A literary nod to a Taiwanese novelist has made waves from a small French island.
Ushant, off the coast of France, awarded its Island Fiction Prize — the Salon d’Ouessant’s International Island Literature Fiction Award for 2015 — to the French translation of a novel by Taiwanese writer Wu Ming-yi (吳明益), author of The Man With Compound Eyes (複眼人).
The novel, an eco-fantasy about the near future in Taiwan, was translated into French by Gwennael Gaffric after being commissioned by Stock, a Paris publishing firm.
According to Gray Tan (譚光磊), Wu’s literary agent in Taipei, the French award is another feather in Wu’s cap, following separate English translations published in Britain and the US.
Gaffric’s translation was published in France last year, titled L’homme aux Yeux a Facettes in French, Tan said.
When asked how sales of the French translation were doing, Gaffric said in an e-mail that he was not sure, since Stock does not release sales figures to the public.
However, he said the prize was both a surprise and a good thing for the book’s reception in France.
Ushant is a small French island off the coast of Brittany in France. While the population in the winter months is about 1,000, in the summer, the island comes alive with tourists arriving by ferry or plane, with a boat ride to Brest, France, taking about two hours.
Ten years ago, a literary group on the island began awarding prizes for novels, poetry, photography books and nonfiction about islands and island nations around the world.
When asked how he felt about the winning the French award, Wu said was honored and touched that the jury recognized his novel and Gaffric’s translation, adding: “I hope that someday all people who live on islands, large and small, will have a chance to hear the stories of other island dwellers.”
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
Democratic Progressive Party caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu, front, grabs the pennant in a dragon boat race hosted by Qu Yuan Temple in the Shuanghsi River in Taipei’s Beitou District yesterday.