Tiffany Tsao
@tiffanytsao.bsky.social
Author & Literary Translator | Deputy Editor, Sydney Review of Books. Next novel coming out mid-2026.
Here, I post interesting things I find while writing and translating. And, sporadically, big news I want to share.
http://tiffanytsao.com
Here, I post interesting things I find while writing and translating. And, sporadically, big news I want to share.
http://tiffanytsao.com
This article on then recent Indonesian literary history from a June 1956 issue of The Atlantic, written by Asrul Sani, translated by John M Echols: "To what extent will the next phase of our literature be international, influenced by the work of foreign writers?"
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
The Literary Movement: A Mirror of Social Development
www.theatlantic.com
July 9, 2025 at 6:28 AM
This article on then recent Indonesian literary history from a June 1956 issue of The Atlantic, written by Asrul Sani, translated by John M Echols: "To what extent will the next phase of our literature be international, influenced by the work of foreign writers?"
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
I wrote one of my dissertation chapters on Mo’s Redundancy of Courage, and my research influenced me when writing The Majesties . Every now and then I wonder what Mo is doing now, and now I know I’m not alone.
Where did Timothy Mo go? Revisiting the Booker author 'who got away' | The Booker Prizes
Part of a golden generation of writers in the 1980s, Timothy Mo was shortlisted for the Booker Prize three times – then dropped off the radar
thebookerprizes.com
June 13, 2025 at 8:11 AM
I wrote one of my dissertation chapters on Mo’s Redundancy of Courage, and my research influenced me when writing The Majesties . Every now and then I wonder what Mo is doing now, and now I know I’m not alone.
Reposted by Tiffany Tsao
Check out @tiffanytsao.bsky.social’s piece in @pensydney.bsky.social’s magazine (p. 6-7) on peasant activist Amanda Echanis’ work to translate assassinated poet and activist Kerima Lorena Tariman.
Amanda is currently a political prisoner, doing all this behind bars.
pen.org.au/wp-content/u...
Amanda is currently a political prisoner, doing all this behind bars.
pen.org.au/wp-content/u...
pen.org.au
May 29, 2025 at 10:17 AM
Check out @tiffanytsao.bsky.social’s piece in @pensydney.bsky.social’s magazine (p. 6-7) on peasant activist Amanda Echanis’ work to translate assassinated poet and activist Kerima Lorena Tariman.
Amanda is currently a political prisoner, doing all this behind bars.
pen.org.au/wp-content/u...
Amanda is currently a political prisoner, doing all this behind bars.
pen.org.au/wp-content/u...
Reposted by Tiffany Tsao
We are honoured to receive the 2025 NSW Literary Awards "Special Award", offered in recognition of an exceptional contribution to the literary life of Australia, to a literary work not covered by the existing categories.
www.sl.nsw.gov.au/awards/nsw-l...
www.sl.nsw.gov.au/awards/nsw-l...
Special Award
Content from the State Library of New South Wales.
www.sl.nsw.gov.au
May 20, 2025 at 3:38 AM
We are honoured to receive the 2025 NSW Literary Awards "Special Award", offered in recognition of an exceptional contribution to the literary life of Australia, to a literary work not covered by the existing categories.
www.sl.nsw.gov.au/awards/nsw-l...
www.sl.nsw.gov.au/awards/nsw-l...
War and Peace, but make it Bogan Australian:
‘Heaps of posh wankers were at Anna’s place by now. It was getting full as.’
‘Heaps of posh wankers were at Anna’s place by now. It was getting full as.’
‘I dropped a C-bomb into Tolstoy’: one man’s quest to translate War and Peace into ‘bogan Australian’
Melbourne man Ander Louis has translated hundreds of pages of the 19th century classic line by line to include Ford Falcons, wankers and drongos
www.theguardian.com
May 19, 2025 at 12:44 PM
War and Peace, but make it Bogan Australian:
‘Heaps of posh wankers were at Anna’s place by now. It was getting full as.’
‘Heaps of posh wankers were at Anna’s place by now. It was getting full as.’
Reposted by Tiffany Tsao
FULL LINEUP for our little festival of Australian and Aoteoroa/New Zealand literature in Berlin on May 24th!! Come see professors, poets, artists, & novelists (& me); come hear about Weiss & Bismarck's bastards & Sebald in the desert & multidirectional war memory >>
stadtsprachen.de/en/event/par...
stadtsprachen.de/en/event/par...
