“Why are fewer translated works being published these days, and what can be done to reverse the trend?” In a report for The New York Sun, Gary Shapiro covers the recent talk show on the business and cultural challenges facing works in translation, which was hosted by Melville House co-publisher (and MobyLives editor) Dennis Loy Johnson and featured publisher Chad Post of the Dalkey Archive Press, bookseller Margarrita Shalina, and critic Michael Orthofer of The Complete Review. According to Post, “an emphasis on the bottom line” has kept conglomerate publishers away, and “The burden has now fallen more on independent publishers like Melville House, nonprofit presses like Dalkey, and university presses.” But, Shapiro notes, “It costs about $35,000 for Dalkey to publish a translation, Mr. Post said, and if 2,000 copies sell, the publisher earns back $12,000-$13,000. Selling 3,000 copies is considered a ‘wild success,’ he said.” Why do it if there’s a guaranteed loss? Said Shalina, “We need to know viewpoints from different countries. Beyond that, they’re great books.”