Smoking Tigers

The Smoking Tigers is a complaint of experienced literary translators working from Korean to English.

If you have a Korean literary translation to publish, we can help you get funding for it.

The Smoking Tigers have altogether won virtually every publication and translation grant available for Korean literature in translation, including funding from the Literary Translation Institute of Korea, the Daesan Foundation, the Korean Publication Industry Promotion Agency, English PEN, GKL Ltd, and more.

Hire one of us as your translator for the book you wish to publish, and we will mobilize our network and collective know-how to get the support you need.

We have experienced the entire publication process from start to finish, including choosing a work to translate, obtaining the rights for it, getting funding, getting editorial assistance (no first draft manuscript you see from us is ever a real “first” draft), and promoting the work once it is published.

Do take a look at our pre-funded work below, each of which already has a guaranteed translator and publication subsidy. Samples are ready on demand.

Contact us using our contact form. We are also on Twitter: @smoking_tigers

Sophie Bowman

Victoria Caudle

Anton Hur

Agnel Joseph

Slin Jung

Stella Kim

Sandy Joosun Lee

So J. Lee

Sung Ryu

2019

Victoria Caudle’s translation excerpt from Lee Jong San’s Customer is published by Words Without Borders—June 3

So J Lee’s translation of Lee Hyemi’s “The Cupboard with Strawberry Jam” is published by Words Without Borders—June 3

Anton Hur’s translation excerpt from Kim Hye-jin’s About My Daughter is published by Words Without Borders—June 3

Sora Kim-Russell and Deborah Smith’s translations are published in the YEOYU series by Strangers Press—May 30

Anton Hur’s translation of Jung Young Su’s “Nights in Lebanon” is published in Columbia Journal—May 18

So J Lee’s translation of selections from Lee Hyemi’s Unexpected Vanilla is published by Asymptote Journal—May 1

Sora Kim-Russell is longlisted for the Man Booker International with Hwang Sok-yong for At Dusk—March 13

Sora Kim-Russell’s translation of Kim Jung-hyuk’s “Where Boats Go” is published in Readymade Bodhisatva by Kaya Press—March 1

Sophie Bowman’s translation of Soyeon Jeong’s “Home” is published in Guernica—February 28

So J Lee wins LTI translation grant—February 28

Sandy Joosun Lee’s translation of Won-pyung Sohn’s Almond is announced for publication by HarperVia—February 23

Deborah Smith’s translation of Han Kang’s The White Book (Crown) is published in the US—February 19

Smoking Tigers is featured in an ALTA interview—February 7

Anton Hur’s translation of Sang Young Park’s “The Tears of an Unknown Artist, or Zaytun Pasta” begins serialization in Words Without Borders—February 1

Sora Kim-Russell’s translation of Un-su Kim’s The Plotters (Doubleday) is published in the US—January 29

Victoria Caudle’s translation of Kim Seong Joong’s “Mars Child” is published in Nabillera—January 25

2018

Sung Ryu, Slin Jung, Anton Hur, and Sora Kim-Russell win GKL Korean Literature Translation Awards—November 30th

Sung Ryu wins LTI translation grant—November 30th

Anton Hur’s translation of Kang Kyeong-ae’s The Underground Village: Short Stories (Honford Star) is published in the UK—November 30th

Agnel Joseph, Sophie Bowman, and Sora Kim-Russell publish in a special issue of Wasafiri—November 20th

Sora Kim-Russell’s translation of Hye-young Pyun’s City of Ash and Red (Arcade) is published in the US—November 6th

Sora Kim-Russell’s translation of Hwang Sok-yong’s At Dusk (Scribe) is published in Australia—October 1st

Sophie Bowman, Helen Cho, Anton Hur, Agnel Joseph, Slin Jung, Sora Kim-Russell, and Sung Ryu publish in the 10th-anniversary issue of Korean Literature Now—September 1st

Sora Kim-Russell’s translation of Hye-young Pyun’s The Hole (Arcade) wins the Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel—July 15th

Anton Hur’s translation of Kyung-Sook Shin’s The Court Dancer (Pegasus) is published in the US—August 7th

Sora Kim-Russell’s translation of Un-su Kim’s The Plotters (Text Publishing) is published in Australia—July 30th

Slin Jung, Agnel Joseph, Jack Jung, and Anton Hur publish in Litro issue 169 (“Finding the Soul in Seoul”)

Sora Kim-Russell delivers “Queerly Vague or Vaguely Queer” lecture at Bread Loaf Translators’ Conference on the relationship between the Korean language and Korean queer literature—June 5th

So J Lee debuts with Choi Jin-young’s “Dori and Jina” in Words Without Borders—June 1st

Sophie Bowman wins LTI translation grant—May 31st

Victoria Caudle debuts with Kim Bi’s “Transgender Basketball Club” in Nabillera—May 30th

Smoking Tigers hard launch—May 12th

Sung Ryu, Stella Kim, Agnel Joseph, and Sora Kim-Russell publish translations in the Asymptote Special Feature in Korean Literature—April 20th

Deborah Smith is shortlisted for the Man Booker International with Han Kang for The White Book—April 12

Deborah Smith is longlisted for the Man Booker International with Han Kang for The White Book—March 12

Sandy Joosun Lee and So J Lee win LTI translation grants—February 28th

Smoking Tigers begin members-only translation workshops in Seoul—February 24th

2017

Agnel Joseph wins the inaugural GKL Literary Translation Grand Prize—November 20th

Smoking Tigers internal launch—November 20th

Korean literary translators collective conceived at the British Literary Translation Centre Summer School in Norwich, UK—July 25th

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