During the past 6 months, I have edited a series of articles on “What We’re Missing: Gems of World Kid Lit.” Taking a page from the UK’s Times Literary Supplement, which styles itself as “the only major English-language publication to review books published in other languages,” I thought we could introduce the concept on this … Continue reading What We’re Missing: Gems of World Kid Lit
Japan’s “The Beast Player” and Finland’s “Maresi Red Mantle” Win 2020 GLLI Translated YA Book Prize
Winners Feature Striking Young Women Protagonists from Across the Globe The Beast Player, by Japan’s Nahoko Uehashi (translated from the Japanese by Cathy Hirano; Henry Holt & Co.) and Maresi Red Mantle, by Finland’s Maria Turtschaninoff (translated from the Swedish by A. A. Prime; Pushkin Press/Abrams Books) are co-winners of the 2020 GLLI Translated YA … Continue reading Japan’s “The Beast Player” and Finland’s “Maresi Red Mantle” Win 2020 GLLI Translated YA Book Prize
Takami Nieda on Kaneshiro’s Zainichi Tour de Force “Go”
May GLLI Blog Series: Japan in Translation, No. 29 Editor's note: Though it took 18 years from publication in Japan until translation and publication in English, Kazuki Kaneshiro’s Go: A Coming of Age Novel, just released in March by AmazonCrossing, is already eliciting superlative reviews. Go's zainichi protagonist Sugihara is “one of the most memorable characters … Continue reading Takami Nieda on Kaneshiro’s Zainichi Tour de Force “Go”
The Vast Light Novel Universe — by translator Emily Balistrieri
May GLLI Blog Series: Japan in Translation, No. 28 What’s the significance of the numbers 18, 49, 82, and 183? If you answered that those are the numbers of light novels published in English annually from 2014-2017, you’re right. But I have a sneaking suspicion you are more likely thinking, “Wait, a ‘light’ novel? What’s … Continue reading The Vast Light Novel Universe — by translator Emily Balistrieri
Me and My Monkey — by Roland Kelts
May GLLI Blog Series: Japan in Translation, No. 27 Editor's note: Forget the old saw that English language readers won't read literature in translation. For the last seven years, Monkey Business: New Writing from Japan has been publishing an annual journal of what it calls "the best of contemporary Japanese literature" in English. The paperback editions of … Continue reading Me and My Monkey — by Roland Kelts
Sharing the Magic: Translating Kadono Eiko, by Lynne E. Riggs
May GLLI Blog Series: Japan in Translation, No. 26 Editor's note: Kadono Eiko is the recipient of the 2018 Hans Christian Andersen Award, the most prestigious prize given in children's literature worldwide. She is best known outside of Japan for Majo no Takkyubin, ("Kiki's Delivery Service"), which was made into a popular animated movie by … Continue reading Sharing the Magic: Translating Kadono Eiko, by Lynne E. Riggs
Stories for Peace — Sako Ikegami on War in Japanese Children’s Literature
May GLLI Blog Series: Japan in Translation, No. 25 In any form of conflict, be it a global war or family strife, children are the most deeply impacted. Literature reflects this, and Japan, so profoundly transformed by its role in global war, is certainly no exception. Many Japanese children’s creators today experienced war first-hand as … Continue reading Stories for Peace — Sako Ikegami on War in Japanese Children’s Literature
Strong Women, Soft Power — by Ginny Tapley Takemori
May GLLI Blog Series: Japan in Translation, No. 24 Photo courtesy of Jonathan Armstrong, for the Documentist Photography In 2016, I and my colleagues Allison Markin Powell and Lucy North realized we would all be attending the London Book Fair. We decided to take advantage of this to organize a reading at the Society … Continue reading Strong Women, Soft Power — by Ginny Tapley Takemori
Q&A with Translator Cathy Hirano on “The Beast Player,” by Hans Christian Andersen Award Winner Nahoko Uehashi
May GLLI Blog Series: Japan in Translation, No. 23 Editor's Note: Yesterday, we quoted Kirkus' YA Editor Laura Simeon saying that the first piece of translated young adult fiction she had read was Kazumi Yumoto's The Friends (winner of the 1997 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction and the 1997 Batchelder Award). Today we hear … Continue reading Q&A with Translator Cathy Hirano on “The Beast Player,” by Hans Christian Andersen Award Winner Nahoko Uehashi
Examining cultural messages in Japanese picture books — by Kirkus YA Editor Laura Simeon
May GLLI Blog Series: Japan in Translation, No. 22 Editor's Note: Soon after Laura Simeon became Kirkus' YA Editor in January, she penned the following appeal for more translated literature: I clearly remember the first YA book in translation I ever read: Kazumi Yumoto’s 2002 title The Letters, translated from the Japanese by Cathy Hirano. … Continue reading Examining cultural messages in Japanese picture books — by Kirkus YA Editor Laura Simeon
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 