Benjamin J. McCracken
Here We Go Again
Poetry
Craft Workshop
Repetition makes poetry. Poetry, as words arranged in order to produce memorable effects on the human ear and eye, depends on repetition in order to provide structure and to provide the mind with the opportunity to quickly grasp its sounds and shapes (if not its sense) and to retain these sounds and shapes for repetition to others. The long association between poetry and music, and between poetry and visual art, has given rise to a wide range of aural and visual techniques of repetition including the repetition of sounds, words, image patterns, and lines. In this workshop, participants will review some rhetorical techniques of word repetition in poetry including anadiplosis (‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty…’), anaphora, diaphora, epanalepsis (‘Blood hath brought blood, and blows have answered blows’), epistrophe, epizeuxis (‘Never, never, never, never, never’), polysyndeton, symploce, etc., including some well-known examples from English poetry. The workshop will also review some techniques of line repetition in stanzaic and fixed poetic forms including the pantoum, triolet, and villanelle. Participants will have time to practice one or more of these techniques of repetition by writing a few lines, stanzas, or a short poem.
Christopher Simons is Senior Associate Professor of Literature at International Christian University in Tokyo. He has held the Harper-Wood Studentship in Creative Writing at St John’s College Cambridge. His most recent poetry collection is Flight Risk (Isobar Press, 2021). His criticism and poetry have appeared in numerous UK publications including the TLS.
Recent poetry books: Flight Risk (Isobar Press, 2021); Underground Facility (Isobar Press, 2018); One More Civil Gesture (Isobar Press, 2015); No Distinguishing Features (wordwolf press, 2011).
Charles Kowalski
The Worldbuilder’s Toolbox
Short Lecture with Q&A
Keywords: fiction, worldbuilding, fantasy, science fiction
Creating an entirely new world is such a daunting task that even gods have been known to wash away their mistakes and start over. Fortunately, we mortals now have tools at our disposal that make some aspects of the worldbuilder’s craft almost as easy as saying, “Let there be light!” This workshop will introduce basic techniques, handy reference books, and online tools to help with the “Four L’s” of worldbuilding: Lore (creating foundational myths and stories), Land (mapping your world), Life (designing cultures and creatures), and Language (giving your world a distinctive sound, whether you want a simple naming language or Tolkien-level complexity).
Charles Kowalski is the author of the award-winning thriller MIND VIRUS, the political/espionage thriller THE DEVIL’S SON, the historical fantasy SIMON GREY AND THE MARCH OF A HUNDRED GHOSTS, and several short stories. When not writing, he teaches at the Department of Cultural and Social Studies at Tokai University.
Christopher Simons
Lyric to Song, Song to Lyrics
Craft Workshop
Poetry
‘Go and catch a falling star, / Get with child a mandrake root, / Tell me where all past years are, / Or who cleft the Devil’s foot…’ This workshop will introduce a variety of poetic forms that can either be employed for different kinds of short lyric poems (love poems, satires, poems of political protest, etc.) or as forms for song lyrics. Forms covered by the workshop will include the carol, English ballad metre; the Horatian ode; French song forms like the rondeau, roundel, and villanelle; the blues line; and the pop or jazz standard. Workshop participants will read examples of these forms in English poetry and song. Participants will have a chance to practice these forms by adapting an existing poem into lyric form, or by writing their own original lyric poem or song lyric.
Christopher Simons is senior associate professor of literature at ICU Tokyo. He held the Harper-Wood Studentship in Creative Writing at St John’s College, Cambridge. He has published three poetry collections, most recently Flight Risk (Isobar Press, 2021). His criticism and poetry have appeared in UK publications including The TLS.
David Gilbey
The All New Reeling and Writhing Poetry Editing Workshop: Preparing for Publication
Craft Workshop (two sessions)
Keywords: poetry, editing, publishing
A workshop requiring eight participant-writers to submit poems before the conference as well as reading and discussing the work submitted by others in the scheduled session. We will work on a poem or two by each participant, aiming to craft the work to its ‘best dressed’ for publication, drawing on our personal and professional writerly skills & insights in a closely-focussed discussion of drafts. This will give a small group of poets the opportunity to read and discuss in depth a sample of each other’s work. The session will be two hours duration and participants must commit to the two hours. To secure a place, please contact David directly at debidogirubi@gmail.com
David Gilbey lectured in English at Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, Australia, was the founding President of Booranga Writers’ Centre and is editor of fourW annual anthology of new writing. He has taught English at Miyagi Gakuin Women’s University in Sendai, Japan 1996, 2000 and 2007. His three collections of poems are Under the Rainbow (1996), Death and the Motorway (2008) and Pachinko Sunset (2016).
