“The right combination of writer and translator can create magic”

Milee Ashwarya is the Publisher of the Adult Publishing Group at Penguin Random House India and leads the frontlist and backlist publishing programmes for the group.

A TEDx speaker, she is passionate about issues related to working women. She was awarded the Women Achievers’ Samman 2017 for publishing, the Distinguished Alumni Award 2018 for Excellence in Publishing and the Exceptional Woman of Excellence Award in 2019.

Bringing stories across linguistic boundaries is both an art and a challenge. Here, Milee Ashwarya, Publisher and Senior Vice President, Penguin Random House India, delves into the nuances of translations. Excerpts.

AABP: How important is translated literature in your publishing house’s catalogue?

Milee: Penguin Random House India has been investing in translations since more than a decade. We have a thriving list of translations from various languages from Sanskrit, Urdu, Kannada, Tamil, Khasi, Telugu, Malayalam to Bangla, Gujarati, and so on. Some of our bestselling books are: The Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree translated by Daisy Rockwell; Firebird by Perumal Murugan translated by Janani Kannan; The Mahabharata series by Bibek Debroy; Sakina’s Kiss by Vivek Shabhag translated by Srinath Perur; and Babasaheb by Dr Savita Ambedkar translated by Nadeem Khan.

Several of our books have won national and international awards including the Booker Prize; we are going to publish Heart Lamp by Banu Mushtaq and translated by Deepa Bhasthi which has been longlisted for the International Booker 2025.

AABP: What factors do you consider when selecting a book for translation?

Milee: The quality of writing, uniqueness, style, theme, relevance for today are some of the considerations when we acquire a work in translation. We also try to give representation to translations from languages from various parts of the country. Who the writer and the translator is also figures in our discussions while signing up a book.

AABP: How do you decide which translator is the best fit for a particular book?

Milee: One of the most crucial aspect is the chemistry between the writer and the translator; the right combination can create magic. The translator’s experience, skill, previous works and style are also important to consider.

AABP: What challenges do publishers face when bringing translated works?

Milee: I feel a translated work has to be looked at as a new book and marketed accordingly. While some seminal and bestselling works in translation create quite a stir, sometimes it can be tough to sell and champion new voices in translation.

AABP: Do you think the demand for translated literature has grown in recent years?

Milee: Yes, it is a fact that publishers, booksellers and readers are more excited about literature in translation and the market has grown over the past 4-5 years. Awards at the national and international level definitely have had an impact. From the Booker Prize for Geetanjali Shree’s Tomb of Sand translated by Daisy Rockwell to Han Kang’s The Vegetarian translated by Deborah Smith and more recently Jenny Erpenbeck’s Kairos translation by Michael Hofmann definitely has brought new focus and attention to translations. At Penguin we have launched a series of non fiction works in translation in collaboration with the Ashoka University, and most years we have more than 20 new titles in our translation list.

AABP: Have you noticed particular genres or themes in translation that resonate more with readers?

Milee: I think there is an opportunity to publish seminal works in non-fiction into English from various Indian languages. In the past, we have seen literary fiction and non fiction do well. There is also potential for short stories to be translated and made available to a larger audience. We published Black Magic Women, a collection of stories from the North East written in Assamese by Moushumi Kandali and translated by Parbina Rashid.

AABP: What role do literary awards and grants play in supporting translated works?

Milee: Literary awards help in bringing media attention and building curiosity around the work; it also helps in sales and encouragement to the writer and the translator. Translation grants are useful in the sense that it provides the translator the financial support to spend enough time to produce a good quality translation. There are some prestigious grants that also help writers and publishers discover new translators from across the globe.

AABP: How do you ensure a balance between commercial viability and literary quality?

Milee: Publishing is a risky business and while some books will be commercially successful some might not do as well as we expected. However, at Penguin Random House India we look at translations as a long term investment in good quality books that will find readers in English from corners of the world.

AABP: Are there any trends you foresee in the future?

Milee: Translation of non-fiction works and short stories seem to be some new trends in translation. Translation of important Indian texts and scriptures also has a huge market in India. We were lucky to find Bibek Debroy who translated the Mahabharata, Ramayana, and several puranas for us from Sanskrit into English. These are all bestselling books and I believe that the readership for such books has grown over the past few years.