Books travelling across borders: Pushkin Children's
We interviewed Adam Freudenheim and Stephanie Seegmuller about new imprint Pushkin Children's Books
Recent research indicates that less than 3% of all books sold in the UK are translated fiction - in comparison to 46% in Poland, 24% in Spain and 15% in France. With authors like David Almond pointing out that children in the UK may be missing out on the chance to read 'the best books by the best writers from all parts of the world', we talk to Adam Freudenheim and Stephanie Seegmuller of Pushkin Press, who are launching a new imprint, Pushkin Children's Books this month, specifically to help redress the balance by 'bringing classic and bestselling children's books from all around the world to British children'.
Tell us about Pushkin Children's Books. How did the imprint come about?
Adam Freudenheim: I have three children – aged 6, 8 and 10 – all of whom love reading and being read to, perhaps not surprisingly as the children of a publisher who likes the sound of his own voice!
Having kids lead me to rediscover children's classics from my own childhood but also to discover a whole host of more recent and new children's books. But what really struck me – and I bought and/or read hundreds of kids' books over the last few years – was how nearly all the books I came across were British or American. Sure, there are a few exceptions of famous books in translation like Pippi Longstocking and some others, but these exceptions prove the rule of just how limited we are in our choice of children's books these days Pushkin Children's Books seeks to change this, with a varied list of modern classics and contemporary successes from all over the world, books that have sold millions of copies and often been translated into a dozen or more languages. We hope, in a small way, to shift the culture.
Stephanie Seegmuller: It’s interesting that there is so little translated books for children available in English. I grew up in France reading British, German and Scandinavian modern classics and remember greatly enjoying the variety of stories and countries.
How did you approach selecting books for your list?
Adam: We select books based on recommendations from foreign publishers, translators, writers, friends and our own reading. We're working to have a balanced list of contemporary and modern classic titles, all aimed at children aged 5-10 and 10+, many with beautiful, original illustrations.
Some of your titles, like Oksa Pollock (publishing in June) are huge bestsellers in other countries. Are you surprised that books like these haven’t been published in the UK before - and why do you think this is?
Adam: I am and I'm not surprised that books like the Oksa Pollock series haven't made it to the UK. American and British publishers are often monolingual and can be rather inward looking – to generalise, perhaps unfairly! The fact that series like Oksa Pollock are being published in over 25 languages and are only now making it into English is just proof for me that we were right to set up Pushkin Children's Books.
Why do you think it’s so important for children in the UK to have access to books from different countries, languages and cultures?
Adam: We live in a globalised world, and there are literally millions of people from all over the EU and around the world now living in the UK. Shouldn't children have access to the great children's books from other languages and cultures, especially when they are living closer than ever to other children from those cultures? Our Vitello series, a huge success in Denmark, came to me via a London-based fan who discovered them because her husband is Danish and she loved reading the book to her young children and wanted to be able to share them more widely. Her name is Ruth Garde and she ended up translating all five Vitello books for us.
Stephanie: I think it’s key for children to have access to as wide a choice of books as possible. Some children in my family hated reading until they finally found something they didn’t find 'sooooo boring'.
Do you think there is anything that distinguishes children’s fiction written in other languages from children’s fiction written in English, by UK and US authors? And are there any particular trends or approaches that you have spotted that you feel are different to those we’re used to seeing within children’s publishing in the UK?
Adam: I'm not sure I do, if anything many of these authors have been influenced by the long and strong tradition of children's lit in Britain and the US, and yet what they write also reflects their local culture and traditions. But I think like good books of any kind in the end they transcend national boundaries. When we lose ourselves in a good book the original language or culture is often forgotten and what sticks with us is the writing, the characters, the atmosphere – and with kids books perhaps most often the story!
Which title on the Pushkin list are you most excited about publishing?
Adam: Ooh, this is a difficult one to answer, naturally. I'm genuinely excited about all the books we're publishing especially because our list is so varied. But if I have to pull out one I'll point to Tonke Dragt's gripping The Letter for the King. This modern classic, first published in in 1962, is a page-turning novel following the adventurous quest of a young knight. I'm currently reading Laura Watkinson's wonderful translation to my 8 and 10-year-old. They are loving it, and the only challenge is explaining to them that I can't read them any more as I'm waiting for the next sections of the translation to come through. Poor Laura has to put up with frequent emails from me begging for more of her translation, even in draft form! We publish The Letter for the King in November, and I hope this more-than-milliion copy bestseller, which has been translated into over 15 languages and made into a feature film will find favour with British readers. My kids certainly love it!
Stephanie: My personal favourite is my top childhood book and was the first title to come to mind when we started building the Pushkin Children’s Books list. Pierre Gripari’s The Good Little Devil & Other Tales, which is a major modern classics of the 60’s in France and has been handed over from generation to generation. The book has also crossed many borders and been translated into 18 languages, that’s already quite a few readers!
Apart from the titles on your list, what are your favourite books in translation?
Adam: In terms of children's books I adored Tintin growing up as well as The Neverending Story and Emil and the Detectives, among other titles.
Stephanie: Being French, I can’t really count Tintin as a translation. However, I’ll say I loved Roald Dahl, Kipling and Selma Lagerlof.
What are your hopes for Pushkin Children’s in the future?
Adam: Wow, this is a big question! I want Pushkin Children's Books to continue to find great gems, old and new, from all over the world and bring them to the widest possible audience. Though we are a small, independent publishing house we are very ambitious and feel the sky's the limit in terms of the reach our books could have. I hope that proves to be true!
Stephanie: The wonderful thing about children’s books is that they are not just for children, they’re also for adults to read to their children (or even read themselves!) Our aim is to continue to introduce to more and more readers to children’s books which have travelled across borders and generations and shown their true quality.
Find out more about Pushkin Children's Books
Read our review of one of the launch titles: Vitello Gets a Yucky Girlfriend
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