Diane Nagatomo
From EFL Materials to Academic Books and Papers to Novelist: The Art of Balancing Different Writing Genres
Short Lecture with Q&A
Keywords: EFL materials, academic books/papers, fiction, nonfiction, instructional
What is it like writing and publishing in multiple genres? How does one switch from one genre, with completely different writing conventions, to another—sometimes within the same day? In this presentation I will describe my development as a writer, starting with how I got my foot in the writing door, how my writing improved over time, the mistakes I made along the way, and how my lifelong dream of publishing a novel was recently accomplished. I will also discuss the benefits and pitfalls of writing in multiple genres and I hope that the audience will participate by sharing their own experiences.
Diane Hawley Nagatomo, living in Japan since 1979, has written numerous EFL textbooks and academic books. Her debut novel, “The Butterfly Café”, was published in July.
Elizabeth Coll
Storytelling: Scaffolding, Subtext and Secondhand Scenes
Short Lecture with Q&A, Craft Workshop
Fiction, Nonfiction
Author Jean Stein’s gift for revealing machinations of power and the underbelly of celebrity was first honed in childhood as the daughter of a Hollywood mogul. With her keen ear and unbridled heart, Jean broke into the literary scene at 22, becoming an editor at The Paris Review upon publication of her interview with then lover, William Faulkner. Jean pioneered the Oral Narrative form in three groundbreaking books by weaving interviews into riveting, cinematic stories. The most famous, Edie: American Girl, whirls around Warhol muse Edie Sedgwick. “This is the book of the Sixties we have been waiting for,” praised Norman Mailer. Elizabeth Coll will present Jean’s unique process for researching, interviewing, and editing as Elizabeth absorbed it while working with Jean in Los Angeles on West of Eden: an American Place. We’ll look at transcripts and drafts, while hearing stories about a brilliant cultural observer and cultivator of intimacy.
Elizabeth Coll is a writer and filmmaker living in Tokyo. She writes a monthly essay in the literary magazine すばる (read: Subaru), and created the video series “Obstacle Course,” for NHK-E. She worked as a journalist and editor in the US and Mexico, and has co-authored two books in Japan.
Feral Rizvi
Building an AI Writing Toolkit: Practical Applications of Generative AI in Writing
Short Lecture with Q&A
Keywords: AI, Learning, Process
Given the rise of Generative AI technologies, the intention of this talk is to find ways to integrate this technology in our writing process in a way that doesn’t take away our creativity, but rather serves as an extension of it. We will focus on the practical application of Generative AI (tools are changing rapidly in the industry) for writers, particularly using prompting and prompt design. Attendees will gain insights into how to leverage various Generative AI tools using creative prompting to overcome writer’s block, write outlines for novels, and visualize characters for world building. We will also examine the advantages and challenges of incorporating AI in writing, and have an open discussion on its implications for roles across the industry will focus on writers.
Feral is a poet and technology enthusiast exploring AI and writing. With a unique perspective as a Pakistani Shia Muslim transmasculine queer individual, Feral’s work delves into self-expression and identity through poetry. With a tech background and multinational experience, Feral enjoys integrating emerging technologies into our lives.
Georgina Pope
Book to Film
Short Lecture with Q&A
Keywords: the journey from page to film, career
I am a Tokyo based film producer who has optioned novels set in Japan and turned them into films. For example Earthquake Bird by Susanna Jones (avail on Netflix) and Tokyo by Nicholas Hogg. The latter is in post production and will be released at Toronto Film Fest later this year. I thought writers might be interested in my process of finding works, optioning and producing.
Georgina Pope heads up TOHO-Tombo Pictures, Inc. at Toho Studios, Tokyo. In partnership with Scott Free, in 2019 she produced Earthquake Bird along with Ridley Scott and Ann Ruark. She is currently producing a movie called Berlin Nobody which stars Eric Bana and Sadie Sink, due for release Spring 2024. Both Earthquake Bird and Berlin Nobody are based on novels set in Japan, written by non-Japanese authors.
