Michael Kandel (born December 24, 1941 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American translator and author of science fiction.

Biography

Kandel received a doctorate in

Slavistics Slavic (American English) or Slavonic (British English) studies, also known as Slavistics is the academic field of area studies concerned with Slavic areas, languages, literature, history, and culture. Originally, a Slavist or Slavicist was prim ...

from

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

. His most recent position was editor at the

Modern Language Association The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature. The MLA aims to "st ...

. Prior to that, at Harcourt, he edited (among others)

Ursula K. Le Guin Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (; October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) was an American author best known for her works of speculative fiction, including science fiction works set in her Hainish universe, and the '' Earthsea'' fantasy series. She was ...

's work. Kandel is perhaps best known for his translations of the works of

Stanisław Lem Stanisław Herman Lem (; 12 September 1921 – 27 March 2006) was a Polish writer of science fiction and essays on various subjects, including philosophy, futurology, and literary criticism. Many of his science fiction stories are of satirical ...

from Polish to English. "Trying to Build a Tower That Reaches Heaven: Interview with Translator Michael Kandel"
by Maria Khodorkovsky, July 14, 2015 Recently he has also been translating works of other Polish science fiction authors, such as

Jacek Dukaj Jacek Józef Dukaj (born 30 July 1974) is a Polish science fiction and fantasy writer. He has received numerous literary prizes including the European Union Prize for Literature and Janusz A. Zajdel Award. Career He was born on 30 July 1974 in ...

Tomasz Kołodziejczak Tomasz Kołodziejczak (born 13 October 1967) is a Polish science fiction and fantasy writer, screenwriter, publisher and editor of books, comics and role-playing games. He made his debut in 1985 with the short story ''Kukiełki'' (''Rag Dolls'') i ...

Marek Huberath Marek S. Huberath (pen name, born 1954) is a Polish professor of physics in the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and an award-winning science fiction and fantasy writer. His themes are philosophical, moral, and religious: how people become beast ...

and

Andrzej Sapkowski Andrzej Sapkowski (; born 21 June 1948) is a Polish fantasy writer, essayist, translator and a trained economist. He is best known for his six-volume series of books ''The Witcher'', which revolves around the eponymous "witcher," a monster-hunte ...

. The quality of his translations is considered to be excellent; his skill is especially notable in the case of Lem's writing, which makes heavy use of wordplay and other difficult-to-translate devices.

Bibliography

Novels

*'' Strange Invasion'' (1989) *'' In Between Dragons'' (1990) *''

Captain Jack Zodiac Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

'' (1991) *''

Panda Ray The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes ...

'' (1996)

Short fiction

*"Virtual Reality" (1993) in ''Simulations'' (ed. Karie Jacobson) *"Ogre" (1994) in '' Black Thorn, White Rose'' (ed.

Ellen Datlow Ellen Datlow (born December 31, 1949) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and horror editor and anthologist. She is a winner of the World Fantasy Award and the Bram Stoker Award (Horror Writers Association). Career Datlow began her career ...

and

Terri Windling Terri Windling (born December 3, 1958 in Fort Dix, New Jersey) is an American editor, artist, essayist, and the author of books for both children and adults. She has won nine World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and the Bram Stoke ...

) *"Acolytes" (1997) in ''

The Horns of Elfland ''The Horns of Elfland'' is a 1997 fantasy fiction, fantasy anthology edited by Ellen Kushner, Delia Sherman and Donald G. Keller. Background ''The Horns of Elfland'' was first published in April 1997 by Roc Books in paperback format. It was a no ...

'' (ed.

Ellen Kushner Ellen Kushner (born October 6, 1955) is an American writer of fantasy novels. From 1996 until 2010, she was the host of the radio program '' Sound & Spirit'', produced by WGBH in Boston and distributed by Public Radio International. Backgroun ...

Delia Sherman Cordelia Caroline Sherman (born 1951, Tokyo, Japan), known professionally as Delia Sherman, is an American fantasy writer and editor. Her novel ''The Porcelain Dove'' won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award. Background Sherman attended The Chapin Scho ...

, and

Donald G. Keller Donald G. Keller (born 1951) is a science fiction and fantasy editor and critic. He was the co-founder of Serconia Press and was Managing Editor and a frequent contributor to ''The New York Review of Science Fiction'' (1990-1995), where his semin ...

) *"Wading River Dogs and More" in ''

Asimov's ''Asimov's Science Fiction'' is an American science fiction magazine which publishes science fiction and fantasy named after science fiction author Isaac Asimov. It is currently published by Penny Publications. From January 2017, the publication ...

'', May 1998 *"Hooking Up" in ''

Fantasy and Science Fiction ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Boucher a ...

'', August 1999 *"Time to Go" in ''

'', November 2004 *"Enlightenment" in ''Thrilling Wonder Stories'', Summer 2007

Translations

*''

Memoirs Found in a Bathtub ''Memoirs Found in a Bathtub'' (a literal translation of the original Polish-language title: ''Pamiętnik znaleziony w wannie'') is a science fiction novel by Polish writer Stanisław Lem, first published in 1961. It was first published in English ...

