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Tale of Two Covers

In the spirit of Frankfurt and the Book Fair this week, here’s a curious tale of translation for covers.  When the German translation of Birthmarked popped up on Goodreads, I was delighted to see the cover was a striking and mysterious image of two vivid profiles over a dark background.  I went right to an online translator to find that the new title “die stadt der verschwundenen kinder” meant roughly “The City of the Missing/Vanished Children,” and I was like “Oooh, that’s cool.”  It all fit my novel in a whole new way.

Cover of Glimmerglass in the U.S.

Imagine my surprise when a Facebook friend pointed out that she knew the cover already: it belonged to Glimmerglass by Jenna Black.  Sure enough, they were the same except for mine was a mirror image of the other.

German cover of Birthmarked

I asked my agent to check on the situation, and the upshot is that my German publisher, Heyne, liked the Glimmerglass cover so much that it bought the exclusive rights to the art and the design to use in Germany.  It’s legal, if not commonly done, and since it would have been far more economical for Heyne to do a cover in-house, the purchase of expensive rights shows the publisher’s commitment to the book.  The translation of Glimmerglass will have a different cover in Germany, incidentally.

It was kind of an odd feeling, at first, having a second-hand cover, though I’m used to it now.  I couldn’t help wondering if people would secretly snarl and think I stole something, when in fact the rights were fairly bought.  I sometimes fear that Germans might pick up my book, hoping it’s Jenna Black’s, only to be disappointed that it’s not.  Sometimes I wonder why a pale, distinctly Caucasian, beautiful, blue-eyed girl is on the cover when Gaia is of mixed heritage, unremarkable in terms of beauty, and brown-eyed.  Then I think of the ideas of genetic merit in the book, and the history Germany has with a scary society that valued certain people over others, and I think it’s actually a pretty gutsy cover.  In the end, I’m grateful my German publisher is so deeply invested in my book, from the inside translation to the outside cover.

Life is strange.  So is publishing.

7 Responses to Tale of Two Covers

  • Interesting!.. I was wondering about that too (I’ve read Glimmerglass) and thought right away, that goodreads had make a mistake.. thanks for the explanation!

  • Cristy,
    I think Glimmerglass must be a very different story from Birthmarked, so it’s definitely curious. I was glad to get the facts.
    All best,
    Caragh

  • Dear Mrs O’Brien,

    I’m a bookseller from Germany and just finished reading Birthmarked in its German translation. Although I haven’t read the original English text, I believe that the translator did a very good job. I’m usually very picky with translations but this one was well done and a great and fluent read. Of course that’s not only due to the translation skills of Oliver Plaschka but also your great writing.

    I loved every bit about this book and believe that the cover alone will help sell it – at least it’s one of the reasons why I was drawn to it in the first place when I spotted it in the Heyne catalogue half a year ago.

    Also, I searched for Jenna Black books in German and I don’t believe that Glimmerglass has even been translated yet.

    Anyway, I just came here because I wanted to tell you that I loved your book even though I was hoping for a more … concluded ending but I guess I just have to dream up my own Gaia/Leon perfect ending. In a way I’m glad you ended it like you did or else the impact of the story that has been told would have been lessened. … or something like that 🙂 (I’m just not really sure how to explain how I feel a bit sad and also thankful to you for ending the book where and how you did …)

    Alright, I’ll shut up now. Thank you for writing Birthmarked, I’ll keep my eyes open for more great reads from you in the future!

    Kind Regards,

    Monika from Northern Germany

  • PS: Now I feel stupid xD Half a day later (that actually included a whole night and not a day as such) and I couldn’t stop thinking about the ending of Birthmarked. So I came back here to investigate some more and I finally saw that GIANT “book 3” tag and skimmed a few entries and now I’m psyched because there really ARE going to be sequels.

    You have no idea how happy that makes me 😀

    PPS: Sold your book to a mother whose 15 year old daughter is a great reader. She’s going to receive Birthmarked as a birthday present. I’m curious how she’s going to like it!

  • Dear Monika,

    You are so kind to write to me. I can’t tell you how pleased I am that you enjoyed Gaia’s story and that you’re happy with the translation. I urged Oliver to improve upon my writing in any way he could, so I’m sure the credit is all his. If you’d care to check your email in a bit, I’ll try to reply properly there.
    All best,
    Caragh

  • So I’ve just finished my second read-through of Birthmarked, and I’m wondering if you can give me a little more detail about Gaia’s mixed heritage? The only clue I could find was that her father has darker tan skin, dark hair, and brown eyes. What is his background? I’m curious!

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