Hildred Billings
Making Money in Indie Publishing: A Crash Course
Short Lecture with Q&A
Keywords: fiction, indie publishing, self-publishing, earning money
Making even a part-time income in indie publishing is daunting. With over ten years of experience publishing romance and fantasy full time, Hildred shares her tips, tricks, and the “brutal truths” of going from zero to genre hero. It starts with an idea on a page, but ends with a business. This is a basic primer intended for those just getting started or whoever is struggling to get their book seen on the storefronts.
Hildred is a full-time indie publisher who has put out over 100 titles in 10 years. Her bread and butter is romance, but she recently started publishing epic fantasy and is learning some things all over again. She lives in the US but frequently travels to Japan for inspiration.
Isobar Press Poets & Translators—Paul Rossiter, Janine Beichman, Yoko Danno, Warren Decker, Gregory Dunne, Jane Joritz Nakagawa, Philip Rowland, Eric Selland, & Christopher Simons
Isobar Press: Tenth Anniversary Reading
(Poetry Reading)
Keywords: poetry
The first publication from Isobar Press, a small press specialising in English-language poetry and poetic translation from Japan, was a book by founder Paul Rossiter, From the Japanese; it was published on 14 October 2013. Ten years and forty-five books later, on 14 October 2023, eight poets and translators published by Isobar, each with their own strikingly different style, gather from Miyazaki, Kobe, Osaka, Shizuoka, Tsukuba and Tokyo to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the press. Paul Rossiter will speak briefly about the history of the press and the motivation behind it, and each author will briefly introduce and read from their work. We hope you will join us for this celebratory reading!
Paul Rossiter has published eleven books of poetry since 1995. After retiring from teaching at the University of Tokyo, he founded Isobar Press, which specialises in publishing English-language poetry from Japan, and English translations of modernist and contemporary Japanese poetry. More information can be found at: https://isobarpress.com
For biographies of the individual readers, please see their author pages on the Isobar Press website:
Janine Beichman: https://isobarpress.com/authors/janine-beichman/
Yoko Danno: https://isobarpress.com/authors/yoko-danno/
Warren Decker: https://isobarpress.com/authors/warren-decker/
Gregory Dunne: https://isobarpress.com/authors/gregory-dunne/
Jane Joritz Nakagawa: https://isobarpress.com/authors/jane-joritz-nakagawa/
Philip Rowland: https://isobarpress.com/authors/philip-rowland/
Eric Selland: https://isobarpress.com/authors/eric-selland/
Christopher Simons: https://isobarpress.com/authors/c-e-j-simons/
Jade du Preez
Navigating Cross-Cultural Approaches in Fiction
Short Lecture with Q&A
Keywords: fiction, novels, representation, sensitivity
Cross-cultural fiction presents both opportunities and hazards. Opinions are divided on whether and/or when it is appropriate for Western authors to represent the perspectives of non-Western characters. The relationship between the West and Japan, as played out in works of fiction, has generated debate and concern over Orientalism in its various evolutions — from the Madame Butterfly to the Matrix. In the realm of novels, popular titles for an English-language audience present food for thought—from the controversial approach of Arthur Golden, to the celebrated work of Ruth Ozeki. As writers seeking to represent diverse stories, what might we consider when approaching Japanese perspectives in fiction? How easily can we distinguish appreciation from appropriation? What steps have others taken in their literary projects? Rather than providing all of the answers, this session is intended to share research into a selection of perspectives and encourage discussion.
Jade du Preez is a lawyer, artist and award-winning writer of short fiction, who has been published in anthologies and literary magazines. She is currently completing her manuscript for ‘Outsider’, a novel set in Japan and New Zealand concerning questions of identity raised by the koseki family registry system.
Jane Joritz-Nakagawa, Susan Laura Sullivan, & Marcus Grandon
Collisions, Collages, Collaborations: Using Hybridity Effectively in Your Writing
Panel Discussion
Keywords: hybridity, writing, energize
This session will focus on how to employ the concept of hybridity to make fiction, memoir, essay, journalistic writing, poetry, or cross-genre work more exciting for its audience. Examples will be given using excerpts from various published writers, including but not limited to works of the presenters. Things that can be added to a work include visuals, quotations, work in a different genre or language, sound, metaphor, musicality, any type of found work, dialogues, and more. This session is intended to benefit any writer working in any genre or style at any level.
