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THE DIGITAL AESTHETE is out!

Future SF shipped the newly written anthology The Digital Aesthete today.
Contribution works are fascinating. Ken Liu sent the Good Stories which describes the work when generative AI is an ordinary tool of creation. It’s deep thoughtful work as his other works.
PROMPT is the longest work of this anthology, and must be read.

But I would tell my work, READER ALICE.

The story setting is in the 2040’s at Portland. SF editor Bob is wondering why his editor-supporting app tends to pick human-writing works…
Yes, this is about the days when generative AIs are ordinarily used. I imagined and wrote how we write there, how we review them.
Please enjoy Reader Alice, it will be disclosed on 14th February, but no need to wait. You can buy the Digital Aesthete right now.

When Bob looked out the window, he felt like he had seen the woman passing by somewhere before. The abundant hair falling over her shoulders was going gray. She must have been in her fifties or so? Definitely older than Bob. She wore a hip wrap over running tights with a black hoodie. This was a style you saw often in Portland. Bob imagined her taking a nice run before heading to a coworking space to do her desk job and then, at lunchtime, walking down to Park Avenue where all the food trucks lined up.

She said hi to the guy running the kebab truck as she cut across the street and floated up the stoop of the building on the other side: the science fiction bookstore, Rose SF Wagon. From the ease of her movement and the tote bag bulge that could only be paper books, it was clear that she worked in an industry adjacent to Bob’s…

Reader Alice by Taiyo Fujii translated by Emily Balistrieri
  • THE BRAVE NEW GENERATIVE WORLD by Alex Shvartsman – Available Date: November 14, 2023
  • SILICON HEARTS by Adrian Tchaikovsky – Available now
  • FORGED by Jane Espenson – Available now
  • A BEAUTIFUL WAR by Fang Zeyu – Available Date: November 22, 2023
  • STAGE SHOWS AND SCHNAUZERS by Tina Connolly, translated by Nathan Faries – Available Date: November 29, 2023
  • THE MERCER SEAT by Vajra Chandrasekera – Available Date: December 6, 2023
  • GOOD STORIES by Ken Liu – Available Date: December 13, 2023
  • THE FACTORY OF MARKET DESIRES by Rodrigo Culagovski – Available Date: December 20, 2023
  • THE FORMS OF THINGS UNKNOWN by Julie Nováková – Available Date: December 27, 2023
  • EVE & MADA by Mose Njo, translated by Allison M. Charette – Available Date: January 3, 2024
  • TORSO by H. Pueyo – Available Date: January 10, 2024
  • THE LAUGH MACHINE by Auston Habershaw – Available Date: January 17, 2024
  • THE UNKNOWN PAINTER by Henry Lion Oldie, translated by Alex Shvartsman – Available Date: January 24, 2024
  • A WORLD OF TRAGIC HEROES by Zhou Wen – Available Date: January 31, 2024
  • HERMETIC KINGDOM by Ray Nayler – Available Date: January 31, 2024
  • EMIL’S LABYRINTH by Anna Mikhalevskaya, translated by Alex Shvartsman – Available Date: February 7, 2024
  • READER ALICE by Taiyo Fujii, translated by Emily Balistrieri – Available Date: February 14, 2024
  • PROMPT by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko, translated by Julia Meitov Hersey – Available Date: February 21, 2024

Panel: Online SF Publishing in Japan

My third panel of Chengdu WorldCon 2023 was Online SF Publishing in Japan. The panel was held in Japanese and interpreted in Chinese at the Hall of Lunar.

Panelists were me, Virtual Golila+ (VG+) editor Kanata Inoue, and Hayato Saito, Hayakawa Shobo chief editor of SF-Magazine Rikimaru Mizoguti, writer Iori Miyazawa(宮澤伊織) and Isukari-Yuba(柞刈湯葉). The moderator was the Japanese-Chinese translator DingDing Chong(丁丁虫).

The introduction of panelists was along with the theme. At first, I introduced my debut process in 2012. I wrote my first novel and published my e-book via online platforms.

Inoue and Saito introduced VG+. VG+ was started as an SFF news publisher by Saito, but in 2020, they started the short story competition, Kaguya SF Contest. VG+ offered winner publishing on their website and translating in English and Chinese. After the contest succeeded, VG+ founded the online web publishing platform Kaguya Planet and started a commercial imprint label. Both Inoue and Saito told a lot about online publishing potential.

Mizoguti introduced general information about Japanese online publishing as a commercial publisher-editor and two writers Miyazawa and Isukari talked about web fiction platforms that bore tons of light fiction.

Iskari talked about patronage by using note.com. When he said that he earns one by six of the annual revenue with weekly blogging, audiences and panelists roared.

The Chinese audience seemed to enjoy our talk. The questions were interesting in. After the panel ended, it was impressive to see the two VG+ members surrounded and asked for autographs.

