‘Under surveillance’. An introduction to popular fiction in translation

The translation of popular fiction is an under researched field within Translation Studies, with a very limited number of general studies and a few articles scattered among different journals and edited collections. The introduction to this special issue on popular fiction in translation highlights the novelty of the volume, looking at translated popular texts from a broad-based perspective, providing a literature overview and identifying some common traits in the translation of popular fiction. First, we introduce some general issues related to the study of popular texts, ranging from questions of definition of the field to aspects concerning the position of popular fiction within the wider cultural system. This is followed by a review of available research on various genres and aspects of popular fiction in translation, including those discussed in the nine articles contained in the volume. The contributions are then introduced with reference, in particular, to three recurring themes: the role of censorship and self-censorship, the pervasive practice of remediation, and the way in which gender issues affect translated popular genres. The introduction ends with some suggestions for future research.