AN APPEAL TO ASIAN FANS

Here in North America we hear of the strength of the science fiction community in Asia, especially in Chinese-speaking countries, but we receive far too little information.  Apart from a few wonderful classics such as The Three Body Problem and related masterpieces, we have little news of the vast sci fi audience in that part of the world.  I know I am not alone in craving more information on the development of science fiction writing in Asia.  

Several specific questions include: How many science fiction magazines exist either in Chinese, English, or other languages?  How accessible are these publications in bookstores?  What kinds of publishers exist for full length novels or novellas and are these mainly devoted to speculative fiction or do they also publish in other genres?  What sorts of science fiction support groups are popolar in Asia?  Are there sci fi conferences for the general public to attend or do authors gather at smaller conferences to discuss their work?  Are there separate categories within sci fi for subgenres such as military sci fi, hard sci fi, social or anthropological sci fi, cozy sci fi, etc.?  Are there sci fi books stemming from films, such as the Star Trek novels or Star Wars novels?  

We are particularly interested in such questions because the sci fi scene is evolving quickly here in North America.  Some of the mosts established print magazines in English seem to be having trouble maintaining a hard copy presence.  Online magazines seem to be proliferating and organizing themselves more closely.  POD publishers of novels seem to be declining and small press publications often have an ephemeral status, rapidly coming and going in ways that can leave authors and fans baffled.  "Big 5" publishers rely mainly on literary agents as a go-between in the story procurement process and the world of agents also is in rapid transition.  Some groups of authors attempt to solve the publication problems by collectively working on anthologies, but these efforts often face funding and distribution bottlenecks.  It would be most helpful to have an idea of how our Asian colleagues are finding answers to their creative questions.  Please feel free to follow and post your reactions on this site.

                                        Jim and John, writing as J. M. R. Gaines