Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and summer/winter break. I went up in the mountains, to Takayama in Gifu. One of my favorite places in Japan! It has a lovely historical town, plus nice onsen (hot springs) and snowy mountain peaks. And the food is amazing. I highly recommend a... Continue Reading →
AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: JO WU
You might recognize the subject of our Author Spotlight today - Jo Wu has been featured in all 3 of the new Insignia anthologies releases this year! I love her stories (my favorite is 'The Amaterasu Kimono' in Castles & Kimono), and she has been a pleasure to work with on these projects. Let's get... Continue Reading →
HORROR MATSURI #10: ‘I SHOULD BE ASLEEP’ BY JOYCE CHNG
The final flash story for Horror Matsuri is by one of my favorite Asian writers...one of my favorite people, in fact, the incredible Joyce Chng! I asked for a werewolf story for Horror Matsuri and she delivered. Enjoy! I SHOULD BE ASLEEP Joyce Chng I should be asleep. They are real. They are out there.... Continue Reading →
Horror Matsuri #2: ‘One Last Splash’ by Umiyuri Katsuyama & Toshiya Kamei
Welcome to the first week of Horror Matsuri! I hope you enjoyed Therese Choon's poem yesterday. Today I'm sharing the first flash fiction piece. This is an 800-character (in Japanese) story by author Umiyuri Katsuyama, kindly introduced to Insignia by Toshiya Kamei. One Last Splash By Umiyuri Katsuyama Translated by Toshiya Kamei The Li clan... Continue Reading →
HORROR MATSURI #1: ‘QINGMING; CLARITY’ BY THERESE CHOON
HORROR MATSURI #1 / INSTINCTS (POETRY) #10 Kicking of Horror Matsuri, we have a poem by Therese Choon! This poem describes a night on 'Tomb-sweeping Day' which is a Spring Equinox holiday in Asia, but we're happy to share it on the first day of the Mid-Autumn Festival. 🙂 Therese also has a new flash... Continue Reading →
AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: CELESTINE TRINIDAD
It's been a little while since we shared an author interview, and with the release of Southeast Asian Fantasy Drabbles this week, it's the perfect time to meet some our SEA contributors! Celestine Trinidad has been an Insignia contributor since the early days, with her story 'Horse Feet' featured in Southeast Asian Fantasy. She also... Continue Reading →
INS8 Excerpt #3: ‘Waiting by the Otogawa River’ by Kelly Matsuura
Today's excerpt is from me, Kelly Matsuura! It's a little weird promoting as the editor and also being a contributor, but this particular anthology is special to me because I LOVE Japanese castles, plus I have 2 stories in this collection. I also have a story in Japanese Fantasy Stories called 'The Waiting World' that's... Continue Reading →
New Page: Horror Matsuri Calendar (OCT)
Hi everyone! I added a new page to the Insignia Stories site today: Horror Matsuri Calendar This page has the upcoming schedule for Horror Matsuri flash fiction and also INSTINCTS poems for October, and I'll be adding in participant's blog tour dates as requested. (I've included my own blog visit on Oct 3rd as a... Continue Reading →
INS8 Excerpt #2: ‘King Anisika’ by Tetsuya Sato & Toshiya Kamei (translator)
This second excerpt from 'Castles & Kimono' is from Japanese SFF author, Tetsuya Sato. Translated by Toshiya Kamei, it's a traditional-style Japanese piece and I'm proud to include it in the anthology. There was a short write-up about Tetsuya's story on the Japanese site Virtual Gorilla Plus recently (in Japanese only): https://virtualgorillaplus.com/nobel/king-anisika-insignia/ 'KING... Continue Reading →
INS8 Excerpt #1: ‘Portal to Miyashita’ by Carmen Indalecio
As you might have noticed, I love sharing excerpts! Well, Insignia: Castles & Kimono was just released on Sep 27th, so I'd like to introduce the authors and share a few teasers from the wonderful Japanese fantasy stories in this collection. This first excerpt is from new contributor, Carmen Indalecio. She also has work featured... Continue Reading →