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Thanks to streaming services, it\u2019s never been easier to catch shows from around the world. In the past week, I\u2019ve watched episodes of Lupin<\/em> <\/a>(France), 30 Coins<\/em><\/a> (Spain), Babylon Berlin<\/em><\/a> (Germany), and Kingdom<\/em><\/a> (South Korea). I\u2019ve also noticed that many of the best children\u2019s cartoons on Netflix are dubbed imports.<\/p>\nBooks, unfortunately, are another matter. They can\u2019t be subtitled or dubbed, and for the moment (at least until translation software reaches something approximating AI capability) the translation process still requires the services of a skilled translator \u2013 preferably someone who is an artist as well as an expert in language.<\/p>\n
For me, one of the main reasons for mastering a foreign language is being able to read works from other countries in their original. Otherwise, a reader is at the mercy of translators and publishers \u2013 with the latter not always having the work\u2019s best interests at heart.<\/p>\n
(Consider, for example, the translation of Stanislaw Lem\u2019s Solaris<\/em>, which for many years was only available in English as the translation of a French text translated from the original Polish.)<\/p>\n A few years ago, The Guardian<\/a><\/em> posited that English language publishing \u201cseems to be becoming a one-way street. Given the recent decline in the teaching of modern languages in our schools, it\u2019s a one-way street that may soon become a cul-de-sac.\u201d In other words, although many books written in English are readily available in other languages, the works of many brilliant authors from around the world are unavailable to those who read exclusively in English.<\/p>\n One of those authors is Mexico\u2019s Sandra Becerril<\/a>, whose writing I discovered while working on Mick Garris\u2019s anthology film Nightmare Cinema<\/em><\/a> (2019). Sandra\u2019s contribution to the film was is a no-holds-barred slice of grand guignol<\/a> directed by Ryuhei Kitamura<\/a>.<\/p>\n Following the film\u2019s release, Sandra edited Nightmares<\/em><\/a>, a Spanish-language anthology featuring stories by herself and three other Nightmare Cinema<\/em> collaborators. Released by Sustefest Ediciones, the book made its debut at the Sustefest Film Festival in October 2019, with Sandra translating the English-language content.<\/p>\n The book’s table of contents featured the following stories, all appearing in Spanish for the first time:<\/p>\n Boasting a terrific cover by filmmaker David Slade<\/a> (who directed the “This Way to Egress” segment for Nightmare Cinema<\/em>) the book was a terrific success in Mexico, with Beek Audio releasing a spoken word version shortly after the print release. But as with much of Sandra\u2019s work, the book was unavailable in English. Fortunately, that\u2019s about to change, with Gauntlet Press<\/a> scheduled to release two new editions in the States this fall. Now available for preorder<\/a>, the books will feature new story introductions by the authors, a translation of Sandra\u2019s story by Amarilys Acosta<\/a>, and a foreword by John Skipp<\/a>.<\/p>\n Here’s the announcement from the Gauntlet Press website:<\/p>\n Gauntlet Press editions tend to sell out quickly, so readers are advised to take advantage of the pre-order option at the publisher’s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n Founded in 2015 by two-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author Alessandro Manzetti, Independent Legions has released more than 100 books by the most revered and successful writers in the horror genre: Clive Barker, Richard Laymon, Ramsey Campbell, Poppy Z. Brite, David J. Schow, Robert McCammon, Jack Ketchum, Edward Lee, Peter Straub, Charlee Jacob, Dennis Etchison, Jonathan Maberry, Lucy Taylor, John Shirley and many others.<\/p>\n As evidenced by the above roster of writers, Independent Legions has been doing its part to bring English-language voices to an international audience. We can only hope that more US publishers will follow the lead of Gauntlet Press and bring international books to English readers.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lawrencecconnolly.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Sandra-Becerril-3.jpg\")
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\n52-copy traycased lettered edition signed by all 4 authors and John Skipp is $150<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lawrencecconnolly.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Independent-Legions-Nightmares-663x1024.jpg\")
Looking ahead to next year, publisher Independent Legions<\/a> has announced an Italian edition for release in April 2022. It’s also available for preorder<\/a>.<\/p>\n