Glas suspends activities

       I have long admired the work of Glas, publishers of Russian literature in English translation for almost a quarter of a century now. Only half a dozen (of their 75) titles are under review at the complete review, but they have been an invaluable leading source of Russian-literature-in-English over this period -- so it is very sad to hear that, as Phoebe Taplin reports at Russia Beyond the Headlines, Glas publishing house is suspending its activity.
       Publisher Natasha Perova notes:

"I thought the world would gasp with admiration," says Perova, but "both publishers and the public were slow to appreciate contemporary Russian literature."

       Sadly:

The cause of Russian literature in translation is not helped, Perova feels, by the recent rise of émigré Russian writers who "paint a more digestible picture of Russia." Foreign publishers are scared, she says, of "Russia in the raw, with its miseries and struggles" and readers are spoiled by "smooth-moving, light fiction."

       Perova explains that:

As a Russian publisher of works in English, Perova's project is not eligible for grants at home or abroad. "I can't apply for help anywhere," she explains. "Due to falling sales and rising costs ... it is no longer possible to publish translated literature without external support, which I have never had."

       Is that really what it's come to, that fiction in translation is only publishable if it is subsidized, one way or another ? How sad is that. (And much as I am pleased about fiction in translation getting much more attention (or at least appearing to ...), if commercial viability (of any sort) is still so elusive ... not a good sign.)

       There are a lot of highlights from the Glas catalogue -- whereby the first publication of Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky in English (Seven Stories) is probably the most noteworthy. Among my other favorites: Anatoly Mariengof (Cynics and A Novel Without Lies).
       See also older Q & A's with the estimable Perova at The Voice of Russia (Publisher who likes books (2010)) and The New Inquiry (From Russia With Literature (2011)).