The impact of awards on the translation and circulation of children’s literature into semi-peripheral and peripheral languages

Abstract

The article sheds light on the impact of awards on the translation of children’s literature into semi-peripheral and peripheral languages and its transnational circulation. In relation to literature for adults, it has been argued that awards instigate both translation and circulation. This article examines whether a similar claim holds true also for children’s literature translated into semi-peripheral and peripheral languages, taking Swedish and Maltese as respective examples. First, we examine to what extent laureates of the Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing (1956-2018) have been translated into Swedish and Maltese. Then, we turn to circulation and examine the availability of the laureates’ work in the target contexts, looking at what may currently be acquired from libraries and online bookshops in Sweden and Malta. Contrary to previous claims made regarding literary awards, our findings show that this major award for children’s literature did not decisively stimulate translation neither into the semi-peripheral language Swedish nor the peripheral Maltese. With regard to circulation, however, the findings provide further support for claims made in the literature, since the work by the laureates circulate widely both in Sweden and Malta.