Jane Joritz-Nakagawa has lived in Japan since 1989. Currently she lives in Hamamatsu. She is working on her eleventh full length poetry collection, a novel, short stories and essays. She teaches part time at Shizuoka University but frequents Yatsugatake (Minami maki mura, Nagano) whenever possible. Email is welcome at janejoritznakagawa at gmail dot com.
Susan Laura Sullivan publishes across all genres. Co-editor and contributor to the award-winning Women of a Certain Age (Fremantle Press), she was shortlisted for the 2012 TAG Hungerford prize. Her most recent poetry will appear in Limina: A Journal of Historical and Cultural Studies in the near future. She resides in Japan.
Marcus Grandon is a multimedia artist, writer, musician, researcher, and educator. His work has been exhibited internationally and won awards in multiple genres. He’s a Teaching Fellow at the University of Birmingham, UK, and a university instructor in Japan. Marcus’ artwork is in private collections of people around the world. Marcus presents at conferences internationally and travels frequently. He makes his home in Shizuoka City, Japan. www.marcusgrandon.com.
Jennifer Hammer
Twitch for Writers: What’s in Your Stream?
Keywords: marketing, live streaming, community building
Using social media for marketing normally has an author targeting Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, but there’s a vibrant writing community of Twitch (a live streaming platform) as well! But why does anyone need yet another social media platform? Learn the good, the bad, and the unique points that streaming on Twitch can bring to your author platform. This presentation dives into how to be a part of the Twitch writing community, setting your marketing expectations, and what’s important for your stream setup (hint: it’s not an expensive microphone or video camera).
Coffee Quills is a hybrid multi-genre author of game narration, fiction, and web serials. They’ve been streaming on Twitch since July 2020, where cannibalism happens daily as Coffee drinks coffee, writes, and talks to the spiders on the walls. Feel free to drop a hello @CoffeeQuills via Twitter/BlueSky/Instagram/TikTok/Twitch
John Gribble
The DIY Writers Conference
Short Lecture with Q&A
Keywords: event organizing, writers conference, community building
For the last fifteen years I have been the lead organizer of The Japan Writers Conference, an annual event for English-language writers, translators, editors, publishers, and anyone else concerned with the written and published word. This year marks a shift, as Co-organizer Karen McGee and I step back and turn the organisation of the Conference over to younger and fully competent hands. This session will give a brief history of the JWC, along with a look at the organizing principles we’ve followed and suggestions for those who might be considering organizing a similar event. I hope people from our past will attend, to share their memories and suggestions with those who have volunteered to keep the JWC going.
John Gribble is an American poet, musician, and mostly-retired English teacher. Originally from Southern California, he has been a Tokyo resident since 1993. He earned his MFA at Warren Wilson College and his work has appeared in journals and collections in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and Japan. His books include Another Wrong Fedora, Ueno Mornings, and 100 Poets. One Song Each, a translation of the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu. He has been co-organizer of both the Tokyo Writers Workshop and the Japan Writers Conference.
John Rucynski
The 4 C’s of Getting EFL Textbooks Published
Short Lecture with Q&A
Keywords: EFL textbooks, textbook writing and publishing, cultural familiarity
EFL textbook publishers accept a tiny number of new proposals each year. The four C’s of collaboration, content, culture, and contacts can help aspiring authors breakthrough.
The presenter will expand on how these four C’s helped him to publish a series of textbooks and offer advice for aspiring authors.
John Rucynski is associate professor in the Center for Language Education at Okayama University. He has co-authored several EFL textbooks with journalist Alice Gordenker, including Surprising Japan! and Working in Japan. The latter was a British Council ELTons (English Language Teaching Innovation Awards) finalist.
John Spiri
Regular Writing for Writing Development
Short Lecture with Q&A
Keywords: nonfiction, journaling, freewriting
Most agree that there are great benefits to writing regularly. In this workshop, we will explore approaches to start and maintain a daily writing practice, from the mundane to ones that target publication. Journals of daily experiences can be dull but still have value. The content, final product, and the impact of penmanship will be considered. Another regular writing approach, freewriting, will be distinguished from focused freewriting and their relative merits will be explored. Finally, writing for Readers Write, a section of The Sun magazine that appears online as well as in paper, will be explained. The presenter has extensive experience with all of these approaches and encourages audience members to bring ideas and a short sample of their daily writing practice.
