Thanks to a Japanese follower on Twitter we have been alerted to Death Sentences, a novel by Kawamata Chiaki, translated by Thomas Lamarre and Kazuko Y. Behrens. and published by the University of Minnesota. There’s a review in Publishers Weekly. The book was originally published in 1984, but has only just found its way into English. Given that it features a cult devoted to potentially deadly poetry, we are definitely interested. For more about the author, see the SF Encyclopedia.
Category: Country focus
New From China
Hugo Award nominated writer, Ken Liu, is also a keen translator of Chinese fiction. His latest project is “Taking Care of God” by the popular Chinese science fiction writer, Liu Cixin. You can read it in issue #2 of the free ebook magazine, Pathlight.
As you will have noticed, if you clicked through, that issue of Pathlight was issued in conjunction with China being the Market Focus for this year’s London Book Fair. One of the events of the fair saw John Clute and Jonathan Clements talk about Chinese science fiction. Liu Cixin was mentioned, as was Tibetan writer, Ah Lai.
VanderMeers in Finland
Jeff and Ann VanderMeer have recently returned from a visit to Finland, and they have posted several reports from the trip. Many of these talk about the writers and editors that they met while they were there. Here are some interesting links.
- Ann talks about a story she bought for Weird Tales from Leena Likitalo
- Jeff interviews Toni Jerrman, editor of the Finnish magazine, Tähtivaeltaja
- Jeff interviews Finnish editor and critic, Jukka Halme (Part I and Part II)
- Jeff interviews writer Johanna Sinisalo
- Jeff interviews writer, Viivi Hyvonen
- Jeff interviews writer, Anne Leinonen
- Jeff interviews writer, Saara Henriksson
- Jeff interviews writer, Sari Peltoniemi
- Jeff interviews blogger, Tero Ykspetäjä
While some of the Finnish writers, such as Hannu Rajaniemi and Leena Likitalo, can write directly in English, many of these fine writers rely heavily on translators to bring their work to the English-speaking world. Jeff and Ann have given us a good idea of the wealth of talent that exists in Finland. The next step is to make those writers available to a wider world.