For contributors
Thank you for visiting our website!
LETTERS UNBOUND is a literary zine which aims to showcase exciting English writing to a Japanese language audience. We're a team of emerging literary translators. For us, stories are like food for the soul and we've been devouring stories written in English from all over the world. As professional translators, we want to share them with Japanese readers, but we came to learn that only a handful of those stories ever get published in Japan.
But that doesn't stop us! We believe in the power of stories. There are stories that hug you, take your hand, and smile at you. Stories which make you feel okay, feel seen, feel found, and maybe even feel empowered. There are also stories that gnaw at you, bite you, and crash into you, which force you to reconstruct yourself all over again. And there are stories that are like puzzles, mazes, or dark long corridors of old castles. Stories which ask you to find answers or learn to give up (or never, ever give up) finding them. All in all, we are looking to deliver such possibilities to our readers.
LETTERS UNBOUND wants to work with writers whose works haven’t been translated into Japanese. For now, our submission term is closed, but when we’re ready to accept your writing we will let you know in this space.
Sincerely,
Team LETTERS UNBOUND
Asami Hirose
is a huge fan of crime fiction which serve as social commentaries. She is a literary translator, a columnist, and a librarian.
Chihiro Takei
is a literary translator and recovering movie buff who loves stories that feature quirky characters, thoughtful conversations, and, most importantly, good food.
Nona Umezawa
has worked primarily in subtitling films. She is now branching out into literary translation.