Just 3%: that’s the number of books published in the U.S. that are works in translation. And only a fraction of those are fiction titles. Even fewer are books for children and teens. In celebration of World Kid Lit Month, we spoke with a dozen publishing professionals—many from small but mighty independent houses—about the current climate for children’s books in translation, and how they are pushing to correct the imbalance by introducing more voices from around the globe to the U.S. market.
Angus Yuen-Killick, founder and publisher of Red Comet Press, sums up the rewards of looking beyond our borders for stories to share with young readers. “The world of children’s publishing outside of the United States is so rich and diverse—it is the most refreshing thing to step out of our bubble and make connections with editors and creators around the world,” he said. And while Yuen-Killick is seeing “a groundswell of support from gatekeepers and advocates for books in translation,” there are numerous hurdles facing publishers, some stemming from fundamental cultural and artistic differences.
“Bringing international literature to the U.S. is already challenging, and when our focus is on children’s books, we have some extra challenges,” said Yael Bernstein, founder of Tapioca Stories, which focuses on books originally written in Spanish and Portuguese. Even though she believes “anyone in the world could relate to the stories we publish, our picture books are told in a different way,” and have a particular style, both in narrative and aesthetic. because they are made by Latin American creators.” Bernstein finds it’s often older folks who need convincing to pick up a book in translation. “Adults have a different mindset, and as the gatekeepers of children’s books, they may limit their access to these books, and the potential of expanding their horizons with beautiful stories from around the world.”
Although attitudes toward international books have been shifting in recent years, Kathleen Merz, editorial director at Eerdmans, believes “there’s still a decent amount of resistance to books that are perceived as too strange, too dark, too quirky, too off-putting—in a word: too foreign. That’s probably one of the biggest obstacles,” she said. “For every reader who’s clamoring for the gorgeous variety that international books bring, there’s probably at least one who’s put off by the unfamiliar feel and wants something a little more palatably close to home.”
Sarah Gale, editor and director of publicity at Archipelago and its Elsewhere Editions imprint for young readers, has heard similar reports from booksellers that “some parents feel picture books from beyond the Anglosphere may be too cerebral, difficult, or ambiguous for their kids.” But she said that for her team, “ ‘foreignness’ isn’t something that ever disqualifies a book. If the art is fresh, inspiring, unlike anything we’ve seen before, that’s what draws us in.”
While it might be tempting to smooth over those differences for young readers, Debbie Bibo, founder of the Debbie Bibo Agency, warns against what she calls preemptive self-censorship. “From editors to art directors to the top brass, everyone is afraid that a reader, teacher, parent, reviewer, bookseller, or influencer might take offense at something, so much so that precautionary measures are often taken to remove or change the ‘guilty’ word/passage/depiction. The fear of being attacked, silenced, and censored is so great that many gatekeepers preemptively remove anything that they feel could potentially be deemed offensive. This vicious cycle undermines not only the integrity of the book and its author, but the intelligence of the readers,” she cautioned.
Bibo represents a far-flung roster of clients, including authors and illustrators in Brazil, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Poland, Russia, Spain, Taiwan, and the U.S., selling rights worldwide. She said, “I think it’s important to remember that the aspiration of translating children’s books is to introduce young readers to new and diverse cultures, customs, ideas, peoples, and perspectives precisely because they represent realities that are similar to but also different from their own.”
Bernstein agrees that a sense of unfamiliarity is what makes books in translation special. “We want to surprise young English readers with different narratives, and we believe that it will encourage them to grow into more empathic, perceptive, and thoughtful adults.” The bright side to that, she added, “is that children embrace and enjoy these stories with all their uniqueness, as they are still discovering everything around them.”
Claudia Zoe Bedrick, publisher, editor, and art director of Enchanted Lion, which she launched in 2003, is at the forefront of the movement to spotlight literature in translation. She’s baffled by the persistent skepticism around these books—and with good reason: “Seeing that children’s literature in the U.S. effectively originates with books in translation in the form of myths and fairy tales, and such stories as Pinocchio, why don’t we hold books in translation to be the heart of our very own children’s lit tradition?” she wonders. Speaking on behalf of her team, she said, “It honestly makes zero sense to us, so we basically ignore the cultural tendency that deems books in translation difficult, unfamiliar, ‘foreign,’ tricky, whatever it is. From where we sit, the books that we all should be wary of for children are those purveying pablum, commercialized messages, and simplistic points of view, as well as those that are no more than dull message delivery systems.”
On the bright side, Gale is confident that, by and large, “kids are eager to explore, to experience complicated emotions, to respond to artistic styles they might not have seen before. We see this when we put books directly into their hands at book fairs. And the more kids discover stories they love in picture books originally written in other languages, the more possible it will be for booksellers to take risks on books they worry might be challenging to sell.”
