Amazon Launches Kindle Translate for Ebook Authors

Amazon launched Kindle Translate on Thursday, an artificial intelligence-powered service designed to help self-publishing authors expand their ebooks to international audiences. The beta tool, available to select authors through Kindle Direct Publishing, initially supports translations between English and Spanish, as well as from German to English, with plans to add more languages in the future.

The service addresses a gap in the ebook market, where fewer than 5 percent of titles on Amazon are available in multiple languages, according to the company. Authors can access and manage translations directly from the Kindle Direct Publishing portal, selecting target languages, setting list prices and publishing options. Once processed, fully formatted translations can be published within days. Amazon stated that all translations undergo automatic evaluation for accuracy before publication, though the company did not provide details on the evaluation process. To further ensure quality, authors have the option to preview the translated content prior to releasing it.

Readers will encounter ebooks produced with Kindle Translate clearly labeled as such in the Amazon store, allowing them to...