Spiri’s writing career began in 1986 when he published “Valuing the Feminine” in Transformation Times. Spiri has since had many articles published in Kansai Time Out, Japan Times, and elsewhere. He now lives in rural Shiga where he tends silkie chickens, bicycles, trail runs, and plays “go.”
Julia Kimura
Scrivener for Luddites: Let’s publish and flourish!
Craft Workshop
Keywords: productivity, publishing, Scrivener, career
Writers can complete small writing projects such as articles or short stories using a simple word processing programme, such as MS Word or Mac Pages. However, Scrivener is more robust and, therefore, more suitable for larger works, such as writing a novel, a dissertation, or even a chapter in an edited volume. This is in part due to its useful binder feature, which allows authors to easily manipulate sections. In this workshop, participants will learn about the basic features of Scrivener and their benefits. No prior experience with Scrivener is assumed. *The presenter is not affiliated with Scrivener or its developer.
Julia Kimura is an English as a Foreign Language lecturer in the School of Pharmacy at Mukogawa Women’s University. She earned her Ph.D. in Education from Temple University in 2021. She has published in journals under the Japan Association of Language Teaching umbrella, as well as in university journals.
Karen Hill Anton
Creating Characters, Constructing Scenes
Short Lecture with Q&A
Keywords: fiction, details, stereotypes, caricatures
In a first novel, many writers openly admit the principal character is similar, in significant ways, to themselves. The character might be of the same sex and ethnicity, the main scenes might be around defining experiences the writer also faced. Still, the writer would be telling the truth in saying the character is not them, but one they created, and the scenes fabricated. In this session, we will look at how the novelist creates characters that are authentic, protagonists that bear no resemblance to themselves, and situations they’ve never encountered.
Karen Hill Anton is formerly a columnist for the Japan Times and Chunichi Shimbun. She’s the author of the widely acclaimed and multiple award-winning memoir, The View From Breast Pocket Mountain. Her most recent work is a novel, A Thousand Graces. She’s made her home in rural Shizuoka since 1975.
Dr Kim Nelson Miles
Distilling Poetry from Data
Short Lecture with Q&A
Keywords: poetry, Japan, research
The presentation will illuminate the capacity of creative approaches to be able to communicate, “instances when we feel truth has shown its face” (Richardson, 1998, p. 451) and explore how this quality can expand our understanding of social reality and the complexity of human experience in ways inaccessible by conventional research methods as illuminated by this poem by the author below:
Through the heart of a Nepalese village
Small bodies are carried through the rain,
Last cradle in the groove of a tree.
Returning home,
I carried those children in my mind.
Tears falling into my ramen and
onto my tie as I stand on the densha
Grief is embedded into my fascia.
When I open my mouth, I am flooded
with their stories.
Following the lecture, participants will have the opportunity to try creating poetry from a research interview to experience distilling poetry from data.
Dr Kim Nelson Miles is an academic from Torrens University Australia who uses the creative methods of poetry and micro-stories to illuminate human experience. Her PhD thesis featured a set of seventeen poems created from the research data drawn from her fieldwork in Niseko, Japan.
Lowell Sheppard
Writing a Companion Book for a TV Series: What I have learned.
Short Lecture with Q&A
Keywords: nonfiction, first draft, TV series, tips
Lowell`s sailing adventures are the centerpiece of a new TV series being produced and released by the History Channel across Asia. In this session, Lowell will share what he has learned writing a companion book to the TV series. The book provides important insights on to how to redesign your life, awaken dormant dreams, create audacious goals, and take high-stake risks to achieve them. Lowell has learned from both success and failure, but most of all, he has learned the benefits of pure grit and tenacity. The book will inspire the reader to have the courage to reach for the sky and equip them with the tools to navigate a better future. This is Lowell`s 10th book, and he will share what he has learned: How to get started, The importance of the first draft, Getting the right publisher, Dealing with a TV company etc.
Lowell Sheppard is an author, adventurer, YouTuber, and most recently, the host of a new TV series on History Channel called Dare to Dream. He has been cruising Japan full-time for two years and slowly learning what it means to be a digital nomad.
Melinda Falgoust
The Writer’s Toolkit: Tuning the Writing Engine When the Words Won’t Come
Short Lecture with Q&A
Keywords: fiction, craft, skills, tools
You’ve been wrenching at your manuscript for years, or maybe your writing career has just gotten its learner’s permit. Either way, you’re ready to cruise . . . but what do you do when the words won’t come? You tune your writing engine, of course! Pull into the garage with award-winning author Melinda Taliancich Falgoust and fill your toolbox with some practical (and some unusual) tools to help get your writing out of neutral and off the blocks. Beginner to advanced.
