Sally Rooney: Hebrew translation is ok but not by Israeli publisher

• Author: BEN SALES
• Published date: 12 October 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Rooney's statement, made on Tuesday, confirms a report by Haaretz last month that Rooney declined to sell Hebrew publishing rights for her new book, Beautiful World, Where Are You, to Modan Publishing House, an Israeli press that published her first two novels in Hebrew.

JTA and others this week characterized Rooney's decision not to work with Modan as a decision not to allow her critically acclaimed book to be translated into Hebrew at all. Rooney said that is not true.

"It would be an honor for me to have my latest novel translated into Hebrew and available to Hebrew-language readers," the statement said. "But for the moment, I have chosen not to sell these translation rights to an Israeli-based publishing house."

Whether that's possible is unclear: The Hebrew-language publishing industry is centered in Israel, the only country where Hebrew is an official language.

Rooney, 30, the Irish author of the acclaimed 2018...