New titles in German
In connection with Iceland's appearance as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2011, Sagenhaftes Island, in collaboration with Icelandic publishing houses and authors, works towards promoting Icelandic literature in the German language area.
For the past decade or so, the publication of Icelandic titles has increased steadily on the German book market, which reaches some 100 million readers. By the end of the last century, an average of10 Icelandic titles was published in German per year. For the past few years, this number has risen to and stayed at roughly 20.
Between the autumn of 2010 and the autumn of 2011, however, it is estimated that 177 Icelandic titles, and German titles on the subject of Iceland, will be published in the German language area. This includes over 80 novels, short-story collections and poetry books – first editions as well as republication – and 20 anthologies and collections. Notable among these is a new and comprehensive 5-volume translation of the Icelandic Sagas, published by S. Fischer Verlag. In addition to Icelandicworks in translation, German publishing houses will put out a large number of non-fiction titles on the subject of Icelandic history, politics, language and culture.