The ways in which literature written in German reaches Swedish audiences are multiple and manifold.

Using hitherto disregarded material from publishers' archives - correspondence, opinions by publishers' readers, interviews - this mainly pragmatic dissertation traces the path of a number of books written in German through Swedish publishing houses, libraries and bookshops to their reception in the press.

Every year publishing firms receive a large number of German books on approval. The first part of the dissertation (Die Vermitdung; "The Mediation") demonstrates how nine mediators - the literary agent, the "scout", the book fair, the publisher, the German-speaking author, a Swedish author, the Swedish translator, the cultural institution and the private individual - determine the selection of translated German literature in Sweden. Using the opinions of about 225 publishers' readers from six different publishing firms as a point of departure, the author gives an insight into the values guiding the readers' work. The investigation covers books accepted as well as the large number of those rejected which never get as far as the Swedish reader.