Translating into French a book published in the US?

Question

So there is this niche novel I read during high school and liked, it was maybe still is published in the US, and I would like to attempt translating it to French.

What authorizations if any are required/is it possible, to either make my translation freely available online, or publish it commercially in France?

Thanks

Answer 1

Translating a work gives you a "thin copyright" in the translated text, but the underlying copyright still holds, so you need permission from the original copyright holder. (As well as anyone they have given exclusive rights to, such as a publisher. The publisher may also already have exclusive translation rights into French.)