PARATAXE Symposium XVI = Antipodes: Down under in Berlin – the Australian & New Zealand authors of Berlin
Draft program: 13:30: Kick-offWith Alexander Wells and Martin Jankowski 14:00 – 15:30: Panel 1 (in German)NEIGHBOURS. Encounters, translations, suggestions.Keynote: Prof. Anja SchwarzPanel: Joel Scott...
stadtsprachen.de
April 30, 2025 at 8:46 AM
FULL LINEUP for our little festival of Australian and Aoteoroa/New Zealand literature in Berlin on May 24th!! Come see professors, poets, artists, & novelists (& me); come hear about Weiss & Bismarck's bastards & Sebald in the desert & multidirectional war memory >>
stadtsprachen.de/en/event/par...
stadtsprachen.de/en/event/par...
How to brush your teeth in space:
Chris Hadfield Brushes his Teeth in Space
YouTube video by Canadian Space Agency
youtu.be
April 25, 2025 at 7:14 AM
How to brush your teeth in space:
Exceedingly pleased to be on this @englishpen.bsky.social x @thebookerprizes.bsky.social shortlist! I’ll be translating a sample from Indonesian, from a novel by Grace Tioso. Working title in English: The Born Out of Wedlock Club 🌶️🥳🎊
In partnership with @thebookerprizes.bsky.social, we’re thrilled to announce the shortlisted translators for the inaugural round of #PENPresents x International Booker Prize, launched to support translators from the Global Majority.
Discover the shortlist ⤵️
www.englishpen.org/posts/news/p...
Discover the shortlist ⤵️
www.englishpen.org/posts/news/p...
PEN Presents x International Booker Prize shortlist announced - News & Events - English PEN
www.englishpen.org
April 16, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Exceedingly pleased to be on this @englishpen.bsky.social x @thebookerprizes.bsky.social shortlist! I’ll be translating a sample from Indonesian, from a novel by Grace Tioso. Working title in English: The Born Out of Wedlock Club 🌶️🥳🎊
A photo of Kazuo Ishiguro in 1977, in a singlet and beard, playing the guitar: www.smh.com.au/culture/book...
From guitar in a share house to the Nobel Prize: catching up with Kazuo Ishiguro
The British novelist’s latest book can be seen as a response to the sadness in his bestselling Never Let Me Go.
www.smh.com.au
April 10, 2025 at 7:02 AM
A photo of Kazuo Ishiguro in 1977, in a singlet and beard, playing the guitar: www.smh.com.au/culture/book...
Reposted by Tiffany Tsao
If you find your work has been included in this dataset please complete our form below! We need this information to demonstrate the scale of the impact upon creators and to advocate to Government on creators' behalves.
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Australian authors and illustrators impacted by the LibGen database.
On 21 March 2025 The Atlantic published a search tool which allows authors to search for their books in LibGen, one of the datasets that has been used to train Meta's generative AI system. It is anoth...
docs.google.com
March 21, 2025 at 3:30 AM
If you find your work has been included in this dataset please complete our form below! We need this information to demonstrate the scale of the impact upon creators and to advocate to Government on creators' behalves.
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
The award for Best Use of 'Scintillated' in the Wild goes to this article on tardigrades from UQ's Institute for Molecular Bioscience website.
imb.uq.edu.au/just-add-wat...
imb.uq.edu.au/just-add-wat...
February 28, 2025 at 5:31 AM
The award for Best Use of 'Scintillated' in the Wild goes to this article on tardigrades from UQ's Institute for Molecular Bioscience website.
imb.uq.edu.au/just-add-wat...
imb.uq.edu.au/just-add-wat...
Writing an essay on motherhood and the grave. Or undead mothering. Something like that.
This 2018 New Yorker essay by Jill Lepore observes Shelley was nursing, giving birth, and pregnant throughout the writing of Frankenstein.
This 2018 New Yorker essay by Jill Lepore observes Shelley was nursing, giving birth, and pregnant throughout the writing of Frankenstein.
February 12, 2025 at 12:19 AM
Writing an essay on motherhood and the grave. Or undead mothering. Something like that.
This 2018 New Yorker essay by Jill Lepore observes Shelley was nursing, giving birth, and pregnant throughout the writing of Frankenstein.
This 2018 New Yorker essay by Jill Lepore observes Shelley was nursing, giving birth, and pregnant throughout the writing of Frankenstein.
Was reading the intro to a 1891 edition of Alexander Pope's Essay on Man. And came across a line that is music to my ears and will probably never see anywhere else:
"he was chiefly a translator, and made much money"
"he was chiefly a translator, and made much money"
January 28, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Was reading the intro to a 1891 edition of Alexander Pope's Essay on Man. And came across a line that is music to my ears and will probably never see anywhere else:
"he was chiefly a translator, and made much money"
"he was chiefly a translator, and made much money"
Extremely excited to share this piece of good news: a two-book deal with HarperVia, with the first book (But Won't I Miss Me) coming out in 2026!
