Some good news this Tuesday afternoon: The University of Nebraska Press has received a $20,000 grant to support our translation program.

This is a big honor for us here at the UNP, as we’re very proud of our translations. Regular readers of this blog may remember that the University of Nebraska Press has published translations by both the 2008 and 2009 winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature, as well as works by many other influential writers from around the globe.

I’m going to post the full text of the press release announcing the grant below. But first, a link to the Web page for UNP’sEuropean Women Writers series, which includes many, many beautiful translations. 

Here's the release:

The University of Nebraska Press has been awarded a $20,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support publication of translated works in 2010 and 2011. This grant will help support the publication of several forthcoming translated titles, including a short story collection by J. M. G. Le Clézio, the winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize for Literature.
 
"Part of the mission of the University of Nebraska Press is to make available in English some of the best literature from around the world," said UNP Director Donna Shear. "For that reason, receiving this grant is both an honor and a wonderful gift that will help us continue to fulfill our mission."
 
The University of Nebraska Press has a longstanding reputation as a publisher of translated fiction and literature and has translated work by many acclaimed authors from around the word, including both Le Clézio and 2009 Nobel Prize for Literature winner Herta Mueller, 2009 Prix Goncourt winner Marie NDiaye, and many others.
 
UNP translations have received support from numerous organizations including the Argentine Foreign Affairs and International Trade Ministry, the Florence Gould Foundation, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Hemingway Grant Program, the Goethe-Institut, the Program for Cultural Cooperation between Spain's Ministry of Culture and United States' Universities, and the Swedish Arts Council. Additionally, UNP has published a number of titles through the French Voices program, a partnership between the French Cultural Services and PEN American Center, which provides support to American publishers that translate significant French titles into English.
 
In all, the University of Nebraska Press has nearly 200 translated titles currently in print from five different languages, which makes it one of the largest and most active American publishers of translated work.
 
Forthcoming translations include:
 
Death as a Side Effect, by Ana María Shua
Private Property, by Paule Constant 
The Overseer's Cabin, by Édouard Glissant 
Méroé, by Olivier Rolin  
Writings on the Sand, Volume 1, by Isabelle Eberhardt
Mondo  and Other Stories, by J. M. G. Le Clézio
Coda, by René Belletto
 
The grant was awarded in NEA's Access to Artistic Excellence category, which strives to provide audiences across the country with a wide access of art forms and activities.
 
About the University of Nebraska Press: Founded in 1941, the University of Nebraska Press (UNP) is a nonprofit scholarly and general interest press that publishes 160 new and reprint titles annually under the Nebraska and Bison Books imprints respectively, along with 20 journals. As the largest and most diversified university press between Chicago and California, with nearly 3,000 books in print, the University of Nebraska Press is best known for publishing works in Indigenous studies, history and literature of the American West, literary translation, and sports history. The UNP has also had a long-standing dedication to making available the best literature from around the world.
 
A distinctive member of the University of Nebraska community, UNP supports the missions of research, teaching, and service. In addition, UNP's sustained commitment to publications on the peoples, culture, and heritage of Nebraska reflects decades of service to its home state. Learn more about UNP at www.nebraskapress.unl.edu.