blaft

blaft, 2 months ago to random

A few #KuzhaliManickavel stories have been moving into Indian languages recently. Novelist Hansda Sowvendra Shekar translated "Paavai" (from Manickavel's 1st collection, Insects Are Just Like You and Me Except Some of Them Have Wings) & published it in #Hindi in #VanmaliKatha last month, and Appadurai Muttulingam has a #Tamil translation of "The Statue Game" in #Andhimazhai.

https://www.andhimazhai.com/literature/short-stories/silai-vilaiyattu

Great to see this happening!

blaft, 2 months ago to random

The last few audiobooks I've listened to have all featured white (UK/USian) readers who at some point in the narration do an Indian or Chinese or African-American vernacular accent for a character's voice. This is always offensive, or at best very cringe, even when you can tell the reader is trying valiantly not to do a caricature.

I wish audiobook producers wouldn't do this. Get an Asian or Af-Am reader to read the whole thing, or just the character parts, or at least just read it neutral.

blaft, 2 months ago to random

Mid-Day article on our upcoming Gujarati Pulp Fiction anthology, featuring many quotes from our illustrious translator:

https://www.mid-day.com/sunday-mid-day/article/apnu-pulp-fiction-ave-english-ma-23343275

blaft, 2 months ago to random

Put Rs. 2000 worth of books in your cart and get a free tote bag with art by Shyam!

Choose from 3 Tamil Pulp Fiction cover girls, Kollivay Pey (a fire-breathing Tamil demon), and Monster Date Night

https://www.blaft.com/collections/new-arrivals

Tamil Pulp Fiction Cyborg Girl Tote Bag
Kollivay Pey tote bag (fire-breathing demon)

blaft, 2 months ago to random

It's that time again: time to give a new Kuzhali Manickavel collage zine for test print at the copy shop! We just love to see the nervous looks and puzzled faces!

Pre-order your copy here:
https://www.blaft.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/you-go-man-why-me-how-to-interact-with-certain-supernatural-beings-in-certain-terrible-places

Item Fish Striking a Pose in the Dak Bungalow: A sample page from "You Go Man! Why Me?" by Kuzhali Manickavel
Death Orgy of the Leopard Women: A sample page from "You Go Man! Why Me?" by Kuzhali Manickavel

blaft, 2 months ago to random

Good morning! Do we have any followers who read Marathi? We're looking to learn more about MARATHI WOMEN WRITERS, in particular those who work in adventure, romance, horror, crime, and other genres that rarely get translated or win awards.

We've got a couple of translators exploring the possibility of doing a Marathi pulp fiction anthology. They have some cool stories lined up. But ALL the authors are men! Seems very hard to find women writing genre fic in this language. Any tips welcome!

blaft, 2 months ago to random

Back in stock at
@DaakVaak!! Go shopping!

https://shop.daakvaak.com

Mizo Myths by Cherrie Chhangte
Ghosts, Monsters, and Demons of India
Kumari Loves a Monster

blaft, 2 months ago to random

In case you missed our Kickstarter:

Gujarati Pulp Fiction is now available for pre-order on our website.

Expected release: December 2024

https://www.blaft.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/the-blaft-anthology-of-gujarati-pulp-fiction

blaft, 2 months ago to random

"Sometimes we are the mud. And sometimes we are a woman of colour sitting in South India, on an unseasonally hot day, in a city with a water shortage, writing about this mud. It’s just life, friends"

http://strangehorizons.com/non-fiction/stories-from-the-radio-the-heartbeat/

blaft, 2 months ago to random

This postcard book's been out of print for a while, but we have 5 copies back in stock! HEROES, GUNDAS, VAMPS, AND GOOD GIRLS: 25 classic Hindi pulp fiction covers by Mustajab Ahmed Siddiqui, aka Shelle.
https://www.blaft.com/products/heroes-gundas-vamps-good-girls

Heroes, Gundas, Vamps & Good Girls: Hindi Pulp Cover Art by Shelle
Nasib Mera Dushman (Fate, My Enemy) by Ved Prakash Sharma, cover art by Shelle

misty, 2 months ago to random

Book recommendation: I've been really enjoying @blaft's translated editions of pulp Urdu detective fiction. It's a really fun series - very over the top mysteries, pulp action, and an extremely fun detective/assistant dynamic. They've published four volumes in this series and the ebooks are only about $5 each.

https://www.blaft.com/products/poisoned-arrow-ebook

blaft, 3 months ago to random

See you this Sunday!

