
author
Known for the science-fiction story Rough Translation, this writer has been anthologized in later collections that spotlight women’s speculative fiction. The surviving public record is sparse, which gives the work itself a bit of mystery.

by Jean M. Janis
Jean M. Janis is a science-fiction author best known for Rough Translation, a story that is available through Project Gutenberg and has continued to circulate long after its original publication. Bibliographic records also show the story being reprinted in later genre collections, including anthologies focused on women writers in science fiction.
Reliable biographical details about Janis appear to be limited in the sources available online, so a full life story is hard to confirm. What is clear is that the work has had an afterlife with readers and editors interested in classic speculative fiction, especially stories centered on language, contact, and ideas.