Vietnamese literary exports lack a 'midwife'.

By writing directly in English and persistently approaching foreign publishers, Nguyen Phan Que Mai has chosen the shortest path to exporting Vietnamese literature.

"In 2014, the manuscript of my bilingual poetry collection, ' The Secret of the Lotus ,' received an award from the Lannan Cultural Foundation. This foundation was established by businessman Patrick Lannan and his family to support cultural projects, including the publication of translated literary works in the United States. Thanks to this, the poetry collection was printed and widely distributed by BOA Editions," writer Nguyen Phan Que Mai shared with Thanh Nien newspaper about her first opportunity in her efforts to export Vietnamese literature written by Vietnamese authors in English in the United States.

When she was nearing completion of the manuscript for her second novel, *Dust Child* , she received feedback from a literary agent who was also the publisher of *The Sympathizer * by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Nguyen Thanh Viet. Thanks to this connection, just three weeks later, Nguyen Phan Que Mai received a publishing offer from Algonquin Books ( part of the Hachette Group). They offered to purchase the worldwide publishing rights for the book. *Dust Child* has since been translated into more than 15 languages ​​and published in 20 countries; winning numerous important awards and accolades.

Writer Nguyen Phan Que Mai with her translations of her works.

Photo: Provided by the interviewee

Previously, Nguyen Phan Que Mai's debut novel, The Mountains Sing, written in English, had also been translated into 25 languages ​​and received numerous international awards.

Nguyen Phan Que Mai's novel , Dust Child, has recently returned to its homeland in the Vietnamese language under the title "Life in the Wind and Dust" (published by Nha Nam and Women's Publishing House), with translation contributions from the author herself and translator Thien Nga; and is about to be released in five other languages.

Funding is needed for a literary translation project.

Based on her own experiences and observations of the movements of Vietnamese/Vietnamese-American writers abroad, writer Nguyen Phan Que Mai expresses optimism about the export opportunities for Vietnamese/Vietnamese-American literature.

But she also expressed regret that Vietnamese literature still lacks a "support system" to help it spread more widely. "Observing bookstores in Europe and America, I see many translated literary works by Korean and Japanese authors. Many authors from these countries sell millions of copies of each work. As far as I know, Japan and Korea have funds to support literary translation projects for both translators and foreign publishers. This is yielding clear results. Recently, Oneworld Publications in the UK (a three-time Booker Prize winner) planned to invest in translating and publishing a book by poet Tran Dan. They asked me about funds to support translation projects in Vietnam. I sadly told them that such a fund doesn't exist, and they had to stop the translation project because they couldn't find enough financial resources…," writer Nguyen Phan Que Mai told Thanh Nien newspaper.

The author of two novels written in English that have been translated into 25 languages ​​expressed her wish that Vietnam would also have a businesswoman who could sponsor the establishment of a fund to support Vietnamese literary translation, similar to businessman Patrick Lannan – who helped her open the door to the world. "Operating this literary translation support fund wouldn't cost much, but it would be very effective in helping build Vietnam's national brand," she affirmed.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/xuat-khau-van-chuong-viet-thieu-ba-do-18526011422355673.htm