Writing children’s and adult fiction, Melinda Falgoust has been honored by the NY Book Festival, the Oshima Picture Book Museum, and the Clive Cussler Adventure Writers Society. Her work has appeared in Reader’s Digest, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, and Harlequin. She presents globally on the business and craft of writing.
Michael Pronko
Torturing a Phrase Once More—Rewriting Fiction
Short Lecture with Q&A
Keywords: rewriting, fiction, writing techniques
About rewriting, the great humorist S. J. Perelman wrote to an editor, “I revel in the prospect of being able to torture a phrase once more.” It often feels that rewriting is either unabashed reveling or unending torture. But between those poles, at a practical level, rewriting is a crucial skill for writers. Rewriting isn’t always “re.” This short lecture with Q&A will suggest a layered set of techniques for rewriting long-form fiction. It will look at rewriting from the sentence to the story, and back again. Practical techniques for rewriting can—and usually should—be applied to the overall story, scenic structure, sentence tension, unifying tropes, and editorial input. By developing ways to rework, redirect, remove, and implant key elements, the vitality and readability of any work can be greatly enhanced. In this talk, specific approaches will be suggested, along with the mindset to best enact those approaches.
Michael Pronko has written for many publications but now focuses on the award-winning Detective Hiroshi series set in Tokyo. He also has three collections of writing about Tokyo and runs the website Jazz in Japan. He teaches American Literature at Meiji Gakuin University.
Paige Baldwin Ando
Dislodging Writer’s Block
Short Lecture with Q&A
Keywords: procrastination, perfectionism, blocks
Whether we’ve been writing for decades or started last Tuesday, all writers know the pain of writer’s block. Though we’d love to slip contentedly into writing every time we try, sometimes ease is elusive. If we’re staring at a blank page, feel trapped in the murky middle of our project, or can’t quite finish up, at any point, despair can accompany stuckness. Together we’ll explore the source of many writing blocks, and learn several practical tools for moving past them. These tools will guide you as you move into the next steps of your work, and point you towards more enjoyment in your writing practice. Through my work as a creativity coach, I’ve helped people complete novels, develop nonfiction books from start to finish, maintain writing momentum, and find their way past countless writing obstacles. Join in to bring more ease and flow to your writing life!
Paige is a writer and creativity coach who helps people move past their creative blocks. As co-host of The Creativity Cafe podcast, she interviews a variety of exciting global artists about their personal creative processes. A former textbook writer and editor, Paige now focuses on poetry and creative non-fiction.
Patrick Murphrey
Pleasure Combined with Publishing: How I Became a Travel Writer and Ideas that Apply to All Publishing
Short Lecture with Q&A
Keywords: marketing, travel writing, articles
While I traveled extensively since high school, I started travel writing five years ago. I started writing about Nagano, where I reside, and have since expanded the travel writing to include all of Japan and other countries. With this presentation, I reflect on my experiences in hopes of offering guidance to those who have an interest in travel writing. On top of that, many of my experiences can apply to publishing in general. Therefore, the tips apply not only to potential travel writers but anyone who hopes to publish any type of articles or books. It gives insight into the marketing of your works as I explain my successes and how my writing career has developed. This
presentation provides advice and inspiration. Thank you for attending.
Patrick Murphrey is a travel writer. He has published articles in magazines, newspapers, and on the internet like Tokyo Weekender, The Japan Times, Reader’s Digest. and Matcha Travel. He currently resides in Nagano and started writing five years ago after he realized the potential of the prefecture.
Paul Rossiter, Masaya Saito, & Eric Selland
This Year at Isobar
Reading with Q&A
Keywords: poetry, haiku, translation, visual poetry
In this session, Paul Rossiter will introduce and read from Tre Paesi and Other Poems by Peter Makin, evocative poems of North Kyoto, Cumbria and his native Lincolnshire. Eric Selland will introduce Brushwork, a reproduction of his notebook of visual poetry using black-ink pen and calligraphic brush. Masaya Saito will introduce and read from his two volumes of translations from the twentieth-century haiku master Saitō Sanki: Selected Haiku 1933–1962, containing translations of more than a thousand haiku, and The Kobe Hotel, Sanki’s picareque prose memoirs of his time in Kobe during the Second World War.
