SF in Translation

SF in Translation

SF in Translation is a science fiction, fantasy, and horror podcast dedicated to the exploration of the translation of speculative fiction. Each episode features news and interviews about translated works and the job of translation. SF in Translation is part of The Skiffy and Fanty Show podcast network. If you want to find out more about us and our other shows, go to skiffyandfanty.com.

  1. 06/14/2019

    Speculative Fiction in Translation #14: Biological and Artificial

    April brought us stories and books about the merging of the biological and artificial, zombification, organic routers, and much more. Plus we talk about what we’ve been reading, our favorite stories this month, and translations that we wish we could have yesterday. Remember: with new stories and books coming to their attention each week, make sure to check the SFT website for updates. Enjoy, and keep reading! A bientôt! P.S. It’s Jen’s fault this is late! Sorry about that, folks! Show notes: SFT Out in April Books we’re reading/want to read Waste Tide by Chen Qiufan, translated from the Chinese by Ken Liu (Tor Books). The Weight of Snow by Christian Guay-Poliquin, translated from the French (Quebec) by David Homel (Talonbooks). Dark Constellations by Pola Oloixarac, translated from the Spanish (Argentina) by Roy Kesey (Soho Press). Flowers of Mold by Ha Seong-Nan, translated from the Korean by Janet Hong (Open Letter). Our favorite stories “The Flowering” by Soyeon Jeong, translated from the Korean by Jihyun Park and Gord Sellar, Clarkesworld Magazine, April 1. “Seventy-Seven” by by Francisco Ortega, translated from the Spanish by David Bowles, The Dark Magazine, April 4. “The Last Journey” by Florin Purluca, translated from the Romanian by the author, SFinTranslation.com, April. “In Search of Your Memories,” by Nian Yu, translated from the Chinese by Andy Dudak, Clarkesworld Magazine, April 1. “Paulina” by Laura Ponce, translated from the Spanish by Toshiya Kamei (Moon City Review). “I Have a Secret” by Raquel Castro, translated from the Spanish by Lawrence Schimel, Tales From the Shadow Booth #3, April. What we’re looking forward to The Redemption of Time by Baoshu, translated from the Chinese by Ken Liu (Tor Books). The Heart of the Circle by Keren Landsman, translated from the Hebrew by Daniella Zamir (Angry Robot). Legend of the Galactic Heroes Vol.9: Upheaval by Yoshiki Tanaka, translated from the Japanese by Matt Treyvaud (Haikasoru). Whiskey Tales by Jean Ray, translated by Scott Nicolay (Wakefield Press). Translations we want The entirety of The Straggler by Flemish author Yves Petry Reader’s corner Afro SF Vol. 3, ed. Ivor Hartmann (StoryTime) Mars by Asja Bakić, translated from the Croatian by Jennifer Zoble (Feminist Press). General Links Speculative Fiction in Translation website Speculative Fiction in Translation facebook page SFT on twitter: @Rcordas Feel free to shoot us an email at skiffyandfanty [at] gmail [dot] com! You can also leave a comment on our website. Our new intro and outro music comes “No Disclaimer” by Jesse Spillane (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

    59 min
  2. 04/19/2019

    Speculative Fiction in Translation #13: Spanish Sherlock Holmes

    March brings us Indonesian sci-fi about intergalactic love, Portuguese fantasy about a family’s terrible secrets, Italian sci-fi about what it means to be human, a story from the “Lost Files” of Sherlock Holmes, and much more. We also discuss the books we’re looking forward to later in 2019 and what we’d like to see in English in the future. Remember: with new stories and books coming to their attention each week, make sure to check the SFT website for updates. Enjoy, and keep reading! A bientôt! Show notes: SFT Out in March “The Starry Sky over the Southern Isle” by Zhao Haihong, translated from the Chinese by the author (Asimov’s, March/April issue). “Meteors” by Clara Ng, translated from the Indonesian by Toni Pollard, Words Without Borders, March. “The Lord of Rivers” by Wanxiang Fengnian, translated from the Chinese by Nathan Faries, Future Science Fiction Digest, March 15. “To Save a Human” by Svyatoslav Loginov, translated from the Russian by Max Hrabrov, Future Science Fiction Digest, March 15.[available May 15] “Holes” by Clelia Farris, translated from the Italian by Rachel Cordasco, World Literature Today, March/April. “Saligia” by H. Pueyo, translated from the Brazilian Portuguese by the author, Samovar Magazine, March. “The Knack Bomb” by Bo Balder, translated from the Dutch by the author, Samovar Magazine, March. The Wisdom of the Dead (The Lost Files of Sherlock Holmes #1) by Rodolfo Martinez, translated from the Spanish by the author, Sportula, March 1. Mars by Asja Bakić, translated from the Croatian by Jennifer Zoble (Feminist Press, March 19). Ha Ha Hu Hu: A Horse-headed God in Trafalgar Square by Viswanatha Satyanarayana, translated from the Telugu by Velcheru Narayana Rao (Penguin India, March 19). Reviews Peter Gordon reviews Flowers of Mold Rachel Cordasco reviews The Apex Book of World SF 5 Gautham Shenoy reviews The Gollancz Book of South Asian Science Fiction Gary Wolfe reviews Readymade Bodhisattva Rachel Cordasco reviews Broken Stars Articles/Essays/Interviews “Yoko Tawada: Wondrously strange subject matter from a fantastical imagination” Ken Liu Guest Post–“Is It Possible to Learn About China by Reading Chinese Science Fiction?” (via Locus) Readers’ Corner Rachel is translating an Italian story by Raul Ciannela General Links Speculative Fiction in Translation website Speculative Fiction in Translation facebook page SFT on twitter: @Rcordas Feel free to shoot us an email at skiffyandfanty [at] gmail [dot] com! You can also leave a comment on our website. Our new intro and outro music comes “No Disclaimer” by Jesse Spillane (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

