Andrius Tapinas
| Andrius Balys Tapinas | |
|---|---|
| Born |
April 6, 1977 Vilnius, Lithuania |
| Occupation | Writer, TV producer, Presenter |
| Genre | Science fiction, Historical fiction, Steampunk |
| Notable works | Vilko Valanda/Hour of the Wolf, Pinigų karta |
| Website | |
|
www | |
Andrius Balys Tapinas (born April 6, 1977), is a Lithuanian science fiction writer. He is also the anchor of a long-running popular Lithuanian TV programme “The Money Generation”. Tapinas was born and currently resides in Vilnius. He gained a bachelor's degree in International Economics in 1998 at Vilnius University and became one of the youngest TV hosts in Lithuania anchoring a morning television show “Good Morning Lithuania”. In 2003 Tapinas started his own TV programme about business “The Money Generation”. The programme has been running for 10 seasons, and the 11th season is airing in early September 2013.
Personal life
Tapinas is married to Rasa Tapinienė, a news anchor on “Info TV” and they have two children. Tapinas is a poker enthusiast. In 2006 he became the first Lithuanian ever to score a prize in the World Series of Poker Main Event, eventually finishing 494th and winning $26,000. He was chosen as the Lithuanian Ambassador of Poker by the online poker company Unibet. Tapinas founded the Lithuanian Sports Poker Federation, where he served as President from 2010 to 2013.[1] Tapinas is an avid fan of football and American football. Since American football is virtually unknown in Lithuania, he writes about the NFL in his personal blog, trying to spread the word about it. His favourite team is the Oakland Raiders.
Career
Writing
Publishing house Alma Littera published Tapinas' first novel Hour of the Wolf in February 2013[2] to positive reviews. Hour of the Wolf, illustrated by Eglė Zioma, was the first steampunk book written in Lithuanian and spent in total 20 weeks among the Top 10 of the best-selling fiction books in Lithuania. Hour of the Wolf tells a story about an alternative steampunk Europe where five cities formed the Alliance under the protection of Rothchilds bankers. The novel with the author's initiative was swiftly translated into English and self-published as an e-book.
Hour of the Wolf is also an example of transmedia storytelling. Its universe, called Steam and Stone, has been expanded by a voice-controlled video game Howler: A game of Touch and Scream (released in May 2013).[3] Lithuanian animation company Studio Mitkus has acquired rights for an animated TV series. A web comic series Steam and Stone: Untold stories and an interactive multimedia game for mobile platforms Secrets of the Old City are being developed by Tapinas and Studio Mitkus and should debut in winter 2013.
Tapinas is currently working on his next book Day of the Plague, a sequel to Hour of the Wolf.[4]
Translation
Tapinas became the youngest translator of J. R. R. Tolkien in the world at the age of 17 when The Fellowship of the Ring was published in Lithuanian in 1994.[5] In the following two years he translated the rest of The Lord of the Rings series before graduating from high school. Tapinas also translated the first two Discworld books by Terry Pratchett: The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic.
Television
Tapinas is the anchor of a long-running popular Lithuanian TV programme “The Money Generation”. The programme is now in its 11th season.
Bibliography
The Steam and Stone Saga
- Hour of the Wolf
- Day of the Plague
- Hour of the Wolf. Sidabras (comic book, writer)
References
- ↑ Lithuania Declares Poker a Sport Archived September 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Vilniuje pristatytas debiutins Andriaus Tapino romanas VIlko Valanda
- ↑ The Iron Wolf of Lithuania Howls About the Howler Archived September 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Andrius Tapinas pradėjo rašyti antrą knygą
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien's Frodo lives - in Lithuanian
External links
- Tapinas' official blog
- Tapinas' TV programme website
- Hour of the Wolf Lithuanian website
- Andrius Tapinas webpage at Goodreads