Conceptualising the role of the translator in the global circulation of literature: The case of Look Who’s Back and Jamie Bulloch’s translatorship

In the study of literary translation, the role of the translator has often been compared to that of the author. As such, and particularly within Anglophone contexts, questions pertaining to who takes ethical and auctorial responsibility for a literary translation dominate discussions of the translator’s role. However, as we expand the scope of literary translation studies to broader sociological and publishing practices, such as the selling and acquisition of translation rights, the creation of paratextual materials, and the promotion of translated literature within a receiving cultural or linguistic context, we similarly need to expand our understanding of the role of literary translators within such processes. To demonstrate this, this article presents a case study of Look Who’s Back and the role of translator Jamie Bulloch in the novel’s movement from German to English, referred to here as his translatorship. In doing so, this article argues that within the contemporary Anglophone context, literary translators serve as key agents in the selection and circulation of foreign-language literature into English that goes beyond their oft-perceived impotence within wider publishing practises.