The Spanish Revolution

Grantra #113

The first week in December marked an exciting moment for literature in Spanish. Events took place in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and London to mark the launch of issue 113 of Granta Magazine: The best of young Spanish language novelists. It's the first time ever that the magazine - which has helped put writers such as Salman Rushdie, Kazuo Ishiguro and Rose Tremain on the map - has published an issue made up entirely of stories in translation.

All the writers featured are under 35 and have published at least one book in the Spanish language. That's where the similarities end. The editors trawled through over 300 submissions and fought it out to select just 22 stories from eight different countries with a striking range of different styles and subject matter. From the unsettling tale of a sinister killer prowling the nightclubs of Havana to the surreal story of a woman obsessed with having a horn implanted on her forehead, the stories in this collection are powerful, thought-provoking and original.

But why did Granta decide to publish an issue entirely in translation for the first time? I asked the magazine's editor, John Freeman. John explained that the magazine has had a Spanish connection for some time now. For the past seven years, a Spanish version of Granta has been published in Spain by editors Valerie Miles and Aurelio Major.

'They typically take half of their issue from our entire archive, and commission the other half to writers working in Spanish,' John explained. 'It's been a great relationship, because it's given Granta in English access to writers we normally wouldn't see - and we've run several pieces that originated in Granta en español, such as Javier Marias' piece on his fear of flying, which appeared in Granta 107'

It was only a matter of time before the idea of a completely Spanish issue came up. 'Valerie and Aurelio have long felt there's a wealth of young talent working in Spanish,' John told me. 'And even though I don't read in the language, I tend to feel that it's important for Granta to go where exciting writing is happening.'

So, about a year and a half ago the Granta team began putting together a Best of Young Spanish issue. 'It was slightly nerve-wracking,' said John, 'because only one member of our staff in London is fluent in Spanish, and to do this issue right we had to give the entire judging process over to Granta en español and trust their dedication and thoroughness.'

Working with so many translators was also an unusual experience for Granta. 'It was like having an issue with 44 contributors, not 22, because the translators' skill and style and judgment were as important to the pieces as the pieces themselves,' John told me. 'In a very few cases we started over, because we simply weren't happy. On the whole, though, they were a marvellous group to work with and I hope as a result we'll be looking at much more work which has been written originally in Spanish.'

I asked John whether he can see himself publishing another entirely translated issue. However, he doesn't like categorising literature in this way. 'I prefer not to look at what we publish as In Translation or Not in Translation. I simply want us to publish the best writing. Our judgment for work in translation falls on the same criteria as work originally written in English. Does it arouse and arrest? Does it transport and move you, does it make you think? Does it feel like an important story?'

In the case of the 22 stories which made it into this issue, the answer to these questions is a resounding 'Yes!' This is a landmark issue for anybody interested in great international fiction and proof of what an exciting time this is for new writing in Spanish.