Impact case study database

Modelling translation practices: Awarded to author and translator equally, the prize recognises translation as creative co-writing, essential to a work’s success beyond its original language. In the award announcement, panel chair Bettany Hughes noted, ‘The translation is precise and lyrical, weaving in the cadences of both poetry and everyday speech’ ( E3.i). In The Guardian, panel member Maureen Freely (chair, PEN England) said, ‘Why did my fellow judges and I choose Celestial Bodies? Firstly, because the prose is gorgeous. Marilyn Booth’s translation is precise and lyrical, bright with the music of the spoken word’ (E3.ii). An article on Booth’s translation noted: ‘‘Booth falls in line with Salman Rushdie and Arundhati Roy in that she abounds in the blending of the native language of Alharthi’s characters with English… the adaptation of the English language… enable[s] it to carry the culture weight of the land the characters in the novel represent. … It is said of Salman Rushdie that this use of ‘Chutnification’ epitomizes his use of language …. Halwa is to Oman what chutney is to India and so we can rightly say that if Rushdie ‘chutnifies’ English … Booth ‘Halwawafies’ English….” ( E11). Booth’s innovative and sensitive mode of translation was highlighted by reviewers and booksellers (E12.i). Banipal’s reviewer observed: ‘The respect in which [Booth] holds the work is evident throughout her translation…. Arabic fragments are for the most part incorporated seamlessly into the English text … readers of the English come away with a deeper appreciation of the richness (and sometimes rhyme) of the original language … [and] better understanding of the culture’ (E10).

Anglophone publics: Challenging stereotypes, building knowledge: Consistently, print and broadcast media noted Celestial Bodies’ challenge to stereotypes – from Bettany Hughes (‘The style is a metaphor for the subject, subtly resisting clichés of race, slavery, and gender’) (E3.i) to many reviewers, e.g., The Irish Times: ‘Celestial Bodies deftly undermines recurrent stereotypes about Arab language and cultures’ ( E3.iii). Hughes revealed, ‘We felt we were getting access to ideas and thoughts and experiences you aren’t normally given in English. It avoids every stereotype you might expect in its analysis of gender and race and social distinction and slavery’ (E3.i).

Stereotyped and racist views of Arab societies have long focused on ‘woman’ as emblematic of an alleged cultural-political ‘lag’. Through translation and research, Booth makes Arab women’s voices audible to Anglophone audiences. A feature in The Atlantic on initiatives to highlight Arab women’s work said, ‘Arab women … face twin obstacles: the West’s own gender biases, and the reductive narrative of the Arab woman. This is why it was such a victory when the International Booker Prize jury chose an Arab novel—one written by a woman—to receive the award for the first time in the prize’s history.’ (E5).

Reviewers and readers saw Celestial Bodies as facilitating a more informed public in its historical depth, focus on Omani women, and empathetic characters. The Scottish Herald said, ‘ The first novel by an Omani woman to be published in English, its confidence and élan show how much we are missing, cut off from swathes of the Arab world by a cultural gulf that diminishes our understanding of this rapidly modernising region’ (E3.iv). Book vlogger Nishant Mittal said, ‘we know Oman's capital is Muscat… but that is not all… there are cities… and little villages where people live and dream and where people think of achieving something and going somewhere… it's not rosey [sic] at all, it talks about slaves, about the revolutions that happened there, but it also talks about a spark in those women, so feminism… starting in bits and spots’ (E3.v). Another vlogger commented (prior to the Booker win) ‘…the questions I am left with are part of the lush after-taste of having sunk so deeply into this novel about people that live in such a different culture to mine and I want to re-read it.’ (E3.vi). Freely’s Guardian article said, ‘it refuses, graciously but absolutely, to play by the rules. In breaking with the stories that have shaped and so badly distorted our understanding of her homeland, Alharthi creates a world in which we can see our own lives reflected….’ (E3.ii). Thrillist said: ‘This novel is terrific, but above all, it is important. … the first book of Omani fiction to ever be published in America. … It’s riveting, and gorgeously translated. It should also, as long as the U.S. remains entrenched in Middle-Eastern conflict, be mandatory reading.’ (E3.vii).

Before and following the award, Booth’s public engagement work sought to expand awareness of Arabic literature in translation and Omani culture and history. Booth spoke at: Shortlisted translators’ session, Foyles; author-translator panel, South Bank Centre; winners’ panel, Waterstones Piccadilly, (all London); the Hay Festival and Dubai Litfest, February 2020. (Events April-July 2020 were cancelled due to COVID-19.) Broadcast interviews included the BBC World Service; ‘Amanpour’ with Christiane Amanpour, CNN and PBS; with Sulayman al-Mi’mari, Oman State Broadcasting (in Arabic); Nasher News (UK/UAE). Dubai Tourism produced a professional video of Booth’s and Alharthi’s session at Emirates Airline Festival, Dubai, ‘Arab Writers Going Global’, for Emirates Airline passengers.

Readers said the book had opened their eyes. One journalist at Thomson Reuters UAE responded on a questionnaire following Booth’s presentations at the Dubai Litfest, ‘I want to read more about the slavery part of Omani history.’ (E6). The Lead Bookseller at Waterstones Oxford said many readers voiced similar views to her, and described the novel’s powerful impact on her (E7). A Master’s student at University of Central Lancashire conducting fieldwork at Aflaj Research Unit University, Nizwa, Oman, interviewing elderly Omani women (via local interviewers), wrote: ‘I want to thank you for such a great translation of Ms. Alharthi's book… which I have read several times and… made copious notes about. It has helped me with research and given me some tantalizing information about the oasis settlements in Oman.’ (E9). One reader heard Booth on CNN and emailed: ‘You mentioned … that a lot of Arabic literature has been translated into English. I am very interested in reading some of these books but have no idea how to begin ...’; and, later, ‘I plan to pursue each of them, and look forward to discovering those voices and experiences beyond my own. The portion of the interview discussing the 3 sisters in “Celestial Bodies” emphasized to me the universality of all humanity, especially women.’ (E8).