More deets and deep reflections on my blog: tiffanytsao.com/2025/01/13/a...
More deets and deep reflections on my blog: tiffanytsao.com/2025/01/13/a...
January 13, 2025 at 3:38 AM
Extremely excited to share this piece of good news: a two-book deal with HarperVia, with the first book (But Won't I Miss Me) coming out in 2026!
More deets and deep reflections on my blog: tiffanytsao.com/2025/01/13/a...
More deets and deep reflections on my blog: tiffanytsao.com/2025/01/13/a...
Joko Pinurbo as a young, brooding poet, from the October 1985 issue of BASIS magazine. (For those outside Indonesian lit, Joko Pinurbo passed away earlier this year.)
December 9, 2024 at 11:42 PM
Joko Pinurbo as a young, brooding poet, from the October 1985 issue of BASIS magazine. (For those outside Indonesian lit, Joko Pinurbo passed away earlier this year.)
When the author you're translating casually mentions in the afterword to his Bloomington-set novel that he developed a keen interest in hot-air balloons. And when you then find out there is a company called Balloons Over Bloomington 🎈
balloonsoverbloomington.com
balloonsoverbloomington.com
Balloons Over Bloomington Indiana – Hot Air Balloon Ride Tours
Hot air balloon rides are the ultimate Indiana outdoor adventure. Book group flights, private flights, and balloon tethers here!
balloonsoverbloomington.com
December 9, 2024 at 11:23 AM
When the author you're translating casually mentions in the afterword to his Bloomington-set novel that he developed a keen interest in hot-air balloons. And when you then find out there is a company called Balloons Over Bloomington 🎈
balloonsoverbloomington.com
balloonsoverbloomington.com
When revising the very, very last little bit of your manuscript somehow feels like this song (one of my favs):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-Nf...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-Nf...
The Proclaimers - I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) - Secret Sessions
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL: http://bit.ly/1OeDuzRATTEND AN EVENT: http://secretsessions.co.ukJOIN US ON INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/secret_sessions/Secret...
www.youtube.com
March 27, 2024 at 4:05 AM
When revising the very, very last little bit of your manuscript somehow feels like this song (one of my favs):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-Nf...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-Nf...
The novel I'm writing leads me to interesting articles, including this one on the kidnapping of a premature baby in the Bronx in 1950, and how the kidnapper (someone who yearned to have a baby) created a makeshift incubator:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017...
March 18, 2024 at 12:04 AM
The novel I'm writing leads me to interesting articles, including this one on the kidnapping of a premature baby in the Bronx in 1950, and how the kidnapper (someone who yearned to have a baby) created a makeshift incubator:
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017...
While researching for Oddfits 3, I came across this great video of kimzua (chinese paper offerings) craftsman Lai Yew Onn.
“I am not afraid of ghosts. Rather, they are afraid of me. They’re afraid I’ll stop working. They come here to window shop because I do beautiful work.”
“I am not afraid of ghosts. Rather, they are afraid of me. They’re afraid I’ll stop working. They come here to window shop because I do beautiful work.”
The Kimzua Craftsman - Our Grandfather Story
ourgrandfatherstory.com
November 18, 2023 at 3:47 AM
While researching for Oddfits 3, I came across this great video of kimzua (chinese paper offerings) craftsman Lai Yew Onn.
“I am not afraid of ghosts. Rather, they are afraid of me. They’re afraid I’ll stop working. They come here to window shop because I do beautiful work.”
“I am not afraid of ghosts. Rather, they are afraid of me. They’re afraid I’ll stop working. They come here to window shop because I do beautiful work.”
“The real vulnerability of a modern toaster: the electronics”
Why Your Toaster Will Eventually Fail You
Students in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at The Ohio State University dissected vintage toasters and our picks. Here’s what we learned.
www.nytimes.com
November 16, 2023 at 1:25 PM
“The real vulnerability of a modern toaster: the electronics”
Missed having an easy way to share cool things about others w/ others. Here is an article I came across on the ethnic Chinese in New Guinea (PNG) being abandoned to their fate before the Japanese invaded in WWII
Survivor recalls 'unwanted' Chinese liberated by Australia after World War II
A few photos and a 90-second black and white film in the Australia War Memorial archive, a cooking pot made from a crashed US fighter plane and the memories of a few, very elderly survivors are all th...
www.sbs.com.au
November 9, 2023 at 1:21 AM
Missed having an easy way to share cool things about others w/ others. Here is an article I came across on the ethnic Chinese in New Guinea (PNG) being abandoned to their fate before the Japanese invaded in WWII