Selling a Story: A Case Study of Five Book Covers for Victor Pelevin’s Generation “P”

Authors

  • Malin Podlevskikh Carlström

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17742/IMAGE.VT.11.3.5

Keywords:

translation, book cover design, book marketing

Abstract

In this article, book-cover design is studied in relation to translation and marketing. The discussion is centered on a case study of the Russian, British, American, Danish, and Norwegian editions of Victor Pelevin’s Generation “P” (Babylon in the U.K. and Homo Zapiens in the U.S.). The analysis of the book covers focuses on marketing strategy and argues that the cover of a translation affects how a novel is read and understood in the target culture.

Author Biography

Malin Podlevskikh Carlström

Malin Podlevskikh Carlström has a PhD in Slavic languages from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. She has a master’s degree in translation, and experience from working as a translator, interpreter, and proofreader. Her research interests cover intertextuality, contemporary Russian literature, and a wide range of aspects related to translation reception. She currently works on the three-year research project “What is ‘Swedish’ in Swedish literature? Publication, marketing, and reception of Swedish literature in Russia”, funded by the Swedish Research Council.
Imaginations 11-3 (2020) cover: Cia Rinne's <i>Das Erhabene</i>

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Published

2021-02-23

How to Cite

Carlström, M. P. (2021). Selling a Story: A Case Study of Five Book Covers for Victor Pelevin’s Generation “P”. Imaginations: Journal of Cross-Cultural Image Studies, 11(3), 101–122. https://doi.org/10.17742/IMAGE.VT.11.3.5

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 3 (2020): Visibility and Translation / Visibilité et traduction

Section

Articles

License

Creative Commons License
This work by https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/imaginations is licensed under a  Creative Commons 4.0 International License although certain works referenced herein may be separately licensed, or the author has exercised their right to fair dealing under the Canadian Copyright Act.