Editorial interventions in Orhan Pamuk’s Snow in English

Translated by Maureen Freely and engaging with timely themes such as political Islam, Snow (2004) marked a major breakthrough for Pamuk as a representative of a smaller literature. A lesser-known fact, however, is that the British and American editions of the novel, published by Faber and Faber and Knopf, display notable differences. This study offers a critical comparative analysis of these shifts and problematizes them as editorial interventions that undermine the translator’s agency. As tangible outcomes of the editing processes to which Freely’s translation was subjected on both sides of the Atlantic, these shifts stem not only from distinctions between British and American English, but also reveal how translations may be reshaped by powerful actors in the publishing sector. Such actors seek to impose their own “horizon of expectations” and perceptions of small literatures. Editing thus becomes a negotiation among editors, copy editors, and translators, demonstrating their power to significantly change translations on a global scale.