The “Chinese Initiative” – serious engagement with Chinese science fiction and its associated institutions including fandom – did not begin in earnest here in the US until Clarkesworld magazine committed to publishing a work-in-translation every month a little over two years ago. (I’m not sure exactly what the impetus was – other than SF’s over-riding desire to become truly international, but I do know it followed similar happenings at Haikasoru, regularly publishing Japanese SF in translation, all of which followed a Japanese and Australian Worldcon not to many years before – see how important, influential and game-changing fandom is?)
Amazing Stories was very happy to be able to line up a couple of hard core Chinese fans as contributors and was thus able to join in the initiative – straight from the heart of Chinese Fandom.
Through no action of our own (but with the intervention of our Spanish Language Editor – Tanya Tynjala), we apparently hooked up with exactly the right people!
We’re very pleased to announce (again) that SF AppleCore, one of the largest and longest operating fan groups in China, and the group to which our contributors – Regina Wang and Shaoyan Hu – belong, are the winners of 2016’s Chinese Nebula Award for Best Fandom.
We’re also very pleased to be associated with such a fine bunch of fans, authors, translators and transplanted Worldcon Chairs!
Here’s a look at the group:
From left to right: Zhao Ruhan (SF writer and fan for many years), Regina Wang (fan, Amazing Stories contributor), Crystal Huff (Co-chair of Worldcon 75 in Helsinki), Shaoyan Hu (fan and Amazing Stories contributor), Yang Yanfei (fan), Yu Cheng (fan), Gu Bei (SF writer and translator), Ding Zicheng (SF writer and translator), and Wang Weijian (SF editor).
(All except Zhao Ruhan and Crystal are members of SF AppleCore.)
I’ve had many very interesting off-line conversations with our contributors and am here to tell you, Fans and FANS no matter where you go! I suspect we’ll be hearing a lot more from SF AppleCore in the months and years to come!
Congratulations!