Clearing Hurdles
For Jennifer Alise Drew, senior editor of Restless Books and its children’s imprint Yonder, the primary challenge in publishing books in translation is financial. “Paying an advance to the author and a market-appropriate rate to the translator means that the acquisition can cost two to four times more than it would an English-language original.” She also noted the higher print cost associated with children’s books, which are often presented in paper-over-board format with illustrations. “The initial investment in a translated children’s book can be really difficult to recoup unless a book becomes a runaway bestseller, which for a small publisher like Restless generally means selling more than 6,000 copies.” When evaluating if the investment is worthwhile, she said, it all comes down to storytelling. “I like to think about the different lives a book has when it travels from one language to another, how it contains multiple versions of itself. In the end, it’s the story that connects the people who read it.”
It’s also a question of scale. Rachel Lawson, publisher of New Zealand-based children’s publisher Gecko Press, which became an imprint of Lerner Books in 2023, told PW, “For most of Gecko’s history, we’ve come into the U.S. from the other side of the world. The size of the U.S. market is a challenge—finding room for international titles alongside the abundant publishing from major houses based in the U.S. So is getting space for authors and illustrators when they can’t promote their books directly, visit bookstores, speak at festivals and events.”
Lawson said the team tries to compensate by producing video material and using authors’ social platforms “to give buyers a sense of the people behind the books.” She added, “We’re lucky to have a very good U.S. publicist and now expanded marketing with Lerner, which can present our books to review and media outlets. That makes a big difference.”
Nick Thomas, executive editor at Levine Querido, suggests the main hurdle is the time and the effort involved “in evaluating and finding the perfect books. It takes time to develop and nurture the relationships with foreign publishers, agents, readers, and translations—and then actually read the books. [All of that’s] in addition to the similar work you’re doing for books on the domestic front.” Since its founding in 2019 by Arthur A. Levine, the imprint has published bestselling and acclaimed books from abroad, including 2023’s Batchelder Honor-winning Pardalita by Joana Estrela, translated from the Portuguese by Lyn Miller-Lachmann, and 2022 Honor-winning The Sea-Ringed World: Sacred Stories of the Americas by Maria Garcia Esperon, illustrated by Amanda Mijangos, and translated by David Bowles.
Hadi Barkat, CEO and founder of Switzerland-based Helvetiq—which launched a North American imprint in 2022—said, the company has a unique advantage in publishing books in translation. “We’re a diverse team of 20 people in Switzerland, France, and Germany. Members of our team speak more than a dozen languages and hail from four continents. We’re passionate about international children’s books and in 2022 we decided to launch an imprint in the U.S.—also for our graphic novels and our successful Beer Hiking Series.”
While Barkat said they haven’t met resistance to international books, “We underestimated two challenges. First, the long lead time [in U.S. publishing] is really a struggle, especially when you factor in that we are in Europe and worldwide shipping continues to be disrupted.” The second hurdle is that “our profit margins are tighter in the U.S., and so we have to be creative if we want to uphold our reputation for high quality—like working harder on good design, which is always less expensive than bells and whistles like Pantone colors or fancy bindings.”
Hoist Up the Sales
Merz at Eerdmans enumerated the logistical difficulties behind selling books in translation. “When your book’s creators don’t live in the U.S., having them do school visits or attend conferences can pose big geographic and financial challenges. Those creators also may or may not speak English, so publicity opportunities can be more limited. And often the recognition that’s given to international titles is more limited, too.”
Noting one of the paradoxes in promoting and selling international writers, Joy Bean, editorial director of Arctis Books USA, said, “Many of our authors are award-winners and bestsellers and highly regarded in their field, and yet in the U.S. they are debut authors with no track record.” Like Merz, she said, “Our authors live around the world, and therefore aren’t able to go on book tours unless we plan a costly trip to the U.S., which, as a small publisher, would be very tough. We do our best with marketing, especially through social media, where teachers, librarians, book buyers, and readers can see what our books are about, and to connect with our authors.”
Regardless of the author’s country of origin, Bean said, “I ask myself the same questions when acquiring the rights to a foreign title as when acquiring an original manuscript—are the characters well developed? Is the voice unique and strong? Is the story something readers will love? Is the pacing good? Do any lessons feel too heavy-handed?” Arctis has had success with the Raven Rings trilogy by YA author Siri Pettersen, known as the Queen of Fantasy in Norway, and is set to publish her new trilogy, called Vardari.
Bedrick at Enchanted Lion said that, as a small publisher, “Every book we publish presents a challenge, whether it’s a book in translation or not. Getting books in front of readers is always a demanding, strenuous uphill process.” Referring to the cut-throat attention economy, she added, “making a space for any book where it might get noticed is not evident and requires a lot of smarts, effort, innovation, support, and straight-out good luck, too.”