Paul Rossiter has published eleven books of poetry since 1995. After retiring from teaching at the University of Tokyo in 2012, he founded Isobar Press, which specialises in publishing English-language poetry from Japan, and English translations of modernist and contemporary Japanese poetry. More information can be found at: https://isobarpress.com
Peter Makin was born in 1946 in rural Lincolnshire, and educated at King’s College, London. He taught in Mali, England, and for many years in Japan. A major scholar of modernist verse, his publications include important critical books on Ezra Pound and Basil Bunting, and two previous volumes of poetry.
Masaya Saito is from Akita. His haiku in Japanese and English have appeared widely. In 2007 he won the Asahi Haiku Shinjin Award, while his English haiku have been published in the volume Snow Bones, and earlier versions of his translations of Saitō Sanki were published by Weatherhill in 1993.
Eric Selland has published five collections of his own work and has translated several important contemporary Japanese poets. His translation of Hiraide Takashi‘sThe Guest Cat was a New York Times bestseller, and his translation of Nomura Kiwao’s The Day Laid Bare was recommended by The Poetry Book Society, UK.
Philip Rowland
Creating Publishable Short-form Poetry
Short Lecture with Q&A
Keywords: short-form poetry, English-language haiku, innovation
JWC guidelines ask presenters to “make it new” while addressing an audience “concerned with creating publishable writing.” Focusing on short-form poetry, this presentation will explore the notion of the “publishable.” Drawing on twenty years’ experience of editing and publishing a poetry journal, as well as several collections and anthologies, the presenter will discuss what makes a short poem publishable, not merely in terms of matching certain editorial expectations, but also of innovation, or “making it new” (in the Poundian sense). Needless to say, editors’ standards are largely subjective, but there is no getting away from the question of quality: what makes a short poem really worth making public? Through discussion of examples of several kinds of short-form poetry (including haiku), the presenter will suggest some guidelines which may be helpful to those aiming to write short-form poetry of lasting, genuinely publishable worth.
Philip Rowland is a British poet and professor based in Tokyo. He is the founding editor of NOON: journal of the short poem and co-editor of the anthology Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years (W.W. Norton, 2013). His latest book is An Open Parenthesis (Isobar Press, 2022).
Sara Ellis
The Last Chapter: How Group Events Can Motivate Writers in the Completion of Longform Works
Short Lecture with Q&A
Keywords: finishing, writing, community
Even with avid readers, writers can drop out of projects for a number of reasons: day job, life, not to mention that shiny new idea beckoning from the corner. Works in progress languish for years on the far corners of the internet or are shoved away in desk drawers never to be shared with the world. But what if those writers put their heads together to form a community around a shared set of rules and a deadline? This is the story of two nerds who co-created and organized the Finish the Fic challenge, a four month writing event and online cheerleading/ support system meant to help writers complete their abandoned projects. This presentation outlines how we conceived of and organized the event and the lessons we took away. It also delves into the research on the whys and hows of finishing/not finishing long-form writing projects.
Sara Kate Ellis is a Lambda Emerging Writers Fellow and attended the Milford Science Fiction Workshop in 2017 and 2022. Her stories have appeared in Analog, Visions, Fusion Fragment, and Metaphorosis. She is currently an assistant professor at Meiji University in Tokyo.
Stephen Dodd
Missing the Point: The Art of Translating Mishima Yukio
Keywords: Mishima, translation, challenges
This presentation sets out some of the challenges and pleasures involved in any literary translation. Specifically, I describe some theoretical and practical issues surrounding my translation of two novels by the Japanese author, Yukio Mishima: Life for Sale (Inochi urimasu, 1968) and Beautiful Star (Utsukushii hoshi, 1962). Translation is not simply a case of substituting words from one language to another. On the practical side, effective translation requires a personal relationship between translator and literary text. Knowledge of the author’s personal background and the text’s cultural and historical context allows for a nuanced, and arguably more effective translation. From a theoretical perspective, a translator needs to negotiate very divergent opinions regarding what constitutes a ‘correct’ translation. Another factor in the process of translation is the relationship between translator, editor and publisher. Fundamentally, translation is a form of linguistic juggling. We throw words into the air and hope for the best.
