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LATEST

  • Blurb: Fieldoffice: A Place for Youthful Minds, Architecture, and the Lines that Shape an Island
    By Lily Huang (Travel writer) ∥ Translated by Josh Dyer
    Nov 13, 2024

    Fieldoffice is the life story of an architectural firm committed to the continuous exploration of the needs of people, and the relationship between people and the environment. Through their works, they have successfully realized the ideals of blending architecture with the environment, and of creating a symbiosis between buildings and people. Based in Yilan, Taiwan, Fieldoffice Architects holds a special place in the history of Taiwan architecture. Through a range of personal perspectives, this book records the life and work philosophy of this unique firm.

     

    The presence of Yilan’s ocean, rivers, natural scenery, and the local populace is constantly felt as various Fieldoffice employees walk readers through their architectural process. One might even say this is a book that uses the medium of architecture to spark a revolution. Most of the ideas presented within these pages are clearly revolutionary in nature. The communal living spaces, unique lifestyles, and the vision behind each work of architecture are each intended to bring about radical forms of behavioral and conceptual change.

     

  • Blurb: Becoming a Traveller in Your Own City
    By Huang Tzu-Ting (Assistant professor of Chinese language, National Sun Yat-Sen University) ∥ Translated by Josh Dyer
    Nov 13, 2024

    With lucid prose and images, “city sleuth” Peter Lee conveys his experiences in the field, guiding readers on a meandering journey into the depths of the everyday, and revealing some of the most unique architecture, public art, and public transportation infrastructure of Taiwan.

     

    Lee is never short of favorite sights to share, nor of personal interpretations of their significance. Take, for example, the Jingliao Holy Cross Church near Tainan, which took its inspiration from the temporary thatched huts erected by local farmers, or the old wooden houses in Chiayi that are being repurposed for new uses. Another example: the alternative utopia built by photographer Chen Min-Chia deep in the mountains of the northern coast, a simple cabin he calls “a working man’s place of repose”. Lee’s case studies blend the aesthetic observations of an architect with the atmosphere evoked by the site, demonstrating that architecture is a response to society, and revealing the intimate relationship between cities and the periods through which they evolve.

     

  • Blurb: Oo-Pe̍h-Tshiat: Taiwanese Pork Delicacy for the Common Folk
    By Chao Tian-Yi (Professor of Foreign Languages, National Taiwan University) ∥ Translated by Josh Dyer
    Nov 13, 2024

    The charm of this book lies in the author’s keen sense of narrative, and eye for telling detail. From the technical skills of the chefs to the selection of raw ingredients, the preparation methods of oo-pe̍h-tshiat in all its variety are described in exhaustive detail. Even rarities such as stuffed pork lung receive a nod. The scope of the discussion extends to the history of local culinary cultures from across Taiwan, paying special attention to the life stories of the bearers of this culinary tradition, which, compiled together, form a heck of a mouth-watering read. As readers savor these literary delights, they will have opportunity to observe the associated social and cultural backdrop, in which food culture is seen to connect to everything from social structure, to economics, to the manifestation of local culture.

     

    While dining on this feast of a book, readers will discover links between the individual, the food they consume, and lived aspects of contemporary society. It is a rewarding read that will awaken readers to the importance of preserving and passing on their local food culture.

     

  • Blurb: Fish Eye
    By Cyu Chen (Researcher of popular literature) ∥ Translated by Josh Dyer
    Nov 13, 2024

    Piecing together a couple of different crimes, including the infamous Chen-Kao Lien-Yeh child poisonings, Fish Eye subtly crafts a seamless whole from what, at first glance, are disparate criminal cases. As multiple threads of investigation trace their way deeper and deeper into the past, everything is revealed to radiate from a single point.

     

    That single point, which the author has been driving at all along, is to interrogate our images of motherhood, and she won’t accept any naïve answers sourced from simplistic interpretations of feminist theory. Rather, the author constructs a fascinating puzzle of meticulously arranged clues that guide us to question the power structures that underpin our concept of motherhood, leaving readers with unsettling questions that will linger long after the case is cracked and the book is closed.

     

  • Blurb: Ghost Lotto
    By Ling Jing (Author) ∥ Translated by Josh Dyer
    Nov 13, 2024

    Starting from the everyday phenomenon of Taiwan’s national lottery, Ghost Lotto hones in on the various forms of the human desire to strike it rich, and the local superstitions and religious beliefs concerning wealth and good fortune. Beneath the everyman dream of overnight wealth lies a range of forces that distort and defile human nature: misfortune, delusion, vanity, jealousy, and desire.

