The Arab Voices initiative, launched in 2020, aims to bridge the gap in translating Arabic literature into other languages. Despite the richness of Arabic literature, only a small fraction of works are translated, with only 1% of books translated worldwide being from Arabic. The initiative's founders, Chérif and Rania Bakr, seek to change this by creating a platform that connects international publishers with Arabic literary works.
The platform provides a catalog of selected Arabic works, including information on authors, page count, rights holders, publication dates, and ISBN numbers. This allows international publishers to easily access and negotiate translations. Chérif Bakr explains that Arab Voices is not a translation platform, but rather a hub that provides a range of resources, including links to book fairs, agencies, and funding programs.
A jury of seven independent experts, including librarians, literary critics, and publishers, selects the works to be included in the catalog. This year, 32 contemporary fiction works were chosen, including titles such as "At the End of Time" by Adel Esmat and "A Mask, the Color of the Sky" by Bassem Khandaqji. These works will be presented at the Frankfurt Book Fair to facilitate translations.
The initiative has received funding from the European Union, which has supported the project from its inception and again five years later. The goal is to make the initiative sustainable and to increase the global reach of Arabic literature. Arab Voices has been praised internationally, including by Gvantsa, president of the International Publishers Association.
According to Chérif Bakr, one of the main obstacles to translating Arabic literature is the lack of a dedicated entity to facilitate and fund translations. Additionally, international publishers often struggle to access Arabic works, and there is a lack of platforms to discover and promote these works. The Arab Voices initiative seeks to address these challenges.
The project has evolved from a print-based system to an interactive digital platform, which is regularly updated. The platform currently features between 50 and 100 carefully selected works, representing various generations and genres from the Arab world. This facilitates discovery and translation for international publishers, while also highlighting new talent.
The Arab Voices initiative complements other programs, such as the Cairo Calling Program, which invites international publishers to Egypt to facilitate exchanges. While progress has been made, challenges persist, including a lack of funding and gaps in the Arabic publishing system. The initiative aims to overcome these obstacles and increase the global reach of Arabic literature.
Key points
- The Arab Voices initiative seeks to increase the translation of Arabic literature into other languages by providing a platform for international publishers to access and negotiate translations.