Panel: Localization Paths of Science Fiction in Non-English-Speaking Countries

My third panel of Chengdu WorldCon 2023 was the Localization Paths of Science Fiction in Non-English-Speaking Countries.

Participants were Emad El-Din Aysha, Zoha Kazemi, Francis John Guillem Gene-Rowe, and me. The moderator was Regina Kanyu Wang.

After introducing of participants, Emad got the first introduction to a brief history of Egyptian SFF and remarkable current works with a screen presentation. And Zoha followed, a fascinating speech.

I only gave a brief situation speech. I had prepared a presentation of a brief history of Japanese SFF but didn’t use it. Because the theme of the title and the theme of the panel was changed from “Local Development Path of SF” to “Localization Paths of SF”. Presentations were for the former, but I understood both themes are necessary for discussing about the future. As I have read Emad’s and Zoha’s presenting papers, and aware those were very important for this convention, the first-international WorldCon. Of course, Japanese SFF is as important as those are but it is better known for audiences than both. Then, I focused on several necessary points of SFF media for the introduction.

The main theme, the discussion around the translation path was tough. Especially around Zoha, she can’t get a contract with Western agents because of sanctions, even can’t even send money. I really find that the Japanese situation is easier than in other countries.

Moderator Regina, and Francis who roles as good advisors worked well. They weaved two layered themes and made an incredible panel discussion.

The audience was remarkable. I attached their photos to this post.

Panel: How I Became a Professional Science Fiction Writer

My Second panel of Chengdu WorldCon 2023 was athe Japanese panel: How I Became a Professional Science Fiction Writer in 18th October at Neputune Hall.

Participant panelists are Hosuke Nojiri(野尻抱介), Satoshi Hase(長谷敏司), Haneko Takayama(高山羽根子), Taiyo Fujii (me) and Yugen Yashima(八島游舷) (order of the name is from the length of professional writing). The moderator was Japanese-Chinese translator Tian Tian(田田).

In Japan, most writers debut with literary contests for new writers, but all of us panelists had not passed through that way. Then, the episodes that we introduced were various, fascinating, and engaging.

Nojiri debuted with the game’s novelization, which was developed in his employed company. In other words, he debuted as a business writer and then was promoted to an SF writer himself.
Hase was the debut of Japanese light novels awards. So, he debuted with awards, but the publisher imprint label was not connected to SF publishing in his debuted years. He appealed to the Hayakawa publisher and became an SF writer, and won the Japan SF Grand Prize.

Takayama was from the sub-awards of the Sogen Short SF Awards. She contributed short stories to anthologies those are edited by Nozomi Omori and collected a short stories collection five years later.
In Japan, short story publishing slots were occupied by professional writers. If she did not win the sub-awards at first, she couldn’t pass the way she came.

I was self-published. I hoped my friends to read my first novel, so I published my work via e-book. Gene Mapper sold well, and I became a professional writer.

Yashima is from the SF writing school held by Nozomi Omori. His works were published on the class website. Later, he won several contests and debut. He’s a good example of Omori’s writing school became the major process of professional writer.

I watched the audience’s faces, and I found that they focused on our stories.

It was a good panel, thank you Tian Tian!

Panel: Decolonize the Future

My first panel at Chengdu WorldCon 2023 was Decolonize the Future: Strategies and Solutions to Emerge from the Shadow of Anglo SF.

Participants were César Santivañez, Zhui Ning Chang, and Francesco Verso. I was a moderator of this fascinating discussion. This was my first moderating panel on WorldCon, and it was the best panel for me.

The theme of Delocolnizing from the AngloSF is one of the significant theme of Chjengdu WorldCon 2023, in which is participated by 35 countries of SFF writers, editors and publishers.

For icebreak, I pointed out a difference of Chinese title of this panel with English one. Chinese title means just a multi-cultrual world SF, but English one is not, of course. And I called the panel would go ahead on English meaning, de-colonizing.

After introducing participants, I told a episode how we Japanese found Chinese SF. Japanese SFF community was noticed that modern Chinese SFF had started in late 1970s by Mr. Iwagami. Iwagami translated and published many booklets decades for our community, but we did not attention a lot. When we found is 2015 and 2016, Three Body Problem and Invisible Planets translated by Ken Liu in English, and awarded at English convention, turned our eyes to the neighbour country. We had found Chinese SFF by the road pavemened by English. Of course, Ken is not colonizing and WorldCon community are not. But our attention or marketing had been colonized by the English SFF.

After introducing above, I asked them “How had you been colonized by?”

Story was fascinating. I was interested in Andean Futurism, Magic Realism marketing at the Espanior language area by César, the huge Common Wealth English literature hierarchy by Zhui Ning, and the less-anglo-bridge publishing by Future Fictions by Francesco.

The panel is well summarized by Phong Quam on 𝕏.com. Thank you.