Born translated: the contemporary novel in an age of world literature

As a growing number of contemporary novelists write for publication in multiple languages, the genre's form and aims are shifting.

Born-translated novels include passages that appear to be written in different tongues, narrators who speak to foreign audiences, and other visual and formal techniques that treat translation as a medium rather than as an afterthought.

These strategies challenge the global dominance of English, complicate 'native' readership, and protect creative works against misinterpretation as they circulate.

They have also given rise to a new form of writing that confounds traditional models of literary history and political community.

Here, Rebecca L. Walkowitz builds a much-needed framework for understanding translation's effect on fictional works, as well as digital art, avant-garde magazines, literary anthologies and visual media.