four authors, guests of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, for a series of informal and open discussions about their work:
14 Aug / 17:30 Adrien Bosc 15 Aug / 14:30 Faïza Guène with her translator Sarah Ardizzone 27 Aug / 18:00 Jean-Christophe Rufin 28 Aug / 18:00 Tahar Ben Jelloun
Free admission but booking essential here.
September: Riad Sattouf (for the release of his book The Arab of the Future II)
November: South Ken Kids Festival
New York Book Department
To see how French books in translation are doing in the United States of America, read this article of the New York Book Department that inspired us for this post.