*Strengthening publishers, encouraging translations: In an invited panel presentation in Sharjah (Kalima Project for Translation), novelist Moira Forsyth (Publishing Director, Sandstone) spoke to the impact the prize had on this small press, founded in Dingwall, Scotland in 2002, and publishing about twenty titles annually (E1). Sandstone holds national importance in Scotland as ‘the only literary publisher of any size outside the main urban centres … of Edinburgh and Glasgow.’ Having published crime fiction and nonfiction, ‘ Celestial Bodies was the first literary novel we had taken on. We are now looking for other literary fiction in translation’. ‘The MBI win means that many more literary agents and overseas publishers have now heard of us, and we have credibility with them.’ (E1) Given the ‘very tight’ profit margins of independent publishing, ‘the significant sales of Celestial Bodies have… help[ed] us to plan our future publishing programme’ (E1). Such benefits--a financial boost, strengthened relationships with overseas publishers, increased distribution--were noted by US publisher Catapult (E12.i), whose founding editor wrote in March 2020, ‘We have shipped over 17,000 copies in the U.S. alone, and sales continue to grow week by week. This makes the book one of our bestselling titles of the year and publishing a work like this is transformative to us as a small press.’ He continues to be ‘astonished by the wonderful nuance of Marilyn’s translations. As soon as I started reading Celestial Bodies, I knew I desperately wanted to bring it to a wider audience.’ (E12.i) The subsidiary rights director and Senior Editor for Grove Atlantic (US) commented, ‘the Booker has done immeasurable work to raise the international profile of Arabic-language literature by recognizing ‘Celestial Bodies’.’ (E12.ii)

The prize has brought attention to Scotland’s publishing sector. Newspaper Scotland on Sunday used the prize while evaluating recent successes and challenges for indie publishing. ‘“International publishers and agents have now got the company on their radar”, says the chief executive of Publishing Scotland.’ (E4.ii) Sandstone’s publisher was quoted: ‘“I hope the Man Booker International Prize will bring financial stability … which we will then risk again”’ (E4.i). Scotland’s The National saw the award as emblematic of changes in Scottish culture production, ‘a significant boost for Scotland’s small publishers.’ (E4.ii)

This was possible because the translation’s reach—in sales and publicity—was broad and sustained. Booth’s translation appeared in the US, Canada, Australia/New Zealand, and India, and in large-print and audio editions. It reached National Bestseller status in the US—unprecedented for an Arabic novel—and #1 on Amazon UK’s contemporary fiction bestseller list. The print run before the prize was 1,000. By December 2019, the publisher reported ‘increased distribution across the world’ (E1). Coverage of the shortlisting and prize was intense and ongoing, comprising 123 instances of media coverage by the end of the week following the announcement ( E2.i); the Booker’s management partners’ partial coverage list comprised 194 instances within the first two weeks (21/5/19-5/6/19), not including wide coverage in Arabic or other world languages outside Europe (E2.ii). Reviews appeared in major and widely distributed UK and US outlets ( Oprah, National Geographic, The New Yorker, Guardian Weekend) . Prominent US publications named it an ‘anticipated’ or ‘must-read’ title for Autumn 2019: LitHub (9 July, ‘a major, exciting literary event’); The Week (’25 Books to read in the second half of 2019’, 19 Aug.). Time placed it among their ‘most anticipated books of Fall 2019’ (5 Sept.), and it was ‘Pick of the Week’ for the Boston Globe, and ‘Editor’s Choice’ for the New York Times Book Review (12 Dec.).**

Generating new readers in English, the prize also meant wider readership in Arabic. Readers in centres of literary production (Egypt, Lebanon) have routinely dismissed Gulf-region fiction. The editor at long-established Lebanese publisher Dar al-adab explained: ‘In 2010, Dar al Adab reading committee members were very enthusiastic about Sayyidat al-qamar and insisted on embracing this talent amongst the publishing house’s discoveries of serious voices from the Gulf …. It took 10 years for the first edition to sell less than 1000 copies. Then… after the Man Booker announcement…. It was one edition after the other. In less than one year we had 8 editions [c.18,000 copies]. It would be too little to say that the Prize just affected the sales […] The readers were thrilled that an Arab writer, and from obscure Oman, not Egypt, not Lebanon, but Oman, got such a recognition from the west.’ (E12.iii)

Motivating and sustaining authors: The prize generated excitement in Arab countries, raising authors’ hopes for greater reception. It particularly highlighted Gulf literature (and materially, means Alharthi’s next novel, also translated by Booth, is now in press with Catapult). Emerging writer and magazine publisher Sharifah Alhinai ( Sekka Magazine, UAE) said: ‘It is not an exaggeration to say that the announcement of the award was a watershed moment for me and numerous other women in the region … we are the group that is most touched/effected [sic] by these negative and unrepresentative narratives that permeate not only in the world of media, but also in literature in English…. The fact that it has been published in English and has been so well received worldwide also gives us, as journalists, writers, and authors, hope that our own works will also be as well-received. Throughout the years, many of us have time and again been discouraged by publishers and published books in the English-speaking world alike, that written works of ours that do not fit into the … ‘oppressed’ or ‘rebellious’ moulds would not receive attention or be deemed publishable.’ (E12.iv). The novel has secured translation into 21 languages since longlisting, significant since English translations of Arabic literature usually follow after a work has been translated into other European languages. In this case, the English translation led the way in achieving the book’s—and Gulf literature’s—global reach.