When a Business Meeting Leads to a Meeting of Cultures
“At the Translation Rights Fair English- and French-language publishers meet and exchange ideas. It’s the idea that we are abolishing borders thanks to a program that allows us to exchange first and foremost.”
Antoine Tanguay, founder and president, Éditions Alto, Quebec City
We come to understand each other through our stories. But what happens when our stories are told in another language? Writers, publishers and translators play a role in breaking through language barriers to mutual understanding.
With the cooperation of the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Canada Council provides publishers with funding to have Canadian books translated into French, English or an Aboriginal language. On January 28, 2011, the Council hosted Canada’s first-ever translation rights fair, bringing together English and French-language publishers in Ottawa to meet and to ultimately make deals to publish translations of their books.
It’s an investment in the publishing industry that’s a good news story for us all.