Thirteen years after Chinese author Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize in Literature, his stories and novellas have finally been translated into Nepali. The translated collection, launched on Saturday by Publication Nepalaya, features 17 short stories and two novellas, totalling 319 pages.

The book’s translator, Sarwotam Shrestha, was introduced to the Chinese language and literature while studying medicine in China. Yan himself selected the stories and novellas to be translated into Nepali and provided them to Shrestha.

During the launch, writer Kumar Nagarkoti praised Yan’s magical realism and storytelling style.

Author Amar Nyaupane reminisced about how the late writer and scholar Satya Mohan Joshi had encouraged him to read Yan, praising the author’s ability to blend folklore with modern times.

Nepalaya’s editor, Bimal Acharya, said their goal is to promote literary exchange. “We should bring in rich literature and ideas from beyond our borders,” he said.

The book, priced at Rs675, is available at bookstores across Nepal, on Thuprai.com in both physical and e-book formats, and internationally through Amazon.