     

    Greed is never far from these, but what is their true source? Beginning in simple actions motivated by greed, Ghost Lotto builds a tightly coupled story that expands à la the butterfly effect, to incorporate numerous other facets of human nature. An impulse moves one character to action, only to produce a tragedy in the life of another, and the ultimate truth isn’t revealed until the very end, leaving readers to wonder: what is more horrifying, the ghosts and demons of superstitious belief, or the evil that lurks in our own nature?

     

  • Blurb: The Disaster Prophecy Agency
    By Karasumi (Author) ∥ Translated by Josh Dyer
    Nov 13, 2024

    If Datun Mountain were to one day erupt, would the Taipei region have sufficient time to react? Against the backdrop this speculative scenario, The Disaster Prophecy Agency utilizes the motives of its various characters to probe the meaning of human life and activity. A distinctively Asian type, the humble and gentle protagonist has a gift for human observation, and understands well the art of prevarication. As high-technology and the natural world are pitted against each other, and the disaster unfolds in suspenseful detail, all concerned parties are given space to enter into the fray of public discourse. Building from the foundation of a plausible Taiwanese disaster, this novel can be read as either a retrospective of human folly, or an advance warning for times to come.

  • Blurb: No. 1, Siwei Street
    By Openbook ∥ Translated by Josh Dyer
    Nov 13, 2024

    Drawing from Taiwan’s ethnic politics, history, and culinary culture, the story of No. 1, Siwei Street revolves around a historic boarding house for female graduate students. As the five residents cautiously draw closer to one another over their shared meals, the influence of the Japanese genre of yuri fiction (girl’s love) also becomes apparent. By blending historical details concerning the boarding house, the author breathes new life into the structure, an actual historic building located in Taichung, Taiwan. Food lovers, yuri fiction fans, and readers of historical fiction will all find themselves easily drawn into the story.

     

    The convivial dining room scenes, with the young women of the boarding house gathered around the dinner table, are filled with exquisite images of food: desserts like taro porridge, castella (Japanese sponge cake), and lemon-shaped cakes (a specialty of Taichung); main dishes like wine-stewed chicken, old-style fried chicken, chicken soup with pickled vegetables; and snacks like lumpia and fried spring rolls. From shopping, to washing the vegetables, to preparation, everyone lends a hand, their nutritious and mouth-watering meals meeting the unfulfilled needs of body and soul, and their shared conversations promoting their deepening flow of their emotional connections.

     

  • Grant for the Publication of Taiwanese Works in Translation (GPT)
    By Books from Taiwan
    Oct 03, 2024

    GPT is set up by The Ministry of Culture to encourage the publication of Taiwanese works in translation overseas, to raise the international visibility of Taiwanese cultural content, and to help Taiwan's publishing industry expand into non-Chinese international markets.

    Applicant Eligibility: Foreign publishing houses (legal entity) legally registered or incorporated in accordance with the laws and regulations of their respective countries.

    Conditions:

    1. The so-called Taiwanese works must meet the following requirements:

    A. Use traditional characters
    B. Written by a natural person holding an R.O.C. identity card
    C. Has been assigned an ISBN in Taiwan
    i.e., the author is a native of Taiwan, and the first 6 digits of the book's ISBN are 978-957-XXX-XXX-X, 978-986-XXX-XXX-X, or 978-626-XXX-XXX-X.

    2. Applications must include documents certifying that the copyright holder of the Taiwanese works consents to its translation and foreign publication (no restriction on its format).

    3. A translation sample of the Taiwanese work is required (no restriction on its format and length).

    4. If applications use the fully translated English version of the book selected into “Books from Taiwan” to be published directly or translated into other languages, or uses its excerpt translated English version to translate the entire text into English or other languages for publication, please state it in applications, and apply for authorization from the Ministry of Culture. It is still necessary to provide documents certifying that the copyright holder of the Taiwanese work consents to its translation and foreign publication.

    5. The translated work must be published within two years, after the first day of the relevant application period.

    Grant Items:

    1. The maximum grant available for each project is NT$600,000, which covers:

    A. Licensing fees (going to the copyright holder of the Taiwanese works);
    B. Translation fees;
    C. Marketing and promotion fees (applicants for this funding must propose a specific marketing promotion plan and complete the implementation before submitting the grant project results; those whose plans include talks or book launching events attended by authors in person will be given priority for grants);
    D. Book production-oriented fees;
    E. Tax (20% of the total award amount);
    F. Remittance-related handling fees.

    2. Priority consideration is given to books that have received the Golden Tripod Award, the Golden Comic Award, the Taiwan Literature Award, books on Taiwan’s culture and history, or series of books.

