Introduction

This contribution introduces literary translation lifecycles , a heuristic framework for analysing the human-mediated material phases that shape the emergence and circulation of a literary translation as a published book. Grounded in sociological approaches, it conceptualises the coming-into-being of a translated book in terms of dynamic interactions between global structures, national publishing fields, and networks of actors. These create constraints and opportunities, give rise to editorial and translation norms, and ultimately shape translation flows. For analytical purposes, a translation's lifecycle consists of interdependent yet distinct phases: discovery, selection, acquisition, translation, production, marketing, and reception. Cultural mediators—including translators, publishers, and state agents—initiate and sustain translation lifecycles, vitalising networks and connecting fields. Acknowledging the contingent and complex nature of social reality, the model advocates for case-specific, contextualised, and historicised analysis that accounts for non-linear translation trajectories, identifies pivotal phases and interventions, and explains influencing factors inductively. This framework informs the case studies in Literary Translation Lifecycles , which explore the circulation of Dutch literature in translation and the vital networks that sustain it, demonstrating how translated books from the so-called periphery emerge within the transnational literary field.