Has there ever been an instance of an officially crowd-funded translation of a novel?


There's some novels like "From the New World" which are excellent novels and
award winner, but never make it over here. They still fall into the "otaku"
subculture but appeal to broader audiences, too.

As consumers, has some sort of crowd-funding or the like ever been attempted
to get these materials translated? How can consumers express their desire to
bring this material overseas?




As of now, yes! Some **Visual Novels** (these count as novels in my book) have
been successfully crowd funded out here. A few examples of that are mostly
done by the _Sekai Project_.

For example, **World End Economica** was already funded and has been
translated and released. [The original KickStarter can be found
here.](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sekaiproject/world-end-economica-
complete) Sekai Project is working on a few others, too. These include:

  * [Clannad (already funded)](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sekaiproject/world-end-economica-complete)
  * [Grisaia](http://prefundia.com/projects/view/lets-bring-the-grisaia-trilogy-to-the-west/2814/)
  * [WAS](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sekaiproject/bring-was-the-hourglass-of-lepidoptera-to-the-west)
  * [fault Milestone One](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sekaiproject/fault-milestone-one-directors-cut)

So, the answer is a resounding YES now! With Clannad on the horizon, we might
see even more of these reach out into the English tongue.




As of now, yes! Some **Visual Novels** (these count as novels in my book) have
been successfully crowd funded out here. A few examples of that are mostly
done by the _Sekai Project_.

For example, **World End Economica** was already funded and has been
translated and released. [The original KickStarter can be found
here.](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sekaiproject/world-end-economica-
complete) Sekai Project is working on a few others, too. These include:

  * [Clannad (already funded)](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sekaiproject/world-end-economica-complete)
  * [Grisaia](http://prefundia.com/projects/view/lets-bring-the-grisaia-trilogy-to-the-west/2814/)
  * [WAS](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sekaiproject/bring-was-the-hourglass-of-lepidoptera-to-the-west)
  * [fault Milestone One](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sekaiproject/fault-milestone-one-directors-cut)

So, the answer is a resounding YES now! With Clannad on the horizon, we might
see even more of these reach out into the English tongue.

