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Dedalus fights for its future

07.01.08 Philip Jones

Small publisher Dedalus has launched a campaign to stop the Arts Council pulling its funding, potentially forcing the closure of the press after 25 years. Dedalus has exhorted its contacts to write to the Arts Council objecting to the funding cuts, and to sign its online petition 'Don't let Dedalus die'. The petition so far has received 96 signatures.

Dedalus is one of a number of subsidised publishers facing difficulties after the Arts Council informed them before Christmas that they could expect either a complete cut-off or a reduction in public money.

Eric Lane, Dedalus publisher, said the loss of the nearly £25,000 stipend would almost certainly lead to the company’s closure. He wrote: "Dedalus is one of the most important independent literary publishers and translation houses in the UK, and one of a dying breed. It publishes English language fiction, which has been translated into 23 languages and has commissioned translations from 14 modern European languages, winning many Literary Awards along the way."

Lane added: "19 European cultural institutions have formed partnerships with Dedalus to help it put British publishing at the heart of Europe. Why won’t The Arts Council join them in funding Dedalus?" 

Letters were mailed out to 27 annually funded publishers on 14th December by the Arts Council, saying they Publishers receiving the letters will have until 15th January to appeal against the decision, which covers the period between April 2008 and March 2011.

Philip Jones Independents Arts Council Dedalus

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By Eric Dickens

As I write (around midday, 8th Jan. 2007), there are now 365 signatures, since four days ago when the petition was started. There are names that I recognise as literary translators, publishers and authors. Philip Jones, above, asks some pertinent questions, not least why is it that literary promotion organisations abroad cooperate with Dedalus, but the leading UK body, set up to foster and promote the arts throughout England, has failed to recognise quality. Since the 1960s, the status of literary translation in the UK has diminished. Actually, literary translation is very ordinary. It is how we got the Bible, Balzac, Dostoevsky, Mann, Pirandello, Strindberg, Gombrowicz, Lagerlöf, Ibsen, Kant, and so on. But for the past 30-40 years, Britain has virtually ignored contemporary writing and modern classics from all countries where writing is not done in English. The Dedalus Affair is but the tip of the iceberg, but this cold pinnacle has become a rallying point for those who wish to make Britain a place where we take on board the literature of other nations, as they do ours. Eric Dickens (British literary translator from Estonian, Swedish and Dutch)

08 Jan 08 11:15

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By Eric Dickens

Blimey, judging by the response here, you can really see the sheer curiosity and open-mindedness of Brits when it comes to every literature in Europe, except for the British and Irish ones, written in English. The weird solopsism of British readers would be amusing if it weren't so sad. Can it really be so that my good compatriots have decided to ignore the hundreds of European contemporary authors, plus modern classics from the 20th century, and are absolutely sure that nothing of note has been written in Europe since the mid-19th century, bar a handful of Modernists? Funny business. There are now (27th January 2008) 1,578 signatures on the "Don't Let Dedalus Die" petition, but many of these are from abroad.

27 Jan 08 12:06

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