Breath by Tim Winton published in Japanese

Breath, by West Australian author Tim Winton, was published in Japanese in December 2013 by Gendaikikakushitsu Publishers, a quality press specialising in the translation of literary works. Translated by Keiji Sawada, and published with the support of Australia-Japan Foundation and the Australian Embassy, it is one of the ‘Masterpieces of Australian Contemporary Literature’ series. This series aims to introduce the diversity of Australian society to Japan by translating and publishing in Japanese, one important Australian work by a contemporary Australian writer each year, for 10 years.

Born in Karrinyup, Western Australia in 1960, Tim Winton moved with his family to Albany when he was 12 years old. He wrote his first novel, An Open Swimmer, while still a university student, and won the Australian/Vogel Literary Award, launching his writing career. Since then he has written 25 books in all, including drama and children’s literature, with his latest, Eyrie, published in 2013.

His masterpiece Cloudstreet (1991), depicting the life of two working families sharing a house in downtown Perth, was selected as the “overwhelming favourite” in the “Australian Book Review Favourite Australian Novel” poll of booklovers, writers, and critics in Australia conducted in 2010. It is one of three Winton works including Breath in the Top 20.

<>He has won wide international recognition for his work, twice being nominated for the Booker Prize for The Riders (1994) and Dirt Music (2001), and his work has been translated into 28 languages to date. Four of his books, including Breath, have won the Miles Franklin Literary Award, Australia’s most prestigious literary award.

Named a Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia, and awarded the Centenary medal for service to literature and the community, he is actively involved in the Australian environmental movement. He has lived in Italy, France, Ireland and Greece, and currently lives in Fremantle, near Perth

Set in a seaside town in Western Australia, Breath is a rich and atmospheric coming-of-age tale from one of world literature’s finest storytellers about two thrillseeking and barely adolescent boys who fall into the enigmatic thrall of veteran big-wave surfer Sando. Together they form an odd but elite trio.