    55 min
  3. 03/22/2019

    Speculative Fiction in Translation #12: Fantasy, Collections, and Korean SFT

    February offered us more short fiction than anything else, though we did get the absolutely wonderful anthology of Chinese SFT edited and translated by Ken Liu: Broken Stars. In terms of the short fiction, fantasy dominated, with stories from the Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, and Korean. Rachel and Daniel also talk about the fiction they’re looking forward to in the upcoming months and the books they’re currently reading/teaching. Plus they discuss the great Korean SFT news from Neil Clarke! Remember: with new stories and books coming to their attention each week, make sure to check the SFT website for updates. Enjoy, and keep reading! A bientôt! Show notes: SFT Out in February “The Butcher of New Tasmania” by Suo Hefu, translated from the Chinese by Andy Dudak (Clarkesworld Magazine, February 1). “Art” by Alberto Chimal, translated from the Spanish by David Bowles, The Dark, February. “Everyone Sleeps at Night” by Anderson Fonseca, translated from the Portuguese by Toshiya Kamei (Idle Ink, February 25). “For Humanity Today and Tomorrow” by Sou Saito, translated from the Japanese by Toshiya Kamei (Aphelion, February). “A Young Man’s Fortune” by Alberto Chimal, translated from the Spanish by Toshiya Kamei (Bewildering Stories, February). “Home” by Soyeon Jeong, translated from the Korean by Sophie Bowman (Guernica, February 28). The Nine Cloud Dream by Kim Man-Jung, translated from the Korean by Heinz Insu Fenkl (Penguin, February 5). Broken Stars: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction in Translation, edited and translated by Ken Liu (Tor Books, February 19). Reviews Ian Mond reviews Mars in Locus Magazine Ruoji Tang reviews A Hero Born Daniel Haeusser reviews The Complete Stories of Leonora Carrington Alvaro Zinos-Amaro reviews Mouthful of Birds Articles/Essays/Interviews “Translating the Dark Surrealism of Samanta Schweblin’s Mouthful of Birds” Readers’ Corner Daniel is teaching Frankenstein in Baghdad Rachel is reading A Bond Undone (Legends of the Condor Heroes #2) Rachel is translating an Italian story by Raul Ciannela General Links Speculative Fiction in Translation website Speculative Fiction in Translation facebook page SFT on twitter: @Rcordas Feel free to shoot us an email at skiffyandfanty [at] gmail [dot] com! You can also leave a comment on our website. Our new intro and outro music comes “Rock Thing” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

    1h 6m
  4. 02/15/2019

    Speculative Fiction in Translation #11: New Year, New Translations, plus Andy Dudak

