After approaching me several months ago, the independent UK publisher Galileo (www.galileopublishing.co.uk )has acquired worldwide English language rights from S Fischer Verlag for two of my Doeblin translations. I’ve been trying for the past seven years to interest Anglophone publishers in Doeblin’s works ‘beyond Alexanderplatz’, so this is tremendously encouraging!
Firstly, apologies to readers of this blog for my long absence. I’ve been giving priority to important family matters, and to completing my latest project – Robert Mueller’s Tropics – the Myth of Travel (which I’ve just sent off to a New York publisher).
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Several months ago, out of the blue, an email landed in the website inbox, asking if I’d be willing to see one or more of my Doeblin translations published as books. The email was buried among dozens from SEO hustlers and outright scammers, so it nearly ended up in the bin. Luckily I rescued it in time, and after a friendly phone call with the publisher, Robert Hyde, we met up in London and agreed the first two titles to be included in his firm’s still small but very attractive list (Do check it out at www.galileopublishing.co.uk !)
I made a pitch for the Amazonas trilogy, but Robert argued that Manas would be a better bet to attract the attention of book editors and reviewers (An epic in verse! How curious!). And we agreed that the dystopian MOG would also be more likely to draw reviews (and sales) than a big and complex historical fiction by a writer still too little known in English. (But fingers crossed for the future, if these two titles sell reasonably well.)
Target publication date is May 2020. I’m looking forward to seeing who will provide introductions to these two highly unusual works of creative High Fiction!
Following my contract with Galileo, I’ve agreed to de-activate the PDF downloads for these two works. I hope readers will understand, and will order the professionally produced print or ebook versions in a few months’ time.
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This is very exciting. And I thank you for your difficult and pioneering work.
Well done. The English speaking world is waking up to the genius of Doeblin and you are making a huge contribution to this.