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| Photo credit: Ibtehaj Asif |
Mark Sampson is a fiction writer, poet, book reviewer, and literary critic, originally from Prince Edward Island and now living and writing in Toronto. He is the author of seven books: the novels
All the Animals on Earth (Wolsak & Wynn, 2020),
The Slip (Dundurn, 2017),
Sad Peninsula (Dundurn, 2014) and
Off Book (Norwood Publishing, 2007); the short story collection T
he Secrets Men Keep (Now or Never Publishing, 2015); the poetry collection
Weathervane (Palimpsest Press, 2016); and the poetry chapbook
Big Wilson (Emergency Flash Mob Press, 2023). His new novel,
Lowfield, a tale of horror and suspense set on his native PEI, is forthcoming from Now or Never Publishing in the spring of 2025.
Mark has published many short stories and poems in literary journals across Canada, including in
The Fiddlehead, The New Quarterly,
The Antigonish Review,
PRISM international,
The Nashwaak Review,
Grain magazine,
The Puritan,
This magazine, and
FreeFall. He has been a book reviewer for
Quill & Quire,
Numero Cinq, Canadian Notes & Queries (
CNQ) and other publications.
Mark holds a journalism degree from the University of King's College in Halifax and a masters degree in English from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.
HI Mark,
ReplyDeleteI read your book Sad Peninsula and really enjoyed it.
I especially liked the way you depicted the born-again Christian Paul. Most of the time I find the liberal-minded arts community in Canada ridicules them as blind fools, or something to that effect.
The church I belong to is Presbyterian and we have about 200 Koreans in our congregation. I know a lot of them well as I play music with them for our services weekly. I also volunteer teach ESL to a high level group. I was wondering if your book was going to be translated into Korean, or if it's available in Korean right now.
Just so you know, I don't teach survival English, but rather try to help them learn about Canadian culture, everything from the regional differences of Canada, to Canadian folk music to understanding the rules of hockey etc. I think they would really enjoy discussing this book as it deals with two subjects they have knowledge or experience in - namely, the experience of haegwons and the history of the comfort women. The choice of the girlfriend to choose to stay in Korea would also be a great point of discussion.
Of course, I can simplify and introduce portions of the book but again, I was wondering if it has been, or will be translated to Korean. I think it would be successful in Korean, but of course, I'm not privy to the info publishers have at their disposal in making such a decision.
In any case, thanks again for a great book that entertained and educated me. Duncan
Hi Duncan,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your note, and for your kind words about Sad Peninsula. I'm glad you enjoyed the character of Paul. I've gotten a few comments from readers about him, many of them echoing yours. Thanks for that.
As for your specific question: no, as far as I know there is no Korean rights translation of Sad Peninsula on the horizon. Mind you, the book has only been out for six months, so my publisher may still be able to secure a Korean edition at some point. But foreign rights are always tricky to sell and I know they haven't had any luck yet finding a Korean press willing to take this novel on.
But if anyone in your congregation does read the book, or if you have an interesting discussion with them about it, and people what to share their thoughts or impressions with me, I would love to hear from them. They can email me at sampson[underscore]mark[at]hotmail[dot]com, and I would happily make myself available to discuss it anytime.
Anyway, thanks again for reading. Please stay in touch.
Warm regards,
Mark