blaft, 3 months ago to random

Although we won't be at London Book Fair this year, you can check out GHOSTS, MONSTERS, AND DEMONS OF INDIA at the Watkins Media stall, 2A41!

https://www.londonbookfair.co.uk/en-gb/exhibitor-details.watkins%20media.org-4ad2e0cb-4e71-40dd-8ea5-8d56bc1330d3.html#/

Ghosts, Monsters, and Demons of India by Rakesh Khanna & J. Furcifer Bhairav (Indian Edition)
Faru Fureta Faru Fureta means “reef monster” in Dhivehi, a language spoken in the Maldives and on remote Minicoy Island, the southernmost point of the Lakshadweep Archipelago. The Faru Fureta is a large, slimy, toad-like creature that can stand as tall as a tree. While on land, though, it usually prefers to crawl about on all fours. It has a huge, wide mouth full of teeth like crystal daggers, each one larger than a man’s hand. This monster has a nasty smell, like sea sponges and corals that have been sitting in the sun for a while. The Faru Fureta sometimes comes ashore in the dead of night, calling out a person’s name in a human voice. In the darkness, the monster makes itself look like a shadowy human form. It beckons the person to follow as it walks to the beach. It leads them to the edge of the water. Then it drags them into the surf and eats them. Despite being fearsome and bloodthirsty, Faru Furetas are quite cowardly and easy to fool. One way to scare a Faru Fureta away is to noisily crunch breadfruit chips. It will think you are crunching bones. This will convince the monster that you are much more dangerous than it, so it will hightail it back into the water.
Nipong Among the Adi, Mising, and several other tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, Nipong is a female spirit that causes miscarriage, labor trouble, and painful periods. She is also called Niji-Nipong. She is a descendant of the sylvan demon Robo (see Wiyu). Nipong usually targets women, but can also cause illness or bad luck for men. She is one of the most feared of all evil spirits—so much so that whenever a different malevolent spirit is being propitiated, an additional offering is made to Nipong, as well. Whenever a woman is having a difficult pregnancy or labor, her husband or relatives sacrifice animals to Nipong. When Nipong possesses a woman, she will raise both hands to her hair, clutch it tightly, and begin to scream incessantly. The spirit of any woman who dies while pregnant or in childbirth travels to the realm of Nipong, a world which lies parallel to the world of the living. There she becomes a Niji-Nipong. These female ghosts manifest themselves in marshes, along the banks of streams, or wherever wild plantains grow. A Niji-Nipong can take the form of a small animal, such as a mole shrew, gecko, frog, bat, or small bird. The spotted owlet in particular is feared as an embodiment of Nipong. It is said to be very unlucky to hear its screech. When travellers in the forest hear this sound, they are supposed to remove some article of clothing or ornament that they have received as a gift, and get rid of it.

blaft, 3 months ago (edited 3 months ago) to random

Reprints of Kuzhali Manickavel's THINGS WE FOUND DURING THE AUTOPSY are in and it's back in stock on our website!

https://www.blaft.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/things-we-found-during-the-autopsy

Manickavel's second collection of short fiction includes stories about apocalyptic floods, tiny skeletons that erupt out of blisters, dragons decaying in kitchen cupboards, kleptomaniac penguins, middle school angst, a hike up the steps to Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple, and many other scintillating and edifying topics.

Pick up a copy now!

blaft, 3 months ago to random

#introductions

We're a small publishing house based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. We started in 2008. We do translations of lesser-known Indian folklore and pulp fiction and graphic novels and weird horror fiction and quirky books about young women with monster boyfriends.

Our books are available worldwide! (We're currently working on making it a little easier for international customers to purchase from our site!)

http://blaft.com/

Kumari Loves a Monster
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Mizo Myths by Cherrie Lalnunziri Chhangte

toridas_, 3 months ago to random

Fans of #Bats ! Please share your favourite bat facts 🦇 CC: @loren @futurebird can you please boost for wider reach? 🙏🏽 I wanna see people going batshit over bats.

blaft, 3 months ago (edited 3 months ago) to 13thFloor

#Ebooks are available from the Blaft website, from Smashwords, or from the muchtoolarge retailers. Can we interest you in a #Tamil supernatural #thriller in English #translation? #Mythology from the state of #Mizoram on India's border with Myanmar? Bonkers slipstream short fiction from Kuzhali Manickavel? An encyclopedia of #ghosts and #cryptids?

https://www.blaft.com/collections/ebooks

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/blaft/newest#published