In Malta Today Teodor Reljic considers The necessary perils of literary translation, as tiny -- and linguistically isolated -- Malta looks to spreading Maltese literature abroad.
Interestingly -- and realistically:
Good, then, that there's a Plan B:
Interestingly -- and realistically:
Both Mifsud and Merlin Publishers Director of Publishing Chris Gruppetta agree that, while it may be natural to assume that English should be the first port of call for local writers, an English-language translation of a Maltese work may be met with a hostile reception abroad, particularly in the UK/US markets.('Hostile reception' presumably being a euphemism for: 'going completely unnoticed and unread'.)
Good, then, that there's a Plan B:
"My impression is that the French are more open to translating and publishing foreign work and that is also a huge market. The same holds true for the Italian; one wonders why there has been so little Maltese literature translated into Italian, given our geographical and cultural proximity and I think we should do something about this," Mifsud said."Spreading Words, the literary translation strand of the Malta Arts Fund" sounds like a helpful initiative -- but the fact that the official site still notes; "The first submission deadline will be on the 1st of March 2013" does not inspire confidence.