Dilemma for UK authors as Russia offers huge sums for escapist fiction

has prompted a new bidding war for translated fiction. English-language authors of crime, romance and fantasy novels have received some unexpectedly enticing offers for their books this spring.has led many British writers to resist the lure of Russian money. “We leave it up to our authors to see if they want to accept an offer,” said Kate Nash, a leading British literary agent.

Stories involving crime and romance, as well as historical sagas, sci-fi and fantasy, are at a premium, with the size of some Russian bids doubling. “Suddenly demand is strong, especially in the more escapist genres,” said Nash, whose company represents a range of popular writers in a couple of the key genres. “The market was depressed after the pandemic and the start of the war, but it is definitely back now.

“It is interesting who wants to do it and who doesn’t,” said Laurence Laluyaux, who runs the international side of RCW, the long-established agency formerly known as Rogers, Coleridge and White. “Responses from agencies and from authors in the UK are mixed. Some agencies have a blanket rule not to do any Russian business. We do it author by author. We tell a writer whether the Russian publisher in question is supportive of Putin’s regime and then ask them how they feel.

The British author who turned down her own recent rights bid was sympathetic to both sides, she said: “It is important not to demonise authors who have been tempted. Most people don’t realise how little the average author earns.

Source: Law Daily Report (lawdailyreport.net)

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