I am delighted to report, that this fabulous anthology of Greek Speculative Fiction will be published in Japanese!
As you know this project was created in collaboration with Future Fiction, Francesco Verso's Italian SF press, to publish the book in both markets and, of course, both languages. Back in June 2020, we announced the anthology and its talented writers, and a few days later we were discussing the Japanese version!
Both Francesco and I are very keen to promote speculative fiction from around the world, so this opportunity made us so very happy and able to showcase Greek speculative fiction in three different markets.
For me personally, this experience has meant a lot, as I have a keen interest in Japan, its people and culture. But also from the point of view of a small publisher and the learning curve that comes from understanding foreign rights. What a journey! Very grateful for the experience.
Our thanks to the fabulous team of Tuttle-Mori Agency for bringing this around, and of course to the publisher Takeshobo for giving us this opportunity!
I am of course already planning my next Japan trip, where I will be diving into beautiful Japanese editions of the book :)
The cover for the English and Italian editions is created by Italian artist Chiara Topo, a blend of new and old.
The amazing Nick Mamatas, author of The Planetbreaker's Son and The Second Shooter, really enjoyed reading the anthology, and said, "Often underwater, sometimes entirely virtual, facing calamities from austerity to beepocalypse, near-future Greece comes to life in these stories. Forget everything you learned in school, on vacation, or from the faded memories of your immigrant γιαγιά. Λοιπόν, this is the real deal."
And talking to Dimitra Nikolaidou, who wrote the introduction for the anthology, it is easy to see why this stories provide us with 'the real deal' as Nick said above.
"The stories in Nova Hellas take us on a dystopian, harsh journey. Yet their protagonists are resilient, cunning and resourceful; they thrive, not only survive. In doing so, they reflect both the history of Greece itself, always surviving and rebuilding, always claiming a better tomorrow – and, perhaps, to a smaller degree, the stubbornness of Greek science fiction, which insisted on thriving in adverse circumstances and against much opposition."
Your editors for Nova Hellas, are myself, Francesca T Barbini, and Francesco Verso, two Romans running small presses from Scotland and Italy respectively, keen to bring to your attention SF from all corners of the world. The authors accompanying us on this journey are Vasso Christou, Kostas Charitos, Ioanna Bourazopoulou, Michalis Manolios, Yiannis Papadopoulos, Kelly Theodorakopoulou, Eugenia Triantafyllou, Lina Theodorou, Dimitra Nikolaidou, Natalia Theodoridou and Stamatis Stamatopoulos.
Click here to get to know each of the authors better!
Pre-orders for the book will open in 2021, as we approach April. We'll keep you posted!