Yay for Japanese SF/F!

[julieandrews]

swanjun Emailed this to me. I think it's pretty awesome.

From VIZ's Press Release:

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the launch of a brand-new imprint called Haikasoru, which will publish an array of contemporary Japanese science fiction (SF) and fantasy stories for English-speaking audiences. This is the first time an imprint with a dedicated focus on Japanese SF has launched in North America.

Haikasoru is scheduled to publish twelve books a year and launches in the summer of 2009 with four titles: The Lord of the Sands of Time by Issui Ogawa, All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, ZOO by Otsuichi, and Usurper of the Sun by Housuke Nojiri.

Haikasoru will be helmed by Nick Mamatas, a respected author of science fiction as well as an editor at VIZ Media. Mamatas is the author of two novels, which have been nominated for the Bram Stoker Award and Germany's Kurd Lasswitz Prize.

"I'm thrilled to be a part of this new imprint," says Mamatas. "Haikasoru is making history with the future. Finally, SF is going global."

About time! I look forward to reading (some of) them. Might be good, might be bad, might be weird, but at least they'll be different from the usual American/Canadian/British fare.

Usurper of the Sun is hard sf, which I only like in small doses, but it sounds interesting, with a female scientist as protagonist. And it won the Seiun Award.

Too bad they won't be out until after Wiscon. Though there's a potential panel idea in there regardless.

Comments

[swanjun.livejournal.com]

Here is an interview with Mamatas, in which he talks a little more about what's coming up and what the name means.

[julieandrews.livejournal.com]

Your userpic makes me think of fan-created TOS videos. Only, well, it's not! :)