Twelve major U.S. publishers—among them Penguin Random House, Hachette and W.W. Norton—have joined a PEN American Center pledge to monitor and address incidents of censorship in the translations of their author’s books in the Chinese market. The pledge follows a May 2015 PEN report that U.S. publishers, agents and authors are often unaware of changes made to their books when they are translated for the Chinese book market.
Other signatories to the pledge include Grove Atlantic, Archipelago Books, Beacon Press, Graywolf Press, as well as AAP’s Freedom to Read Committee. The pledge also comes as China prepares to be accepted as a member of the International Publishers Association. Charges of censorship by Chinese publishers were made in Censorship and Conscience: Foreign Authors and the Challenge of Chinese Censorship, a PEN American Center report delivered at this year’s BEA where China was the international guest of honor.
The publishers signing on to the PEN pledge commit to assess whether any book they license for publication in China includes content known to be censored in China. Publishers also pledge to work to minimize changes and excisions in any Chinese translations so that authors can make an informed decision on how to respond.
“Defending free expression is at the core of our values and of our business,” said Atlantic Grove CEO Morgan Entrekin. “This pledge is an articulation of our long-held commitment to creative freedom both within and beyond our borders. We are pleased to do our part to ensure that the principles we treasure here at home are intact as our operations and books reach across borders.”
