121: The Art and Craft of Translation - Interview with Le French Book

DIY MFA Radio

Hey there word nerds!

Boy are you going to love this episode. It’s a bit of an adventure for me, because I have not one, not two, but three wonderful guests joining me on the show.

Today, I’m speaking with Anne Trager, founder of Le French Book, and two members of her team: Amy Richards and Sally Pane. Together, these three ladies have adapted the Winemaker Detective Series, authored in France originally by Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noël Balen, and have brought these wonderful books to the United States.

As we discuss the ins and outs of translating and adapting books to an American audience, you’ll get an inside look at all the nuances and details that go into bringing the Winemaker Detective Series to life for a new readership.

In this episode Anne, Amy, Sally, and I discuss:

• What Le French Book is, and what inspired Anne to start this company. We also discuss the collaboration process of these three women.
• The Winemaker Series, and why it is such a perfect choice for Le French Book.
• How one small shift in the adaptation timeline has led to some interesting and fun changes in the series translation.
• The translation process and how this particular team translates and adapts this series to an American audience.
• How you can preserve the voice of the authors, even when translating a text from one language to another.

Plus, their #1 tip for writers. About Le French Book

When I read this manifesto of sorts on the Le French Book website, I knew Anne Trager and I were of the same mind.

What we believe

• Entertainment is key.
• A book is a book is a book, whatever the format. It's the story that counts.
• Readers want to read, so they should have easy access to our books.
• Publishing is changing and all ways of getting books to readers are worth exploring.
• Reaching out and engaging with readers is where it’s at.

Learn more at www.lefrenchbook.com, or follow Le French Book on Facebook and Twitter. You can also download a free copy of the first in the series Treachery in Bordeaux.

Anne Trager loves France so much she has lived there since 1985 and just can’t seem to leave. What keeps her there is a uniquely French mix of pleasure seeking and creativity. Well, that and the wine. In 2011, she woke up one morning and said, “I just can’t stand it anymore. There are way too many good books being written in France not reaching a broader audience.” That’s when she founded Le French Book to translate some of those books into English. The company’s motto is “If we love it, we translate it,” and Anne loves crime fiction, mysteries and detective novels.

WAmy Richards is the translation editor at Le French Book and she loves a good story, whether it’s reading it, telling it or helping someone else write it. She has spent the better part of her career as a writer and editor at both small-town and major metropolitan newspapers. Her award-winning work has ranged from capturing the economic decline of Rust-Belt communities on Lake Erie to distilling the essence of food stories in well-turned headlines. Her entrée to manuscript editing was a chance encounter in a thrift store. She overheard a first-time author talking about his novel. “Do you need an editor?” she asked. “Why yes, I do,” he answered. Since helping him polish his first two novels, she has edited more than two dozen English-first and translated works for independent authors and Le French Book.

Sally Pane studied French at SUNY and the Sorbonne before receiving her Masters Degree in French Literature from the University of Colorado. Her career includes more than twenty years of translating and teaching French and Italian at University of Colorado Boulder. She also served as the interpreter for the government cabinet of Rwanda and translated for Dian Fossey’s Digit Fund. Sally has translated a number of titles in the Winemaker Detective series. In addition to her passion for French, she studied Italian at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Rome and Siena. She lives in Boulder, Colorado with her husband.

Winemaker Series

An immersion in French countryside and gourmet attitude with two amateur sleuths gumshoeing around French wine country. The Winemaker Detective series delves into the underworld of a global luxury industry, where there’s money, deceit, death, crime, inheritance, jealousy—all the ingredients needed to distill a fine detective series! That and a decent dose of Epicurean enjoyment of fine food and beverage. It follows master winemaker Benjamin Cooker and his sidekick Virgile Lanssien in their adventures solving mysteries in vineyards throughout France and beyond. Each book is a homage to wine and winemakers.

This series—written by Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noël Balen—has been made into a television series in France, Blood of the Vine. The series is a huge success in France, Belgium and Switzerland, attracting an audience of over 4 million.

For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/121