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Blog UK versions of books Tuesday, September 2, 2008 So I got an email today from an editor with my UK publisher, which will publish Angel's Tip in November under the title City of Fear. All of my prior books were published in the UK in the identical form as the US editions. This time, however, the UK editor has suggested deleting cultural and commercial references that might not be recognized on the other side of the pond: e.g., deleting an Archie Bunker reference and changing Tasti-delite, a ubiquitous NYC not-quite-ice-cream-like "food," to a Starbucks. I honestly don't know whether UK versions of US-based books are typically changed to delete cultural references. Are they? Should they be? If I read a book based in the south and a character chows down on some ridiculous fried something or another at a food shack called Lucy's, I don't need to know about Lucy's to get the general picture. On the other hand, if readers in the UK don't want to feel left out of the story, I can certainly understand. What do you think? posted by Alafair Burke at 2:13 PM 4 Comments:  Jen Forbus said... Hmmm, it's hard to say since I'm not a Brit, but I hadn't heard of Tasti-delite before I read Angel's Tip. It didn't take anything away from the book for me. And it is a book that's supposed to be set in NYC, so shouldn't it be realistic to the setting? But again, that's just the opinion of a Yankee! September 2, 2008 at 3:47 PM    Anonymous said... Well here's the thing,over here Archie Bunker was Alf Garnett(bald bloke bigoted racist conservative, catchphrase of"you silly moo" sorry old enough to remember him from the 60,s. So in the context of the story if thats the charactor's charactor why change him. But if thats why he wants it changed thats wrong. I hope you know what I mean. As for anything else being changed I should hope that your readers can read more than just the word in front of them so if your eating/drinking a Tasti-delite we "know" what it is. September 3, 2008 at 4:54 AM    Anonymous said... I prefer the cultural references to be local. What would Martha Grimes novels with Richard Jury be like if all of the English references were changed for US readers or Faye Kellerman's cultural references to the Judiasm? I really enjoy the cultural references and typically learn something new because of them. I have actually used some of the British colloquialisms that I've read in books and used them with my business partners in UK to a roaring success. Keep them in! September 3, 2008 at 5:29 AM    Terry said... As one who immigrated to the US, it was always the local colors described in a book that added a good deal of life to it. When I finally got to experience them, it made the stories even better. I wouldn't change a thing. September 10, 2008 at 12:52 PM   Post a Comment << Home Previous Posts Barnes and Noble Center Stage Book Club Separated at birth Happy Labor Day Weekend! Video, Radio, and Print...Oh My! Are you in St. Louis? A chat with Diana Page Jordan Back "Home" at Powell's Hard to beat a good cartoon.... Wall Street Journal Interview Wheels down in Houston