Translation and publishing in Translation Studies: an old partnership revisited

Resumo

Since the emergence of an international book market in the mid-nineteenth century, publishers have acted as gatekeepers in regulating access to literary works, including translations, and in constructing entire literary fields. However, from both academic and non-academic perspectives, published translations have often been examined as if in a textual vacuum, in which the translator’s strategies and choices are scrutinised via a logic of losses and gains in relation to the source text. In the wake of the incorporation of sociological theories and concepts into Translation Studies, scholars have now begun to address the institutional role played by publishing houses and to acknowledge the diversity of agents involved. This article reviews the literature on the topic since the early 2000s, focusing on studies which, while premised on various theoretical,
conceptual, and methodological perspectives, show convergence in acknowledging the collaborative dynamic of publishing and its effects on both the translation process and product.