'' (with Christine Rose, 1973) *''

The Cyberiad ''The Cyberiad'' ( pl, Cyberiada) is a series of humorous science fiction short stories by Polish writer Stanisław Lem, originally published in 1965, with an English translation appearing in 1974. The main protagonists of the series are Trurl a ...

'' (1974) *''

The Futurological Congress ''The Futurological Congress'' ( pl, Kongres futurologiczny) is a 1971 Black comedy, black humour science fiction novel by Polish author Stanisław Lem. It details the exploits of the hero of a number of his stories, Ijon Tichy, as he visits the E ...

'' (1974) *''

The Star Diaries , image = File:TheStarDiaries.jpg , caption = First edition , author = Stanisław Lem , translator = ''English:'' Michael Kandel , illustrator = Stanisław Lem , cover_artist = Marian Stachurski , country = Poland , language = Polish, Engli ...

'' (1976) *''

Mortal Engines ''Mortal Engines'' is a young-adult science fantasy novel by Philip Reeve, published by Scholastic UK in 2001. The book focuses on a futuristic, steampunk version of London, now a giant machine striving to survive on a world that is runni ...

'' (1977) *''

A Perfect Vacuum ''A Perfect Vacuum'' ( pl, Doskonała próżnia) is a 1971 book by Polish author Stanisław Lem, the largest and best known collection of Stanislaw Lem's fictitious criticism of nonexisting books. It was translated into English by Michael Kande ...

'' (1978) *''

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice (HMV) was the name of a major British record label created in 1901 by The Gramophone Co. Ltd. The phrase was coined in the late 1890s from the title of a painting by English artist Francis Barraud, which depicted a Jack Russ ...

'' (1983) *''

Fiasco Fiasco may refer to: * a failure or humiliating situation * Fiasco (bottle), a traditional Italian straw-covered wine bottle often associated with Chianti wine Media * ''Fiasco'' (novel), a 1987 science-fiction novel by Stanisław Lem * ''F ...

'' (1987) *'' Peace on Earth'' (with Elinor Ford, 1994) *'' Highcastle: A Remembrance'' (1995)

Paweł Huelle Paweł Marek Huelle (10 September 1957 – 27 November 2023) was a Polish prose writer. Life and career Huelle studied Polish philology at Gdańsk University and, in 1980, participated in the efforts to establish an independent student organiza ...

*''Who Was David Weiser?'' (1992) - first translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones (1991). *''Moving House and Other Stories'' (1995) - first translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones (1994). Marek S. Huberath *''

Nest of Worlds ''Nest of Worlds'' (Polish: ''Gniazdo światów'') is a 1998 science fiction novel by the Polish author Marek S. Huberath. The novel has layers of nested stories, each of which is printed in a different font. This, along with its theme of books a ...

'' (Restless Books, 2014)
"Yoo Retoont, Sneogg. Ay Noo"
on Words without Borders; in ''A Polish Book of Monsters'' (PIASA Books, 2010)
"Balm of a Long Farewell"
on Words without Borders

Andrzej Stasiuk Andrzej Stasiuk (pronounced: ; born 25 September 1960 in Warsaw, Poland) is one of the most successful and internationally acclaimed contemporary Polish writers, journalists and literary critics. He is best known for his travel literature and ess ...

*''On the Road to Babadag'' (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011)

Kayko and Kokosh ''Kajko and Kokosz'' or ''Kayko and Kokosh'' (Polish: ''Kajko i Kokosz'') is a Polish comic book series by Janusz Christa that debuted in Poland in 1972 and was published primarily until 1992. Mixing history and fantasy tropes it is centered on l ...

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

series by

Janusz Christa Janusz Christa (19 July 1934, Wilno – 15 November 2008, Sopot) was a Polish author of comic books, creator of the comic book series '' Kajtek i Koko'' and, perhaps his most well-known, the ''Kajko i Kokosz'' series. He debuted in 1957 and many of ...

. *''Flying School'' (Egmont Poland, 2018) *''The Big Tournament'' (Egmont Poland, 2018)

Editor and translator

*''Mortal Engines'' (Seabury, 1977): Stories by Stanisław Lem *''The Cosmic Carnival of Stanisław Lem: An Anthology of Entertaining Stories by the Modern Master of Science Fiction'' (Continuum, 1981) *''A Polish Book of Monsters: Five Dark Tales from Contemporary Poland'' (PIASA Books, 2010): Stories by

, Andrzej Zimniak, and

Notes

External links

Michael Kandel on Words Without Borders
by Michael Kandel
"Translation is Quixotic: A Conversation with Michael Kandel"
at Restless Books * 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American science fiction writers Science fiction editors Polish–English translators Living people 1941 births American male short story writers 20th-century translators 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers {{US-sf-writer-stub