MAN long list is delayed

[The Man Asian Literary Prize] About the Long List

The Man Asian Literary Prize has posted a new item, 'About the Long List'

The Administrative Committee of the 2007 Man Asian Literary Prize wishes to thank all the authors who made submissions to the inaugural Prize.

The long list will be announced publicly in mid-July. Long-listed candidates will be contacted individually in mid-June for verification of entry details and (in the case of partial submissions) final submission of completed [...]

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http://www.manasianliteraryprize.org/blog/?p=9

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Spam Blog? An Update of Man Asian Literary & My Reasons

Sigh, someone made this blog be reported as spam blog, so now I needed to clarify with the blogger administrator before I can post this entry.

For Anonymous (previously someone from Pantene Shine Award and now, someone from Man Asian Literary -- are you Mary Lee?), whoever you are, thank you for leaving your comments in Sakura in English. Hehehe, I know you must be from the committee because I haven't given any access to the translated version to anyone but your committee.

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GOLDEN RULE
Regarding this first novel of mine, yes, I did want to write something that can be commercialized (i.e. to be filmed) and not just merely a literary work. So I have to follow the golden rule of successful drama series / movies: love at the first sight. Please note that the romantic love stories I write never reflect my own personal experience / views on love itself.

Personal Confession

I have to admit that I am not a romantic person at all despite having so many romantic people around me (it's a blessing to have them in my life) and it is A HARD IMAGINATION I have to do everytime I need to create a romantic scene. (My youngest sis teaches me a lot on how to be romantic haha, shame on me!). Yes, I do receive quite handful romantic gestures from the guys *winked* but as a mathematician, I am trained to think -- not to feel. Therefore, in real life, I have been behaving very manly: independent, decisive, problem solver, very strong character -- somehow dominant. Personally I do crack my brain to day/nightdream and study all the romantic movies / drama series seriously -- and analyzed all aspects of how to describe best the emotional sides of the couples when they meet.

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Application in Novel

• Yukata (actually means something like kimono -- I chose the name as the syllable is close to Takuya, her brother) -- she liked Heiji from the first sight -- but he turned to be the wrong man to fall in love with. Girls do fall for the wrong guys. At least that is my observation from reading all love consultations in the papers hahaha =D
• On the other hand, Rin was impressed by Heiji's good service on their first meeting. Here, I want to present the fact that first impression does matter.
• Yuki in this novel, she did not straight away fall for Shinichi but because of his persistent effort to court her... *you read it yourself, OK, many people hate spoilers* but men, in general, do get attracted to girls from the first sight. At least, that is what I read in the magazines. Whether it is lust at the first sight or it is true love? -- I decide to keep it open -- case by case basis, as I do believe anything is possible if God allows it to happen.

Disappointing ending?
For the ending, actually the ending in this novel IS NOT THE ORIGINAL ENDING. (Readers, you are allowed to cheer and scream at me at the same time). The original was proper and longer (oh yeah, it's going to be very thick, actually) and definitely predictable. I like unpredictable endings to remind the readers that I am still the author, I have the absolute discretion of any fate of the characters I make (this is the personal satisfaction of crafting the characters)-- please do forgive me! (You will find that my next books will sometimes have happy endings, and sometimes "subjective" happy endings -- it depends on the way you look at it).

Anyway, I decided to scrap that ending (although I can always rewrite it) because I know for a first timer like me, publishers in Indonesia would think thousand times before accepting this novel if my manuscript is too thick.

I promise that I would rewrite the ending if Sakura Blossoms in Yokohama is filmed! Many novels do that! Different ending to please the audience *_*

Off to Korea for spring holiday,
Yunisa the Game Theory lover

Receipt of 2007 Man Asian Literary Prize

-----Original Message-----
From: Info [mailto:info@manasianliteraryprize.org]
Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 9:15 AM
To: Yunisa
Subject: 2007 Man Asian Literary Prize - Ref: 20070123_002

I am writing to confirm receipt of your submission to the 2007 Man Asian Literary Prize, which has been assigned a reference number: 20070123_002.
Sincerely,
Mary Lee
Prize Administrator
2007 Man Asian Literary Prize

Submitted to Man Asian Literary Prize Competition

Finally... Today I have submitted the translation of Sakura Bersemi di Yokohama (Sakura Blossoms in Yokohama) to the Man Asian Literary Prize Competition. Yes, one of my personal (or is it professional?) targets is to get Sakura published in English, so it can touch wider international readers... Hopefully, I can be a future Tolkien or a future Lewis!

Well, I don't know whether this "light" novel can be considered as a piece of literary work - yeah, if you see it in Indonesian, memang mirip karya sastra (haha, PD amat)... But I just go with Dr Dede's advice to me that I do have some literary talents... At least if I can make into "long list" or even "Top 5" again, surely Indonesia (as my nationality) and Singapore (as my country of residence) will be proud of me *_*

PS: I'm also considering whether I want to take up one "bad" offer from other publisher for my next novels or shall I wait for a better offer... Please pray for me so I can be wise and enlightened in my decision. Thank you.

Translation is being checked

My first update in 2007. Sigh. What a hard work for a month plus! And it's still in progress... Too many "small" mistakes on every single page I typed. Typo, the Indonesian version hasn't been deleted, grammatical errors, formatting errors...

The problem is that I could not find someone whom I could rely on checking -- ensuring the same flavour of the Indonesian's Sakura Bersemi di Yokohama is properly put into English version -- the proverbs, the jokes... while at the same time checking the grammar part. Well, I just don't trust my friends enough, frankly speaking, knowing that their "level of accuracy" is not better than me =D

Probably I would ask a colleague to check it for me after I've done my correction.

For every single Indonesian proverb I use in SBdY-- I have tried to find an equivalent in English. And the Bible verses I quote has been checked as well. (Surely I could not ask any translator for this kind of touch).

That's all the update on my part. I would bring my laptop when I'm travelling so I can continue my work on Sakura before submitting it to the competition (the deadline is end of March). Yes, my resolution for Sakura in 2007 is for her to go international!

Sakura in English (my dream)

Of course I have a dream for my writings, including this novel. I would like some day, to see it filmed. Before it happens, I would want to see it published in English. My colleagues (and ex colleagues) would love to read that!

I am going to enter a "Shine" competition sponsored by Pantene. If I get the $10,000, I would publish an English version of the long-awaited Sakura Bersemi di Yokohama, English version $_$

Well, yes, I have my own money, but my parents would definitely kill me if I spend my hard-earned full-time job money for this... Even getting this novel published by a real publisher was a teary-bloody-sweaty struggle I went through back in 2005. However, God opened a way, and I believe He will always open a way!

PS: I just realize that people who love reading -- and eventually lead to "so called" higher understanding level (it is biased opinion of me), they really like my novel despite they have different expectation for the ending (haha, I am just so cruel to twist it). But those who are not trained in reading, they would think that Sakura Bersemi di Yokohama is heavy. Actually, if you are into soap operas, telenovela, sinetron -- this novel is not complicated at all, you just need to follow faithfully page by page.

Well, it also confirms that my writing's segmentation should be of certain sophistication standard. Yea, baby, way to go!