Visual narratives: Cultural framing and representation in the book covers of Hanan al-Shaykh's Arabic and English fiction

This study explores how visual and textual elements on book covers frame and shape reception of translated literary works. Through a comparative analysis of book covers of five works by acclaimed Lebanese author Hanan al-Shaykh, this paper investigates the transformation of paratextual elements between the original Arabic editions and their English translations published in the United States and United Kingdom. To this end, the researchers adopted Genette's (1997) concept of paratexts and Venuti's (1995) theory of translator invisibility to uncover the strategies publishers use to adapt these works for Western audiences and how these adaptations reflect broader cultural and commercial expectations. The methodology combines quantitative and qualitative analyses to examine key elements on book covers such as the prominence of the author's name, the (in)visibility of the translator's name, and the use of cultural markers like the hijab and Arabic/Islamic imagery. The findings reveal that while translators remain invisible on English-language covers, elements such as the hijab appear more frequently in UK editions than in US versions, reflecting market expectations and reinforcing cultural stereotypes. The findings also highlight the phenomenon of “semiotic hijacking,” where visual representations are strategically altered to align with target-market ideologies, often at the expense of the original text's thematic integrity. This study contributes to translation studies by demonstrating how translation extends beyond linguistic transfer to include visual and marketing strategies that mediate cross-cultural reception in the global book market.