    It’s a new year, and we have a lot of new and exciting SF in translation coming out. Chinese fantasy, Czech space opera, Argentine surrealism…Daniel and I tell you all about it. We also take a look back at November and December and briefly summarize what you might have missed when our beloved podcast took a brief wintry haitus. Daniel also talks about the wide variety of short fiction in January and why you should get excited about reading these stories from the Polish, Japanese, Spanish, and more. Extra exciting is the fact that you can also hear Rachel’s interview with the talented author and translator Andy Dudak. Translating Chinese SF, living abroad, how reading and writing and translating influence one another: it’s all covered. Remember: with new stories and books coming to our attention each week, make sure to check the SFT website for updates. Enjoy, and keep reading! A bientôt! Show notes: SFT Out in January “And the Wind Passes Dancing…” by Massimo Soumaré, translated from Italian by Toshiya Kamei (Unreal Magazine, January 1). “The Talus of Madame Liken” by Asja Bakić, translated from the Croatian by Jennifer Zoble (World Literature Today, January) “The Eternal Idol” by Amélie Olaiz, translated from the Japanese by Toshiya Kamei (Menacing Hedge, January). “Soul Tree” by Katsuya Yatsukawa, translated from the Japanese by Toshiya Kamei (SFT, January 15). “Sketches of a Worldwide Christo and Jeanne-Claude” by M.H. Vesseur, translated from the Dutch by Paul Vincent (Unfit Magazine, January 12). “The Small White” by Marian Coman, translated from the Romanian by Sebastian Simon (Apex Magazine, January 15). “All Saints’ Mountain” by Olga Tokarczuk, translated from the Polish by Jennifer Croft (Hazlitt, January 23). “Astrolabe” by Raquel Castro, translated from the Spanish by Lawrence Schimel (Cascadia Subduction Zone, January) A Bond Undone (Legends of the Condor Heroes Vol. 2) by Jin Yong, translated from the Chinese by Gigi Chang (MacLehose Press, January 24). Frontiers of the Imperium (Central Imperium Book 1) by Jan Kotouc, translated from the Czech by Isabel Stainsby (Arbiter Press, January 3). The Plotters by Un-su Kim, translated from the Korean by Sora Kim-Russell (Doubleday, January 29). The Origin of the Fays, edited and translated by Brian Stableford (Black Coat Press, January 1). The Enchanter’s Mirror and Other Stories by Marie-Antoinette Fagnan, translated from the French by Brian Stableford (Black Coat Press, January 1). Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin, translated from the Spanish by Megan McDowell (Riverhead Books, January 8). Reviews Ellen Jones reviews Tentacle in LARB Lanie Tankard reviews Secret Passages in a Hillside Town in World Literature Today Andrew Singer reviews CoDex 1962 for World Literature Today Jenni Råback reviews Oneiron for Asymptote Journal Jonathan Kirsch reviews Zion’s Fiction: A Treasury of Israeli Speculative Fiction James Kidd reviews Legends of the Condor Heroes Book 2 Articles/Essays “The Beautiful Mind-Bending of Stanislaw Lem” by Paul Grimstad, The New Yorker Ken Liu’s Introduction to Broken Stars Heather Cleary interviews Samanta Schweblin on Lithub “Home is Where the Haunt Is: The Fantastic in Translated Fiction” by Heather Cleary Readers’ Corner Daniel recently read Leonora Carrington’s Complete Stories Rachel is reading The Ouroboros Wave Rachel is translating a story by Raul Ciannella General Links Speculative Fiction in Translation website Speculative Fiction in Translation facebook page SFT on twitter: @Rcordas Feel free to shoot us an email at skiffyandfanty [at] gmail [dot] com! You can also leave a comment on our website. Our new intro and outro music comes “Rock Thing” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

    1h 9m
  5. 11/10/2018

    Speculative Fiction in Translation #10: Iceland and Gothic Fantasy

    In this month’s episode, Rachel and Daniel make the most of a relatively-light SFT month, discussing the collections, stories, and reviews that came out in October. They also look ahead to the exciting wonderfulness that is November. The highly-acclaimed Icelandic novel, CoDex 1962, keeps coming up (probably because it’s as great as everyone says it is) and we now have new stories by Yoss and Melanie Fazi to read thanks to World Literature Today. And while Rachel and Daniel wish they could have more time to read all the things, Daniel still needs to invent that time machine Rachel keeps asking for… Remember: with new stories and books coming to our attention each week, make sure to check the SFT website for updates. Enjoy, and keep reading! A bientôt! Show notes: SFT Out in October “The Facecrafter” by Anna Wu, translated from the Chinese by Emily Jin (Clarkesworld, October 1 “Health for All” by Yoss, translated from the Spanish by George Henson (World Literature Today, October 25) “Our Lady of the Scales“ by Mélanie Fazi, translated by Edward Gauvin (World Literature Today, October 25) The Tyranny of the Fays Abolished and Other Stories by Comtesse D. L., translated from the French by Brian Stableford (Black Coat Press, October 1) The Murdered City by Fernand Mysor, translated from the French by Brian Stableford (Black Coat Press, October 1) Excerpts from CoDex 1962 by Sjon, translated from the Icelandic by Victoria Cribb (FSG Work in Progress, October 4) Reviews Daniel Haeusser’s Short SFT Reviews Rachel Hill reviews Hybrid Child Sean Gaffney reviews Last and First Idol Paul Di Filippo reviews The Apex Book of World SF 5 Kate Sherrod reviews The Apex Book of World SF 5 Katharine Coldiron reviews CoDex 1962 Fionn Mallon reviews Familiar Things Rachel Cordasco reviews Alphaland Michael Weingrad reviews Zion’s Fiction Interviews Jason Sanford interviews Daniel Huddleston about translating Sisyphean Readers’ Corner Daniel is reading Vestiges in the original French Rachel is reading The Apex Book of World SF 5 Rachel is translating stories by Italian sf author Clelia Farris. Read one of Clelia’s stories here. General Links Speculative Fiction in Translation website Speculative Fiction in Translation facebook page SFT on twitter: @Rcordas If you have a question you’d like us to answer, feel free to shoot us a message on our contact page. Our new intro and outro music comes “Dimension” by Creo (CC BY 4.0), which has been slightly modified to include sound effects and for length purposes.

    42 min

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

SF in Translation is a science fiction, fantasy, and horror podcast dedicated to the exploration of the translation of speculative fiction. Each episode features news and interviews about translated works and the job of translation. SF in Translation is part of The Skiffy and Fanty Show podcast network. If you want to find out more about us and our other shows, go to skiffyandfanty.com.