English PEN translation grants

       They report that English PEN awards new grants for books in translation -- ten titles in all.
       A nice variety -- both of books and publishers. Highlights include translations from Belarusian and Galician (yes, even if it is yet again something by Manuel Rivas), as well as a book by Michel Déon.
       (Only one of Michel Déon's books has been translated into English -- Where Are You Dying Tonight ?. That got a nice write-up even in The New York Times Book Review (here) -- in those pre-Tanenhaus-administration days, when the NYTBR was somewhat more open to reviewing works in translation (by living authors, etc.) -- but amazingly none of the prolific author's other work has been translated into English since -- leading to that desperate little note on his official site (scroll down):

Despite his preeminence as a literary figure only one of his works has been made available to English-speaking readers. Deon is actively pursuing translation and publication of his works in English and welcomes inquiries, through his US agent.

       (Note also that that US agent is apparently this one .....)
       Maybe Déon would have a bit more luck in selling himself (and his work) stateside if his official site did not open with him ... selling himself quite so hard:

For Michel Deon, immortality is not just a dream; it is his reality.

       Yes, yes, we're all very impressed that he's an 'immortel' -- fauteuil 8 at the Académie française -- (the second-longest tenured one, by the way), but that kind of immortality really isn't that big a selling point beyond French shores.)