A Roundtable Discussion with the Translators of John Green’s Novels

In lieu of an abstract: In the 2021 edition of their “Ploughing the Field” series in this journal, Emily Corbett and Leah Phillips observed that scholarship “interrogating the function and practice of children’s and YA literature in translation has expanded over the past few years”, with notable contributions in this area including work from B.J. (Epstein) Woodstein, Gillian Lathey, Emer O’Sullivan, and Anna Kérchy and Björn Sundmark (1). Most recently, Michał Borodo and Jorge Díaz-Cintas added to this list through the publication of The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Young Audiences (2025), which intends to “stimulate the exchange of ideas from broad and specific perspectives, including cultural and linguistic approaches” and place emphasis on “the investigation of different languages and traditions” (Borodo and Díaz-Cintas, “Translation and Young Audiences” 9). There have also been a number of practitioner-led projects. For example, Claire Storey’s “Young Adult Literature from Latin America” project, funded by Arts Council England in 2021, made the case for translating more young adult novels from Latin America into English (Dixon). Similarly, the organisation World Kid Lit works to “raise the profile of world literature for young people in the media, arts and education landscapes” through initiatives such as their online blog and World Kid Lit Month, held annually in September (“What is World Kid Lit?”). Though a relatively young area of study, critical and professional interest in children’s and YA in translation is thriving (Borodo and Díaz-Cintas, “Translation and Young Audiences” 2).