The beginning of the year is usually a good time for clear-headed assessments. Last December, an article published in BBC News Magazine entitled "Why don't French books sell abroad?" strongly encouraged me to put an end to my procrastination and engage in this healthy exercise.
There is no such thing as bad publicity, I thought with amusement. Contemporary French fiction is being talked about rather than ignored; what better proof of its vitality? Indeed. But what truth is there behind this good old saying?
To give a larger and more accurate picture of the present situation, I gathered recent and relatively unknown facts and figures about the American and, to a certain extent, British and Indian translated fiction markets. The numbers seem to qualify, and even knock down, the clichés suggested in the BBC's article.