Where Did They Go? What Did They Eat? The Fictional Craft of Taiwan Travelogue

How can a Taiwanese novel incorporate historical materials from its decades under Japanese colonial rule? How does two women’s travelogue become a work of fiction? This talk will examine Taiwan Travelogue’s use of a “Shōwa Taiwan Railway Gourmet Tour” as its storytelling framework, covering the novel’s early inspirations, conceptual development, research, fieldwork, archives-building, story conception, and writing process. 

Taiwan Travelogue, a novel by Yang Shuang-zi and translated by Lin King, won the 75th Annual National Book Award for Translated Literature in the United States in November 2024. The author and translator have been invited to speak at Smith while they are in the U.S. for a book tour. During their two-day visit to Smith, they will read from the novel, speak on its themes and reception, and engage in conversation with the audience.

The Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures is delighted to invite you to this special event that promises to inspire thoughtful dialogue and fresh perspectives. Please join us for an engaging conversation and reading. 

The Author: Yáng Shuāng-zǐ
Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, whose real name is Yang Jo-Tzu, is a versatile writer from Taichung, Taiwan. She dabbles in various forms, including fiction, essays, manga scripts, and literary criticism.

In 2020, she was named one of the Rising Stars of the Twenty-First Century by Wenshun magazine and was selected by Unitas magazine as one of the Twenty Most Promising Young Novelists. In 2021, she became the youngest-ever nominee for the United Daily News Literary Award. In 2022, Wenshun magazine again recognized Yáng as a Representative Author of Twenty-First Century Taiwanese Popular Literature.

Her notable works include the novel The Season When Flowers Bloom in 2017, Taiwan Travelogue in 2020, No. 1, Siwei Street in 2023 and the essay Neighbors with Chang Jih-Hsing in 2020. Taiwan Travelogue received Taiwan’s highest literary honor—the Golden Tripod Award. In 2024, its Japanese translation won Japan’s Best Translation Award, while the English version earned the 75th Annual National Book Award for Translated Literature in the United States

The Translator: Lin King
Lin King is a writer and translator based in Taipei and New York. Her fiction has appeared in One Story, Boston Review, and Joyland among others, and has received the PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers.  She is the translator of The Boy from Clearwater by Yu Pei-Yun and Zhou Jian-Xin, as well as Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, winner of the 2024 National Book Award in Translated Literature.

This event is free and open to the public. 
Sponsored by the Smith College Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, College Lecture Fund, Five College Center for East Asian Studies, and the Translation Studies Concentration. A special thanks to the Taipei Cultural Center in New York for making this event possible.