Taiwanese novelist Chi Wei-jan (???) was selected Friday from a shortlist of five writers as the winner of a Japanese award for translated mystery fiction with his work "Private Eyes."
Chi, an emeritus professor who teaches drama and theater at National Taiwan University, told CNA Saturday that he was thrilled to win the 13th edition of the award, which asked readers, publishers, translators and critics to vote for their favorite translated mysteries published in Japan from Nov. 1, 2020 to Oct. 31, 2021.
"Private Eyes," which focuses on a former professor who becomes a private detective, has enjoyed wide praise in Taiwan since it was first published in 2011. It was later translated into Japanese, French, Italian, Turkish and Korean.
Chi said he started writing the novel because he was experiencing writer's block with play writing, in which he specialized.
Calling the two types of writing completely different forms of art, Chi said he was not very confident in his attempt at a novel to begin with.
"I was not sure if I could handle it and it took me three years to complete," he said.
Chi added that the idea for the mystery work emerged as a result of frequent walks he takes on the streets of Taipei, particularly around Wolong Street, which he described as "having a strong ambiance of death" because there are several funeral houses and an abandoned building.
"I walked around the area several times and felt that it was a possible setting for a murder story," said Chi, who eventually made the area the central focus in his work.
Chi, who published a sequel last year, also said he is planning to write a third book for the series in about six months.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel