Indonesia prepares for Frankfurt

       Indonesia will be the 2015 Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair, and in the Jakarta Post Niken Prathivi considers Frankfurt Book Fair 2015: How serious is Indonesia in promoting its culture, literature ?
       Among the news:

So far, we've translated 61 titles -- there are about 40 to go. We're optimistic that every title will be ready by next year

       Sounds good.
       Less good:

Even so, Wandi is realistic. "Most publishers overseas still look down on Indonesian books. Only books from great and famous authors, like Pramoedya Ananta Toer, get their attention."

       And pretty disappointing to hear (from Kate Griffin, international programme director for the British Centre for Literary Translation):

"In the UK, we are generally not as adventurous and open to other literary styles as other European countries. Crime fiction in translation is popular, as is straightforward storytelling, but not so much literary experiments.

"This means that UK publishers are often quite cautious in what they choose to translate, selecting titles that don't stray too far from the taste of UK readers and familiar literary styles. They might focus on genres such as crime, or big family sagas, to be sure that there is an audience," she said.

       Sigh.
       Meanwhile, see the official sites, Indonesia @Frankfurt Book Fair and Indonesia goes Frankfurt 2015.