Translation

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Worth seeing, worth reading.

I will regularly publish here the latest news concerning my work as a photographer and translator: news from ongoing projects, the progress being made on upcoming photo books, the latest writer portraits, any newly published writer portraits in the press, current translations in progress, etc.

Boualem Sansal.

Laurent Denimal
Oct 9

The Swedish literary magazine Karavan is publishing in its new issue (3/2025) a detailed portrait of the Algerian-French author Boualem Sansal written by Åsa Magnusson.

Boualem Sansal, arrested in Algiers on 16 November 2024 by the Algerian authorities, imprisoned and charged, was sentenced on 27 March 2025 to five years in prison. What is he accused of ? His freedom of expression, his opinions, his writings.

Åsa Magnusson paints a portrait of the author, his journey as a free man and committed writer, who always refused to leave his country despite tensions and threats.

Karavan is a quarterly magazine with focus on literature from Africa, Asia and Latin America.

You can buy Karavan on all the good newsagent's shop in Sweden or at the Karavan webshop.

Read the complete article in

Boualem Sansal

Saint-Nazaire, November 16th, 2008

A selected bibliography

Boualem Sansals books are published in French by Éditions Gallimard

The French publishing house David Reinharc Editions published the book Pour Boualem Sansal (March 2025) in support of the writer.

The Boualem Sansal case is a matter of civilisation.

Sixty authors, each in their own way – as writers, politicians, thinkers, artists – defend the honour, courage and genius of a man facing

the worst political repression. His heroism compels us, his fate concerns us.

To abandon Boualem Sansal to his persecutors is, whether one is on the left, the right or the centre, to betray the spiritual essence of Europe.

Boualem Sansal in Swedish

I set in motion the translation of the novel Le village de l’Allemand (Gallimard, Paris 2008) in 2017 together with Kerstin Zetterquist and Åsa Magnusson, who were responsible for the Swedish text.

None of Boualem Sansals novels have been translated into Swedish yet, in spite of a wide-ranging and prolific literary production (novels, short stories, essays), various literature prizes :

. Prix du Premier Roman 1999

. Peace Prize of the German Book Trade 2011

. Grand Prix de la Francophonie 2013

. Grand Prix du roman de l’Académie Française 2015

. Prix Méditerrannée 2021

. Prix mondial Cino Del Duca 2025

Boualem Sansals novels are translated into multiple other European languages (English, German, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Norwegian …) .

We are still looking for a Swedish publisher who would be interested in introducing Sansal's literary work to Swedish readers.

Philippe Bouquet.

Laurent Denimal
Mar 18, 2023

I was greatly saddened to learn of the death of Philippe Bouquet, a former Professor of Scandinavian Literature at the University of Caen, and also a translator of Swedish literature and a prominent specialist on the proletarian literary movement.

I had the great pleasure of working with him on a project that was close to his heart, a passion he had developed during stays in Sweden in the regions of Västergötland and Värmland — the study of country churches, often very small ones, richly decorated with paintings dating from the Middle Ages. We travelled through these regions together in the spring of 2009, visiting 31 churches in total, following a well-established routine: while Philippe supplemented his notes from previous visits, I made sure to document in photographs the buildings and the artworks they contain. The book Svenska landsbygdskyrkor / Swedish Country Churches finally saw the light of day last year, published at the author's own expense. But above all, Philippe leaves behind him an impressive list of works translated from Swedish into French. Stig Dagerman, Henning Mankell, Wilhelm Moberg, Björn Larsson, Aino Trosell, Carl-Henning Wijkmark and so many other Swedish authors owe it to him that they can be read in French today.

Philippe was a tireless discoverer who worked with curiosity and tenacity to "smuggle" new literary works across the borders to wider readership. He translated more than 200 literary works.

Philippe Bouquet

Värmland, spring 2009

Svenska landsbygdskyrkor

Eglises de campagne suédoises

The book present 30 churches from two regions of Sweden, Västergötland and Värmland.

The foreword and the texts for each church are written by Philippe Bouquet (texts in Swedish, French and English).

"Årsboken", by Sven Olov Karlsson.

Laurent Denimal
Feb 8, 2023

I set in motion the translation of the short story collection Årsboken, written by the Swedish author Sven Olov Karlsson (Natur och Kultur, 2020).

The collection includes 12 short stories, each related to a month of the year, in which the author describes snapshots of the lives of various characters in the contemporary Sweden.

Sven Olov Karlsson, born in 1971, has published eight books and is considered as one of Sweden's most talented contemporary author. He grew up in the countryside in Västmanlands region and worked as a metal worker, assistant nurse, farmer and journalist before becoming a writer.

His novels, short stories and reportage are often about the modern Swedish countryside and its marginalized inhabitants.

Prizes and nominations in selection: nominated for the August Prize for the best fiction book of the year 2013, nominated for the August Prize for the best non-fiction book of the year 2017, Ivar-Lo Prize 2018, De Nios Winter Prize 2020, Tidningen Vi's literature prize 2021.