Facts and Figures
On this page you can find visualizations depicting the various aspects of the translation flows from Dutch-speaking countries to Switzerland. The visualisations are based on the data available in the Digital Library and Bibliography for Literature in Translation and Adaptation (DLBT). They illustrate the number of translations of Dutch titles per year, the Authors most translated in Switzerland, the most successful titles, publishers and translators.
Dutch Literature in Switzerland (2000-)
This time line shows the number of publications of Dutch books in Switzerland per year from 2000 onwards, both original and reprint. The data include all major genres. Using the slider under the graph, you can indicate which period you wish to see.
The chart shows that in the first decade of the 20th century, attention to literature from the Netherlands and Flanders in Switzerland was fairly large and constant. On average, about 10 translations per year were published by Swiss publishers during this period. In this context, it must be said that this picture was basically determined by the activities of two (three) major publishers: Diogenes, Piper and Arche and the success of authors as Maarten 't Hart, Arnon Grunberg, Leon de Winter and Connie Palmen. After 2010, the number of publications of translations from Dutch in Switzerland declined. With one exception: in 2016, on the occasion of the Frankfurter Buchmesse, where the Netherlands and Flanders were hosts for the second time (#Fairs), a whole series of new translations were published by Swiss publishers. Unfortunately, as far as we can see so far, this has not led to long-term successes.
The most translated authors in Switzerland
Unlike in Austria, for example, it is not the authors of literature for children and young people who head the top five most translated authors in Switzerland. That does not mean, however, that they were not successful. The most successful author of literature for young people from the Netherlands and Flanders in Switzerland is Simone Van der Vlugt. Simone van der Vlugt made her debut in Germany in 1998 with a translation of her debut The Amulet (dt. Das Amulett aus den Flammen, 1998).
This publication was followed almost every year by new translations of historical juvenile novels by her at publisher Bertelsmann in Munich. Simone Van der Vlugt's first translation with a publisher in Switzerland was Klassentreffen (2006), the story of a school reunion that turns the main character's life upside down from one day to the next. The book was very well received and Simone Van der Vlugt remains until today one of the stars of publisher Diana.
The most successful Dutch-language author in Switzerland is Maarten 't Hart. 't Hart made his debut in Switzerland with publisher Arche with Das Wüten der ganzen Welt (The Fury of the Whole World). More than a dozen translations of 't Hart's work will be published by Arche at short notice. Later, 't Hart will become an author with Piper. More than 20 translations will also appear with this publisher. He is one of the most successful Dutch-language authors in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. (See also: Maarten 't Hart). Furthermore, the image of Dutch literature in Switzerland is determined by Connie Palmen, Leon de Winter and Arnon Grunberg. With them, publishing house Diogenes achieved great successes for many years.
The most translated titles in Switzerland
The overview of the most successful translations from the Dutch-speaking world published by publishers and Switzerland confirms the previous picture. Das Wüten der ganzen Welt, Die Jakobsleiter and Mozart und ich are books by Maarten 't Hart. Maarten 't Hart defined the image of Dutch literature in Switzerland at the beginning of this century. So it was not the authors of Diogenes who sold the most books. They did attract a lot of attention, but it was Maarten 't Hart who brought millions of books to readers. Publishing house Gossau (Zurich) also achieved great success with the work of Hans de Beer. His stories about the little polar bear were much loved by young readers.
The most important publishers in Switzerland
The above has already shown who were the main publishers of translated literature from the Netherlands and Flanders in Switzerland. In first place is Diogenes, publisher of Connie Palmen, Leon de Winter and Arnon Grunberg. Piper has somewhat fewer publications, most of which are by Maarten 't Hart. But other authors from the Dutch-speaking world also adorn its fund: Abdelkader Benali, Lieve Joris, Oek de Jong and Nicolaas Matsier, to name a few.
Arche has a very distinguished selection of Dutch-language titles. Arche is not only the publisher of Remco Campert, but published also work of F.B. Hotz and Anna Blaman. Maarten 't Hart, now one of Piper's most successful authors, was at Arche's home in 2010.
The final volume of translations in this review appears with Bohem Press. Bohem Press specialised in children's and youth literature from the Netherlands and Flanders as early as the 1970s and, in a way similar to the Austrian publisher Picus in the 1990s, built up a differentiated fund of Dutch-language children's and youth literature in the early twentieth century. Authors such as: Brigitte Minne, Tine Mortier, Edward van de Vendel, Carll Cneut and Claudia Lagermann were published by Bohem Press.
The most important translators in Switzerland
The translators in this overview have translated almost 30% of the books published by Swiss publishers. In doing so, they have all added different touches. Eva Schweikart is basically the translator of Simone van der Vlugt. Reiner Kersten is known in Switzerland as the translator of Arnon Grunberg. Hanni Ehlers is in Switzerland the translator of the de Winter family on the one hand and of John Vermeulen's work on the other. Probably in this group of translators, Marianne Holberg is the translator with the most differentiated fund.
With her translation of Maarten 't Hart's De jabcobsladder (The Jacob's Ladder), Marianne Holberg not only laid the foundations for this author's great success with Swiss publishers, she also placed works by Heere Heersma, Nicolaas Matsier, Hélène Nothenius, Mensje van Keulen, Willem Van Toorn and Simon Vestdijk with Arche publishers, in addition to a whole series of translations of Remco Campert. Around 2010, Gregor Seferens took over much of Marianne Holberg's work. Seferens, who before translated work older authors from the Dutch-speaking world (Couperus and Emants) for Piper and Manesse, succeeded Marianne Holberg as Maarten 't Hart's translator and is now the in-house translator of 't Hart's work at Diogenes.