    3. Grant recipients who use the fully or excerpt translated English version of the book selected into “Books from Taiwan” will be authorized to use it for free. For those who use the fully translated English version for publication, the grant does not cover translation fees; for those who use the excerpt translated English version, the translation fee is limited to the length of the book that has not yet been translated, and its grant amount will be adjusted based on the length of the entire text.

    4. The grant will be given all at once after the grant recipients submit the following written documents to the Ministry before the submission deadline in accordance with article III, paragraph 6 of this application guidelines:

    A. Paper receipt with signature or stamp (format given along with the Ministry's formal announcement);
    B. A detailed list of expenditures, sales volume (or expected sales volume) of translated books, and marketing promotion plan results;
    C. 10 print copies of the final work published abroad (if the work is published in an e-book format, grant recipients shall instead provide purchase authorizations for 10 persons).

    Application Period: Twice every year. The MOC reserves the right to change the application periods, and will announce said changes separately.

    Announcement of successful applications: Winners will be announced within three months of the end of the relevant application period.

    Application Method: Please visit the Ministry’s official website (https://grants.moc.gov.tw/Web_ENG/), and use the online application system.

    For full details of the GPT, please visit https://grants.moc.gov.tw/Web_ENG/PointDetail.jsp?__viewstate=oRWyc5VpG+O99KDT3kS+ZusiG3bVYvlI7oJCOHz4L408lIe/efs7z+WTtc3mBJBkYvZhpy/Mg9Q=

    Or contact: books@moc.gov.tw

  • Grant for the Publication of Taiwanese Works in Translation (GPT)
    By Books from Taiwan
    Apr 10, 2024

    GPT is set up by The Ministry of Culture to encourage the publication of Taiwanese works in translation overseas, to raise the international visibility of Taiwanese cultural content, and to help Taiwan's publishing industry expand into non-Chinese international markets.

    Applicant Eligibility: Foreign publishing houses (legal entity) legally registered or incorporated in accordance with the laws and regulations of their respective countries.

    Conditions:

    1. The so-called Taiwanese works must meet the following requirements:

    A. Use traditional characters
    B. Written by a natural person holding an R.O.C. identity card
    C. Has been assigned an ISBN in Taiwan
    i.e., the author is a native of Taiwan, and the first 6 digits of the book's ISBN are 978-957-XXX-XXX-X, 978-986-XXX-XXX-X, or 978-626-XXX-XXX-X.

    2. Applications must include documents certifying that the copyright holder of the Taiwanese works consents to its translation and foreign publication (no restriction on its format).

    3. A translation sample of the Taiwanese work is required (no restriction on its format and length).

    4. The translated work must be published within two years, after the first day of the relevant application period.

    Grant Items:

    1. The maximum grant available for each project is NT$600,000, which covers:

    A. Licensing fees (going to the copyright holder of the Taiwanese works);
    B. Translation fees;
    C. Marketing and promotion fees (applicants for this funding must propose a specific marketing promotion plan and complete the implementation before submitting the grant project results; those whose plans include talks or book launching events attended by authors in person will be given priority for grants);
    D. Book production-oriented fees;
    E. Tax (20% of the total award amount);
    F. Remittance-related handling fees.

    2. Priority consideration is given to books that have received the Golden Tripod Award, the Golden Comic Award, the Taiwan Literature Award, books on Taiwan’s culture and history, or series of books.

    3. The grant will be given all at once after the grant recipients submit the following written documents to the Ministry before the submission deadline in accordance with article III, paragraph 5 of this application guidelines:

    A. Paper receipt with signature or stamp (format given along with the Ministry's formal announcement);
    B. A detailed list of expenditures, sales volume (or expected sales volume) of translated books, and marketing promotion plan results;
    C. 10 print copies of the final work published abroad (if the work is published in an e-book format, grant recipients shall instead provide purchase authorizations for 10 persons).

    Application Period: Twice every year. The MOC reserves the right to change the application periods, and will announce said changes separately.

    Announcement of successful applications: Winners will be announced within three months of the end of the application period.

    Application Method: Please visit the Ministry’s official website (https://grants.moc.gov.tw/Web_ENG/), and use the online application system.

    For full details of the GPT, please visit https://grants.moc.gov.tw/Web_ENG/PointDetail.jsp?__viewstate=oRWyc5VpG+O99KDT3kS+ZusiG3bVYvlI7oJCOHz4L408lIe/efs7z+WTtc3mBJBkYvZhpy/Mg9Q=

    Or contact: books@moc.gov.tw

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