PCS was recently offered the opportunity to conduct a Q&A session with Nick Mamatas, head of VIZ’s new imprint, Haikasoru, which will publish Japanese science fiction and fantasy novels for English-speaking audiences. With substantial help from the PCS crew, I assembled a list of questions and submitted them to Nick. See what he had to say about the current crop of books, VIZ’s marketing plans, and what sorts of novels might be coming our way in the future!

Responses by Nick Mamatas, Editor, VIZ Media

Q. How do the types of stories in the Haikasoru line compare to traditional science fiction novels published in America?

A. Japanese SF is fairly heavily influenced by American SF. If there is a difference, it is that Japanese SF isn’t so “overgrown” as the science fiction of the US and UK—to read and fully comprehend a contemporary science fiction novel today almost requires a lifetime of prior reading in the field. Of course, many US/UK writers try to write stuff that harkens back to their own personal golden ages of science fiction (i.e., the stuff they read as kids), but much of that stuff does feel a bit too self-conscious in its enthusiasm for retro futures.

So Japanese SF, I’d say, is organic in its high concept ideas, more than happy to wheel out crazy space battles and time travel, and isn’t afraid to have tearjerker subplots.

Q. Will Japanese science fiction offer cultural reflections unique to its country of origin?

A. Of course, it’s actually impossible for any work of literature to not reflect its culture somehow. Japanese SF often has a less triumphalist view of military achievement, and of course the fantasies often use the Japanese bestiary rather than Western myths and monsters, but those are just surface cultural reflections. SF is about how societies can change, and even how the definition of “human” changes. Naturally, very few SF writers actually agree with one another about how the world could change—or should change, for that matter—but their own cultural backgrounds play a role in what they look forward to, and what they might warn against.

Q. Who are the translators for these novels and how were they paired up with their books?

A. We cast a wide net as far as translators go—Jim Hubbert, who has translated many scripts for Studio Ghibli, for example, did his first-ever novel with us in The Lord of the Sands of Time. We have a hard SF novel, Usurper of the Sun, so we tapped John Wunderley, who has a scientific background, to translate that book. The ins and outs of finding translators for specific projects is less romantic than it may seem; we use who is good and who is available. It’s a small pool of translators and a small pool of novels, ultimately.

Q. Will VIZ Media be looking to display these novels in the manga sections of bookstores or will they be shelved in a dedicated Science Fiction section?

A. Most of them will be the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore. A couple, such as Otsuichi’s ZOO, may be shelved in the General Fiction section of some bookstores, as the contemporary dark fantasy stories in that book have a mainstream draw—Otsuichi is sort of like Ray Bradbury, he is someone whose work can fit comfortably in many sections. (So be sure to look around for it!) We’re not going to put Haikasoru titles in the Manga section of bookstores.

Q. How are these novels going to target both the general science fiction reader population and the teen manga-fan demographic?

A. Mostly by offering a reading experience that both groups crave: action, adventure, and themes that make readers think. Japanese SF also tends to be a bit shorter than US/UK SF—there’s a cultural emphasis on precision and brevity, plus it’s part of the Japanese marketplace that people want shorter books (often split into several volumes). We think these shorter, intense reads, will be something teen manga readers will be attracted to.

Q. Given the increasing trend of girls reading manga in the U.S., will VIZ Media be looking to bring in the works of any female science fiction writers to appeal to this demographic?

A. Yes. We’re committed to publishing the fantasy works of Miyuki Miyabe, for example. Of course, we’re also interested in books that cast a wide net—our books by male writers feature strong female characters. More books by female writers, and books with themes of interest to female readers, are forthcoming.

Q. ALL YOU NEED IS KILL features a female soldier known as the Full Metal Bitch, or sometimes simply “the Bitch” (as seen in Amazon’s product description). Are you concerned that using this nickname to promote the novel will be offensive to some readers?

A. Not especially. I’m sure someone will find something in virtually all of our books to be offended by, but that is the nature of offense: it’s subjective. SF writer Robert Heinlein famously compared the notion of censorship to banning steak because infants can only drink milk. Offense and censorship are different issues, of course, but I think the principle is the same: we have to be open to challenges to our preconceived notions and ways of thinking, otherwise we end up producing only that work “safe” for everybody and of use to nobody. Science fiction especially, as the “literature of ideas,” needs to be open to the less pleasant sides of life.

All You Need Is Kill is a war story, and war is an offense against the human species. It is no surprise that warriors can be a little rough around the edges. It would be strange to have a book about war that didn’t have cursing, aggressive language, or gallows humor. It is how we try to adapt to the horrors of war.

Finally, even I personally may or may not like an author’s political attitudes or ideas, but as an editor my job isn’t to produce twelve books a year that reflect whatever I may think about women or Japan-US relations or human nature, but to produce twelve books a year that best express the original Japanese material for readers of English. I don’t bowdlerize my books.

Q. Is Haikasoru sticking strictly to science fiction, or will there be some fantasy and maybe horror mixed in? What about serial novels?

A. We’re definitely doing fantasy. ZOO, as mentioned above, is a collection of Bradburyesque dark fantasies that elide into horror in parts. One of our little internal slogans for the imprint is “Space Opera. Dark Fantasy. Hard Science.” So we’re casting a broad net and publishing “speculative fiction” of all sorts, though the core of the publishing program is science fiction proper.

For the most part, I hope to publish serial novels in single volumes. Though Japanese readers tend to prefer multiple short novels, in the US and UK, readers often buy “by the pound.” So if I have a novel serialized over three 40,000-word volumes in front of me, my first thought is to smoosh them together into a big 120,000-word book. But whether I actually do that depends on the content of the book—are there cliffhangers? are these really three short novels, or one long one in three volumes?—and tedious issues of budgeting and production costs and whatnot. Whatever serves the book is ultimately the best answer.

Q. Can you give us any hints about what titles to look forward to after these initial four debut this summer? What do you see as the overall direction for the Haikasoru imprint?

A. We’ve got some more military SF, another fantasy title by Miyabe, kooky books about teen girls and werewolves, all sorts of crazy stuff. Actually, my boss just came back from Japan with a big pile of Japanese novels, so we’ll be going through those very soon. I can’t wait!

A huge “thank you” to Nick Mamatas for graciously answering our questions and also to Erik Jansen of Media Lab Public Relations for helping us set it up!

The first two titles to be published under the Haikasoru imprint—The Lord of the Sands of Time and ALL YOU NEED IS KILL—will be released in July 2009.