Fumiki Takahashi
Bewildering Stories biography
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Born in 1979 in Chiba, Fumiki Takahashi is an award-winning Japanese writer. His father is Naoki Prize-winning author Yoshio Takahashi, known for his historical fiction novels set in the Meiji era. Fumiki grew up during a period characterized by such events as the demise of Emperor Showa, the introduction of a consumption tax, and the collapse of the asset bubble.
Following the footsteps of his literary idol Kenzaburo Oe, he began studying French literature at the University of Tokyo. While still in college, he made his literary debut in 2001 with the novel Tochugesha, winning the Gentosha Student Literary Award.
He graduated in 2003, having completed his thesis on Raymond Queneau’s first novel Le Chiendent (1933). In 2007, he was awarded the Shincho Prize for New Writers for the novel Aureliano ga yattekuru whose title hints at the influence of Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude. Since 2007, he has edited the print-online hybrid literary journal Hametuha, which has showcased the work of up-and-coming talents such as Kuzuha Makino, Sayo Onoda, and Kyoichi Sagawa.
Recent years have also seen his incursions into speculative fiction. In 2016-2017, he attended Nozomi Omori’s Science Fiction Writers’ Workshop and won the Hirotaka Tobi Award for the short story “Before Yesterday.” He also hosts the podcast Dhalgren Radio and edits the science fiction magazine Sci-Fire, which features alumni from Omori’s workshop, such as Amu Nagura, Miwa Sakurai, and Yugen Yashima. Representing indie authors, Fumiki will be at the 2019 WorldCon in Dublin in August.
His short story "A Homeroom Meeting," which follows an ordinary schoolgirl while humanity faces extinction, has been accepted for publication in Another Chicago Magazine. Previously published in Shosetsu Subaru in 2018, "Mind Your Ps and Qs" was reprinted in Japan Writers’ Association’s "Best of the Year" anthology Tanpen Best Collection in June 2019. "To the Last Drop" is his first story to appear in English.
Copyright © 2019 by Toshiya Kamei