There’s no secret formula for what makes a book in translation succeed, Bedrick said. “We have never figured out any calculus or rule of thumb as to what might sell, so what guides our acquisition process is a framework of ideas that provides us with a compass for assessing a book, what it seems to be up to, and what we think we can do with it.” She shared that her passion for publishing books from other countries and cultures “stems from a deep interest in and excitement about clearly different and wonderful narrative styles, illustration styles, and ways of thinking about things and telling stories.”
She takes heart in knowing that even books that don’t go on to be big commercial successes can still “find their niche and families and readers who appreciate them.” Enchanted Lion titles have received numerous awards for translation, including three Batchelder Honors in 2022 alone, for Coffee, Rabbit, Snowdrop, Lost by Betina Birkjær, illustrated by Anna Margrethe Kjærgaard, translated by Sinéad Quirke Køngerskov; The Most Beautiful Story by Brynjulf Jung Tjønn, illustrated by Øyvind Torseter, translated by Kari Dickson; and Sato the Rabbit by Yuki Ainoya, translated by Michael Blaskowsky.
The head of Helvetiq’s North American publishing, Richard Harvell, said, “We decided to open a North American imprint because we didn’t want to be beholden to the tastes of U.S. editors. Now we get to publish the books we love the most, without having to convince a U.S. publisher to license it. We love global themes with diverse, local treatment.” Pointing to some early successes, he said, “A bright spot for us has been nonfiction graphic novels. Big Bangs and Black Holes: A Graphic Novel Guide to the Universe, in cooperation with Nobel laureate Michel Mayor, beat all our expectations and even outsold our European editions.” The book landed on the Bank Street Best Books list in 2024, as did Smash the Patriarchy, which also won the Global Literature in Libraries Initiative Translated Young Adult Book Prize. Both these books are heading towards the 10,000-copy mark.
Killick pointed out, “Part of the challenge is that the U.S. market is so productive, with home-grown books by authors and illustrators who are here and available to promote their own works. There are more risks with books in translation. That said, small publishers, like ourselves, have more modest expectations than a larger house where the metrics of successful publisher are elevated.” Red Comet has found recent success with Yellow Butterfly by Ukrainian creator Oleksandr Shatokhin, “a wordless picture book about the war in his country seen through the eyes of a girl.” Killick is also seeing strong demand for a picture book he translated from the French, called Roll, Roll, Little Pea by Cécile Bergame. “It is fun, sweet, and features wonderful art by Magali Attiogbé. It’s just been reprinted and seems to be making its way to several educational programs, which bodes well for its longevity,” he said.
The Road Less Traveled
Barkat at Helvetiq praised the integral role of translators in bringing global literature to U.S. readers. “They are passionate, talented, and so hard-working. Our authors, illustrators, and translators all bring truly exceptional contributions to our books. We always put our translators’ names on the cover because they deserve more recognition.” (See our story with insights from children’s book translators here.)
Expressing gratitude for all that booksellers do to amplify border-crossing books, Bernstein said, “It is wonderful to see independent bookstores shelving books by country of origin, and readers who are fascinated with books from specific countries,” she said. “Like anything in life, you have to develop a taste for new things, as with reading international literature, and it seems that many Americans are willing to give it a try.”
Merz cited the value of awards like the Batchelder “and all that it does to elevate translated titles.” Still, she said, “I’d love to see more conversation and promotion around it. And it would be wonderful if we had a similar award to recognize international titles for their illustration, so we could give more attention to international picture book and graphic novel art. That is often such a distinct, interesting, and unique feature of these books.”
Levine Querido’s Thomas has similar hopes. “I would really, really love to see an award that combines the Caldecott and the Batchelder—something that recognizes the best international picture books by non-U.S. citizens brought to U.S. readers each year,” he said. “There are so many amazing artists and illustrated stories out there beyond our borders, and awards remain an important lever for getting the word out. We see that with the Batchelder and the other ALA awards. I think an award like this could help make an impact in the quality of stories broadly encountered by young U.S. readers.”
Mindful of the larger political context within which these books are published, Lawson at Gecko said, “I’ve been thinking about our fear of difference, belligerence about our own opinions, hunching inside our national borders. It feels vital to me that children grow up feeling part of the whole big world, the planet. We do some things differently in other countries and languages, but different doesn’t need to be wrong or scary.”
Lawson concluded by sharing a quotation from British writer Frank Cottrell-Boyce, the current U.K. children’s laureate, about the European books he read growing up in the 1960s. “He says of reading those books, ‘You felt like the world belonged to you.’ I love the idea that books in translation can make children feel they belong in the world and the world belongs to them.”
