Publisher Severs Ties with Murakami's Rights Holder Over Dispute

Family Leisure Club Publisher Ends Partnership with Murakami's Rights Holder

According to Главком: The Family Leisure Club publishing house has announced the termination of its partnership with the rights holder for the works of Japanese author Haruki Murakami. The split resulted from a conflict during the material approval phase, leading to the withdrawal of the novel 'Kafka on the Shore' from sale and halting work on other projects. The rights holder expressed dissatisfaction with the composition of the translation team and the translators' ages. This dispute highlights the complex negotiations often involved in bringing major international authors to new markets.

According to the publisher, the rights holder was required to respond to queries within 10 days for text and 30 days for cover art, but left requests unanswered for 46 days. The publishing house stated:

"It was an honor for us to present Mr. Murakami's works to Ukrainian readers. We invested maximum effort to ensure each edition met the high standard deserved by both the author and our readers."

Rights Holder's Demands

The rights holder objected to multiple specialists working on the book instead of a single translator and demanded the translator be of a 'respectable age' with extensive experience. In response, Family Leisure Club emphasized:

"Age-based demands are unacceptable. Our translators are professionals selected for their competence, not their date of birth."

Publisher representatives added: "Our goal was simple-to preserve the partnership and publish a quality book for Ukrainian readers. Unfortunately, the rights holder chose a different path-unilaterally terminating cooperation and withdrawing the rights."

Haruki Murakami is a Japanese author whose works have been translated into more than 50 languages worldwide. He was born in Ashiya, near Kobe, and attended Waseda University in Tokyo. His first novel, 'Hear the Wind Sing,' was published in 1979. In 2022, Murakami prepared a special edition of his radio program 'Murakami Radio' titled 'Music to Stop the War.'

This incident follows other recent controversies in Ukrainian publishing. Family Leisure Club recently destroyed 30,000 copies of Sophie Lark's novel 'Brutal Prince,' and the Choven publishing house canceled the presentation of Oksana Briukhovetska's research book 'Voices of Black Lives Matter' in Lviv.

The termination of cooperation between Family Leisure Club and Murakami's rights holder underscores the difficulties within the literary world, particularly regarding translation and cultural adaptation. The conflict over translator requirements may negatively impact Ukrainian readers awaiting new editions from the renowned author. As Ukraine's book market faces numerous challenges, such situations can create additional obstacles for the development of literature in the country.