When Tan Kai received a call from Jimmy James asking for Guo Jianzhong's contact information, he specifically asked, "Can I ask why you are looking for Mr. Guo?"
Jimmy replied with a smile on the phone: "To tell you the truth, I actually came to Mr. Yu Dong for his novel. There are several publishers in the United States who are very interested in Mr. Dong's novel and hope to publish it.
Now I am talking to them about this matter on behalf of Mr. Yu. Editor Tan, if you want to publish it in the United States, you must first find a translator."
Tan Kai was stunned for a moment, "Are there publishing houses in the United States that are interested in Dong's science fiction novels? Which novel did they like? Is it published or unpublished? If it has been published, then "The Second
The length of "The World" has reached the standard for publication."
"Yes, it's "The Second World"." Jimmy replied.
"This is not possible." Tan Kai suddenly narrowed his eyes, and his hand holding the phone became harder, "The agreement we signed with Yu Dong was that before we finish all serialization, "The Second
World" may not be published anywhere else in any form."
Jimmy smiled and said: "Don't worry, Chief Editor Tan. We are still in the preparation stage. We will wait until "Science Fiction World" is serialized before publishing it. And this will not be harmful to you. When the time comes, "Second World"
"If the English version becomes a hit in the United States, it will definitely boost the novel's reputation in the country. Your magazine can just take it as it is."
Hearing what Jimmy said, Tan Kai couldn't say anything. The contract they signed with Yu Dong at that time only included a publishing priority for the Chinese single version. Now that they want to publish an English version, it really has nothing to do with them.
Therefore, Tan Kai did not put any obstacles in Jimmy's way and directly gave Jimmy Guo Jianzhong's contact information.
After hanging up the phone, Tan Kai went directly to the president's office and briefly explained the matter to Yang Xiao.
After listening, Yang Xiao pondered for a while and said: "I may not believe everything Jimmy James said. He said that there are several publishing houses in the United States that are interested in "The Second World". This is still open to question. But it is certain.
Yes, it should be true that "Second World" was published in the United States, otherwise he would not have gone to Guo Jianzhong."
"Then should we make preparations and talk to Yu Dong about the Chinese version of "The Second World"? I'm afraid that after the English version comes out, it will be even more difficult for us to obtain the publishing rights for the Chinese version," Tan Kai said.
Yang Xiao shook his head, "No need for the time being. The Chinese single volume is not that troublesome. It can be published soon. There are clauses in the contract. Yu Dong cannot bypass us and directly publish the book to a domestic publishing house. And you go now
If we talk about it, Yu Dong will definitely not let it go easily. We will pay attention to the English version. On the one hand, we will ensure that it will not be released before we finish serializing it, and on the other hand, we will see how it is received abroad."
Tan Kai sighed, "We should have held all the copyrights of "The Second World" in our hands at that time, so we wouldn't have become so passive now."
Yang Xiao laughed, "It's not like we haven't worked hard on this matter. The price I offered Yu Dong was already very high, but he still didn't agree. Yu Dong was really fierce about copyright at that time. It seems now
, His decision was the right one. But don’t be disappointed, although we may have to pay more for the single publication, we have already got a lot.”
"Yes, I became greedy unknowingly." Tan Kai sighed with a smile, "A year ago, the domestic science fiction community couldn't even find a long novel, but now we have to fight for one.
I’m worried about the publishing rights of long-form science fiction novels. Things are changing and it’s hard to predict.”
…
Not two days after Qingming Festival, Yu Dong received a reply from "Harvest". Inside the envelope were letters from two people, one from Cheng Yongxing and the other from Wang Yu.
The content of Wang Yu's letter is very simple. It is to tell Yu Dong that "Hou Yi" has been drafted and will be published in the May issue of "Harvest". Of course, there are also some praises for the work. This is Wang Yu's letter.
He praised Yu Dong's style every time he wrote to her.
Cheng Yongxing discussed the novel "Hou Yi" with Yu Dong in his letter. He said that this novel does not stick to historical facts, but develops a lot of imagination based on historical documents. The historical scenes are realistic and the artistic images are moving. It is a novel.
A very good piece of historical literature.
The above are all superficial compliments, but what follows is what Cheng Yongxing really wants to say.
Cheng Yongxing, who is also from the Chinese Department, talked with Yu Dong about the development of narratology later because of the narrative structure of the novel "Hou Yi".
He talked from reader response theory to Foucault's discourse analysis, and then to cultural studies.
From feminism to gender theory to queer studies.
From ethnic studies to multiculturalism, postcolonial criticism and critical race theory.
He said that the theoretical integration of race, gender and class has become a trend, which is bound to produce a series of returns and turns, and New Historicism is just a manifestation of a return to history.
Cheng Yongxing not only believes that there is much to be explored in the historical return of New Historicism, but also believes that there will definitely be many thematic returns and ethical turns in narratology in the future.
After reading Cheng Yongxing's reply, Yu Dong couldn't help but sigh. He was indeed a top student in the Chinese Department of Aurora University, and many of his bold predictions about narratology were quite correct.
In fact, from the 1990s to the first dozen years of the early 21st century, everything that happened has proved that narratology has gradually shown a trend of thematic return and ethical turn. This includes the aesthetic turn and the new trend that emerged later.
Philology is all evidence.
Return and turn are not regression, but a re-examination and continued development.
At the end of the letter, Cheng Yongxing told Yu Dong that he could make some other creations based on this "Hou Yi" and try to make a series to re-narrate certain histories from the perspective of historical regression.
Doing so also contributes to the promotion of culture from a literary perspective.
After Yu Dong read the letter, he immediately replied to Cheng Yongxing and chatted with him about his views and predictions on narrative literature.
As for whether he would create another series of works, Yu Dong did not mention it in the letter because he himself did not know whether he would do it.
Chapter completed!