San Francisco Frontiers - Thai authors poised for breakthrough, Hollywood boost

Thailand boasts a rich literary tradition, with the 1920s seen as a golden age when writers tackled entrenched social issues, but while modern Thai authors have kept up that legacy, they have struggled to make a splash abroad.

That could be about to change.

Pim Wangtechawat's debut novel "The Moon Represents My Heart", released in June, has catapulted her into the small but growing group of Thai authors published internationally -- catching the eye of Hollywood star Gemma Chan and Netflix in the process.

And earlier this year, "Welcome Me to the Kingdom" by Mai Nardone was recognised as a New York Times editor's choice, while Pitchaya Sudbanthad's swirling 2019 novel "Bangkok Wakes to Rain" has won rave reviews.

Many authors dream of a big-name screen adaptation, and Pim was no different.

"When my agent said that someone read your book, and it was Gemma, I screamed," Pim told AFP in a cafe in Bangkok, recalling the moment she learned her novel had been optioned.

The English-language sections of Bangkok bookshops sometimes feel dominated by sleazy crime thrillers playing on the Thai capital's reputation for seediness and vice.

Keen to escape those stereotypes, Pim centred her novel on a time-travelling Chinese family in London and Hong Kong.

"Crazy Rich Asians" star Chan hailed it as a "beautiful exploration of family, love and loss across the generations", but writing it was a nerve-wracking experience for Pim.

"I was very scared at one point because I was like, 'Oh, am I Chinese enough to write this?'" she said.

"And then I think that white authors don't have to question, 'Am I white enough to write this book?'"

Growing up in Bangkok, Pim -- who has the Elvish word for "hope" and Aslan from C.S. Lewis's Narnia books tattooed on her arms -- started off reading European works translated into Thai, before later reading them in the original.

Part of the reason for the lack of internationally respected Thai authors, she said, was the failure of Thai schools to promote a homegrown "literature culture, writing-reading culture, the way they do in the UK for example".

- Soft-pedalling 'soft power'? -

While authors like Pim -- who writes in English -- have been published abroad with success, translated Thai novels remain vanishingly few and far between.

But one author bucking that trend is Uthis Haemamool, whose latest book "The Fabulist" examines the idea of national identity.

Released by Penguin in April, it was his first to be picked up by a foreign publisher, despite his having written multiple award-winning books.

"We question why we can't break through to the foreign market," a palpably frustrated Uthis told AFP.

"Why is nobody interested, is it not good enough?"

One of his translators, Palin Ansusinha -- who also co-founded Soi Squad, a Bangkok literary agency promoting English and Thai translations -- said the kingdom remained a forgotten corner of the literary world.

"I think it's the lack of connection that we have to the global publishing ecosystem," she told AFP.

In the past 15 years, only three Thai books have been translated for the US market, while neighbouring Vietnam has seen 15 translations, according to the Translation Database, which tracks global literature.

Meanwhile, the new government of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has made much of its desire to promote Thailand's "soft power", but so far this has focused on food and films, not literature.

Palin says the commitment rings hollow and Bangkok could be doing more to raise the profile of Thai writing.

"There's a lot of buzz around the words 'soft power' right now... I feel like it's been so overused and abused that it has literally no meaning now," she said, suggesting the government only celebrated artists after the fact, rather than nurturing them from the start.

"It's more like cherry-picking on the finished product."

Uthis offered a similar take: "You only see them when they succeed," he said.

J.Peterson--SFF