blaft

blaft, 4 days ago (edited 1 day ago) to folklore

Editing a story for our Anti-Caste SF book, I have just been alerted to the fact that the colloquial expression for a "sunshower"--in languages ranging from the southern tip of India all the way to Korea and Japan--is "a wedding of foxes/jackals".

My mind is a little blown!

In the Philippines, it's a wedding of Tikbalangs!

There's a cool-looking academic paper about how this might have been transmitted, but it's in Korean

https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART003068703

#sunshowers #folklore

blaft, 13 days ago to random

APPUPEN is one of India's most prolific graphic novelists. His work ranges from hallucinogenic fantasy to dystopian cyberpunk nightmare to biting political satire. Check out his first graphic novel MOONWARD, which we brought out in 2009:
https://www.blaft.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/moonward

Some of his more recent self-published work is available on our "Other Indies" page:
https://www.blaft.com/collections/other-indie-stuff-1

blaft, 14 days ago to random

New in the Blaft webstore: Zines by Larchtongue!

We met Larchtongue at their Indie Comix Fest tables in Mumbai and Bengaluru and we love their work! These zines explore serious topics like queer marriage, the compulsion to create art even though you're broke, and the politics of privilege--but it's all expressed through wiggly lightning-vine lettering and shimmery cackling demons

https://www.blaft.com/collections/other-indie-stuff-1/larchtongue

Institutionalised by Larchtongue

blaft, 14 days ago to random

Somehow missed this beautifully illustrated review of Kuzhali Manickavel's latest collection till just now

Buy CONVERSATIONS REGARDING THE FATALISTIC OUTLOOK OF THE COMMON MAN

https://t.co/H3hg7RgPdk

blaft, 21 days ago to sciencefiction

A favourite at Indie Comix Fests: PORTALPETTAI by Avakkai & Chukka is a portrait of a diverse South Indian community and its resilience in the face of an alien life force intrusion. In the sequel TROUBLE IN PORTALPETTAI, the gang goes to visit the Geargleplex! And in SAMUDRA RANI & THE MAA-LEES, a group of gardener robots are marooned on a distant asteroid, centuries in the future...

#Quirk #ScienceFiction #Zines #Dinosaurs #AndhraMeals #Robots #Vines #GiantLeeches

https://www.blaft.com/products/portalpettai

blaft, 22 days ago to random

Now in our webstore -- A collection of books by other great Indian independent publishers and comics artists. Find titles from @bakarmax_ , @WorldOfHalahala, and @studioekonte. We'll be adding more indie comics and zines soon!

https://www.blaft.com/collections/other-indie-stuff-1

blaft, 25 days ago to random

Earlier this month we took a trip to Ahmedabad, where we met with veteran pulp authors H.N. Golibar, Bansidhar Shukla, and Ekta Doshi, all of whom will be featured in our Gujarati Pulp Fiction anthology, scheduled for December.

Pre-order here: https://www.blaft.com/products/the-blaft-anthology-of-gujarati-pulp-fiction

The meeting with H.N. "Atom" Golibar and family was especially amazing!
🧵

blaft, 25 days ago to random

"A story in the Hausa language ended up entertaining me while also infinitely exasperating me."

Kalpana Mohan on SIN IS A PUPPY THAT FOLLOWS YOU HOME by Balaraba Ramat Yakubu

https://kalpanamohan.substack.com/p/sin-is-a-puppy-that-follows-you-home

(Buy the ebook:
https://www.blaft.com/products/sin-is-a-puppy-that-follows-you-home-ebook )

blaft, 26 days ago to random

Back in stock:

Yukichi Yamamatsu's STUPID GUY GOES TO INDIA

Kuzhali Manickavel's THINGS WE FOUND DURING THE AUTOPSY

Ki. Rajanarayanan's WHERE ARE YOU GOING, YOU MONKEYS? -- FOLKTALES FROM TAMIL NADU

Avakkai & Chukka's PORTALPETTAI

We ship worldwide!

https://www.blaft.com/collections/new-arrivals

blaft, 27 days ago to random

“If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”

Happy Malcolm X Day

blaft, 1 month ago to random

Reprinted and back in stock on our website: STUPID GUY GOES TO INDIA, an autobiographical manga chronicling the adventures of Yukichi Yamamatsu, whose missionary zeal for spreading manga culture inspired him to leave Japan for the first time at the age of 56 to move to Delhi, without knowing any English or Hindi, and try to start a publishing company. Hilarious hi-jinks ensue!

https://www.blaft.com/products/stupid-guy-goes-to-india

Translated by Kumari Sivasubramanian

blaft, 1 month ago to random

Selling books at IIHS Bangalore: City Scripts today! And speaking on a panel about horror fiction at 12:15

blaft, 1 month ago to random

The Museum of Popular Art in Alwarthirunagar, Chennai, is hosting a retrospective of work by Jeyaraj Fernando (who illustrated Pushpa Thangadorai's "My Name Is Kamala" & "Highway 117" starring Karate Kavitha, both featured in our Tamil Pulp anthos).

https://www.newindianexpress.com/amp/story/cities/chennai/2024/May/01/pages-of-a-vintage-sketch-book

blaft, 1 month ago to random

Kumari Loves a Monster: A bilingual English/Tamil picture book about South Indian women enjoying fun times with their monster boyfriends

Available as an ebook or in print, from our site, Smashwords, etc.

https://www.blaft.com/collections/ebooks/products/kumari-loves-a-monster-ebook

https://draft2digital.com/book/1421921#ebook

Kumari bathing in a waterfall with her monster
Kumar paddleboating with her monster
Kumari Loves a Monster

blaft, 1 month ago to random

Blaft books are in stock at The Buddha Grove, an amazing indie bookshop in Guwahati, Assam! Mizo Myths, Tamil Pulp Fiction in translation, Kuzhali Manickavel's treatise on How to Love Mathematical Objects, and more!

The Buddha Grove bookshop
Bookstore logo

blaft, 1 month ago to random

Call for Submissions! Poster by the inimitable Priyanka Paul who will be contributing the cover! More here: https://blaft.com/blogs/news/call-for-submissions

blaft, 1 month ago to random

Call for subs!

https://www.blaft.com/blogs/news/call-for-submissions

#ஜெய்பீம்

Submissions open through May 15, 2024

blaft, 2 months ago to random

I know we post this rather frequently but I never get bored of it

blaft, 2 months ago to random

The last few audiobooks I've listened to have all featured white (UK/USian) readers who at some point in the narration do an Indian or Chinese or African-American vernacular accent for a character's voice. This is always offensive, or at best very cringe, even when you can tell the reader is trying valiantly not to do a caricature.

I wish audiobook producers wouldn't do this. Get an Asian or Af-Am reader to read the whole thing, or just the character parts, or at least just read it neutral.

blaft, 2 months ago to random

Mid-Day article on our upcoming Gujarati Pulp Fiction anthology, featuring many quotes from our illustrious translator:

https://www.mid-day.com/sunday-mid-day/article/apnu-pulp-fiction-ave-english-ma-23343275

blaft, 2 months ago to random

It's that time again: time to give a new Kuzhali Manickavel collage zine for test print at the copy shop! We just love to see the nervous looks and puzzled faces!

Pre-order your copy here:
https://www.blaft.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/you-go-man-why-me-how-to-interact-with-certain-supernatural-beings-in-certain-terrible-places

Item Fish Striking a Pose in the Dak Bungalow: A sample page from "You Go Man! Why Me?" by Kuzhali Manickavel
Death Orgy of the Leopard Women: A sample page from "You Go Man! Why Me?" by Kuzhali Manickavel

blaft, 2 months ago to random

Good morning! Do we have any followers who read Marathi? We're looking to learn more about MARATHI WOMEN WRITERS, in particular those who work in adventure, romance, horror, crime, and other genres that rarely get translated or win awards.

We've got a couple of translators exploring the possibility of doing a Marathi pulp fiction anthology. They have some cool stories lined up. But ALL the authors are men! Seems very hard to find women writing genre fic in this language. Any tips welcome!

blaft, 2 months ago to random

This postcard book's been out of print for a while, but we have 5 copies back in stock! HEROES, GUNDAS, VAMPS, AND GOOD GIRLS: 25 classic Hindi pulp fiction covers by Mustajab Ahmed Siddiqui, aka Shelle.
https://www.blaft.com/products/heroes-gundas-vamps-good-girls

Heroes, Gundas, Vamps & Good Girls: Hindi Pulp Cover Art by Shelle
Nasib Mera Dushman (Fate, My Enemy) by Ved Prakash Sharma, cover art by Shelle

blaft, 3 months ago (edited 3 months ago) to random

Reprints of Kuzhali Manickavel's THINGS WE FOUND DURING THE AUTOPSY are in and it's back in stock on our website!

https://www.blaft.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/things-we-found-during-the-autopsy

Manickavel's second collection of short fiction includes stories about apocalyptic floods, tiny skeletons that erupt out of blisters, dragons decaying in kitchen cupboards, kleptomaniac penguins, middle school angst, a hike up the steps to Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple, and many other scintillating and edifying topics.

Pick up a copy now!

blaft, 3 months ago to random

#introductions

We're a small publishing house based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. We started in 2008. We do translations of lesser-known Indian folklore and pulp fiction and graphic novels and weird horror fiction and quirky books about young women with monster boyfriends.

Our books are available worldwide! (We're currently working on making it a little easier for international customers to purchase from our site!)

http://blaft.com/

Kumari Loves a Monster
image/jpeg
Mizo Myths by Cherrie Lalnunziri Chhangte