Translated fiction sells better in the UK than English fiction, research finds

Survey commissioned by the Man Booker International prize finds authors including Elena Ferrante and Haruki Murakami are driving a boom in UK sales of translated literary fiction

Translated literary fiction is selling better on average in the UK than literary fiction originally written in English, according to new research, with authors including Elena Ferrante, Haruki Murakami and Karl Ove Knausgaard driving a boom in sales.

Though fiction in translation accounts for just 3.5% of literary fiction titles published, it accounted for 7% of sales in 2015, according to a survey commissioned by the Man Booker International prize.

25% of our top 20 fiction titles are translated - if more were published I’m sure that percentage would be even higher

The 'Ferrante phenomenon' has helped drive sales of Italian fiction from 7,000 in 2001 to 237,000 in 2015

Related: Elena Ferrante: the global literary sensation nobody knows

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