CHENNAI: The state government so far has sanctioned 45 outward grants to translate Tamil literary works into more than 25 languages. This includes a translation of Paththuppaattu to Malay, and also an Italian comic book version of Ponniyin Selvan.
Officials said more than 350 MoUs for inward and outward translations were signed during the Chennai International Book Fair last year. Apart from the 45 sanctioned outward grants, more than 50 are being scrutinised and another 12 have been put on a waiting list.
“We aim to translate about 100 books through these MoUs. Some countries have even begun the translation work and are in the process of designing covers and writing synopses. We are planning a booklet featuring books that are to be translated, including their covers in the target language and synopses in Tamil,” said an official from Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation (TNTB&ESC).
The Tamil Nadu government has increased the translation grant from Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 3 crore this year. Apart from this, publishers have also been encouraged to apply for translation grants that are given out by various countries.
So far, publishers have got six to seven inward translation grants from various countries, officials said.
More than 40 countries are expected to participate in the Chennai International Book Fest this year.
“This is mainly due to the impact of CIBF’s stall at the Frankfurt Book Fair, where we met several publishers and authors. We will have participants representing all continents this time around. This will include the US, Canada, Brazil, France, Spain, Germany, UK, Lithuania, Albania, Senegal, Tanzania, New Zealand and Asian countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Russia and Turkey. Moreover, the US Consulate has also approached us to organise a book release event,” they added.
To bridge the communication gap between international and Tamil publishers, which was evident last time, the directorate of public libraries has trained 20 literary agents who will be part of CIBF this year.
The Government-certified Global Literary Agents programme is a pioneering initiative aimed at establishing the state’s literary presence in the global arena. Of the 500 applications received for the programme, the directorate chose and trained 20 people including a journalist.
Officials noted, “The participants were broadly trained on the history of Tamil literature, inward and outward grant, copyright laws, preparation of author profiles, blurb and synopsis writing.”