Translating The Witcher: publishing fantasy fiction in Europe

This study traces the editorial journey of Andrzej Sapkowski's fantasy work from Poland to the world, focusing on the stages of dissemination, translation, and publishing that Wiedźmin (The Witcher) has been undergoing in Europe. The analysis focuses on the author's intentions and those of his editorial teams in different countries, considering the target audiences, the successive translations and the series in which the volumes of The Witcher have been published. Doing so, it aims at questioning the specificities of translating fantasy fiction, especially from a lesser-known European language and with stories filled with multicultural folkloric references. It also studies how the various adaptations of the cycle have had an impact over its development and diffusion. The analysis is centered on Europe, where the process has been particularly dense, but it is occasionally completed with the impact of The Witcher in other regions of the world, including Asia and South America.