Tokyo Sogensha
| Status | Active |
|---|---|
| Founded |
February 1948 (spin-off) July 16, 1954 (formal) |
| Country of origin | Japan |
| Headquarters location | Iidabashi, Tokyo, Japan |
| Publication types | Books |
| Fiction genres | Mystery, Science fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Social science |
| Imprints |
|
| Number of employees | 34 (as of February 2011) |
| Official website |
www |
Tokyo Sogensha Co., Ltd. (東京創元社 Tokyo Sōgensha) is a Japanese publisher of mystery fiction, science fiction, fantasy, literary fiction and social science, based in Tokyo.
History
Tokyo Sogensha began as the Tokyo branch of a publisher called Sōgensha of Osaka in 1925 and spun off in 1948.
Imprints
Sōgen Suiri Bunko（Sogen Mystery Bunko）, started in 1959, is one of the leading Bunkobon (small-format paperback) labels focusing on mystery, science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Originally the label specialized in translation and entered the field of Japanese works in 1984.
Science Fiction
As a science fiction publisher, Tokyo Sogensha began with the translation of Fredric Brown's works as a division of Sōgen Suiri Bunko in 1963. The division and its continuation, which was renamed as Sōgen SF Bunko in 1991, are Japan's oldest existing Sci-Fi bunkobon label, publishing over 600 books until April 2013 including the works of Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, J. G. Ballard, Philip K. Dick, Lois McMaster Bujold, Vernor Vinge, James P. Hogan, Kim Stanley Robinson, Robert Charles Wilson, and Greg Egan.[1] It scored early success in the post-war period with the Barsoom books of Edgar Rice Burroughs and the words of E. E. Smith.[2]
Originally Tokyo Sogensha specialized in translation and entered the field of Japanese works in 2007.
Recognition
Tokyo Sogensha won the Seiun Award for Best Translated Novel for 17 works out of 47 times (as of 2016);[3] the Nihon SF Taisho Award in 2012 and 2013 for Japanese Works.
Horror/Fantasy
Notable authors published by Tokyo Sogensha include Shirley Jackson, H. P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe.
Prizes
Tokyo Sogensha awards some prizes for unpublished Japanese works to recruit new writers of specific genres:
- Ayukawa Tetsuya Award (鮎川哲也賞 Ayukawa Tetsuya Shō) - Since 1990. An annual contest for mystery fiction, named after Tetsuya Ayukawa, a notable novelist of the genre.[4]
- Mysteries! Prize for New Writers (ミステリーズ!新人賞 Misuteriizu! Shinjin Shō) - Since 2004. The short story counterpart of the Tetsuya Ayukawa Award, named after the bimonthly magazine the company has published. It was the continuation of the Sogen Suiri Prize for New Writers (1994-2003).
- Sogen SF Short Story Prize (創元SF短編賞 Sōgen SF Tanpen Shō) - Since 2010. An annual contest for broad-sense science fiction and speculative fiction short stories.
- Sogen Fantasy Prize for New Writers (創元ファンタジイ新人賞 Sōgen Fantasy Shinjin Shō) - Since 2015. A contest for fantasy novels.
References
- ↑ "創元SF50周年｜東京創元社 (Sogen SF 50th anniversary)" (in Japanese). Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ↑ "Japan: Science Fiction Encyclopedia". Retrieved 16 April 2013.
- ↑ "星雲賞受賞作一覧 (Winners list of Seiun Awards)" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2016-07-12.
- ↑ "Mystery writer Tetsuya Ayukawa dies at 83.". Kyodo. 26 September 2002. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
External links
- Official website (Japanese)