Stephen Dodd is Professor Emeritus of Japanese Literature at SOAS, University of London. He has written widely on modern Japanese literature. He has translated two Mishima Yukio novels: Life for Sale (Inochi urimasu, 1968) in 2019, and Beautiful Star (Utsukushii hoshi, 1962) in 2022, both with Penguin.
Suzanne Kamata
“This is the Best Book I’ve Ever Read”: Some Thoughts on Endorsements
Short Lecture with Q&A
Keywords: nonfiction, fiction, endorsements, blurbs, promotion, career
Endorsements — typically words of praise from an established author — are often deemed an essential marketing tool. However, well-known authors are often besieged with requests for such blurbs, and beginning authors may find approaching them to be intimidating. In this session, I will discuss the importance — or lack thereof — of blurbs, how to get them, how to use them, and how to write them, using examples from my own experiences and those of others.
Suzanne Kamata is the author of editor of many books including, most recently, the poetry collection Waiting (Kelsay Books, 2022), the IPPY-award-winning novel The Baseball Widow (Wyatt-Mackenzie Publishing, 2021), the middle grade novel, Pop Flies, Robo-pets and Other Disasters (One Elm Books, 2020), and the Hi-Lo novel romantic comedy Bake Sale (Gemma Open Door, 2022). She is an associate professor at Naruto University of Education.
T Newfields
From Word to Image: Attempts at Visualizing Text
Short Lecture with Q&A
Keywords: poetry, graphic design, creative video, rasterizing tex
This presentation focuses on the visual elements of poetry and literary texts. Practical ways to pictify poems will be considered along with historical examples. Specifically, procedures for blending, warping, skewing, and “mutating” texts with images will be considered. In addition to long-standing approaches such screen projections, the use of software programs such as Affinity Designer, Affinity Photo, Graphic Converter and cellphone apps such as Artomaton, Prisma, Distressed FX, and Photo Blender will be highlighted. Examples of how coding languages such as CSS and HTML5 can be used to change the visual impact of poetic text will also be shown. The presentation concludes with examples of video-poems, in which open source video editors such as DaVinci Resolve and SHOTCUT and used to modify how poetry visually and vocally manifests.
T Newfields has been writing poetry since age 14 and drawing since about age 12. He currently has nineteen books of poetry online and teaches English part time. Constantly tinkering and revising, the most recent version of Tim’s can be seen at www.tnewfields.info/tjn-p.htm. Multilingual versions of some of these works are also available there.
Yoko Danno, Jane Joritz-Nakagawa, & Goro Takano
Group Reading Danno Joritz-Nakagawa and Takano
Keywords: poetry, Japan
Danno, Joritz-Nakagawa and Takano are widely published poets, translators, and prose writers. They will perform selections of their work. One or more presenters will offer comments geared toward beginner and intermediate level poets and writers about how to succeed as a writer or poet. Audience members will also be encouraged to comment.
Born in Japan, Yoko Danno is the author of many books including English language poetry collections and translations from the Japanese. She lives in Kobe.
Jane Joritz-Nakagawa has lived in Japan since 1989. Currently she lives in Hamamatsu. She is working on her eleventh full length poetry collection, a novel, short stories and essays. She teaches part time at Shizuoka University but frequents Yatsugatake (Minami maki mura, Nagano) whenever possible. Email is welcome at janejoritznakagawa at gmail dot com.
Born in the city of Hiroshima, Japan, Goro Takano is an associate professor in the Faculty of Medicine at Saga University, Japan, where he teaches English to Japanese medical students. He has published six collections of poetry (four in English) and a translation of modernist poet Shiro Murano.
C.E.J. Simons
Here We Go Again
Poetry
Craft Workshop
Repetition makes poetry. Poetry, as words arranged in order to produce memorable effects on the human ear and eye, depends on repetition in order to provide structure and to provide the mind with the opportunity to quickly grasp its sounds and shapes (if not its sense) and to retain these sounds and shapes for repetition to others. The long association between poetry and music, and between poetry and visual art, has given rise to a wide range of aural and visual techniques of repetition including the repetition of sounds, words, image patterns, and lines. In this workshop, participants will review some rhetorical techniques of word repetition in poetry including anadiplosis (‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty…’), anaphora, diaphora, epanalepsis (‘Blood hath brought blood, and blows have answered blows’), epistrophe, epizeuxis (‘Never, never, never, never, never’), polysyndeton, symploce, etc., including some well-known examples from English poetry. The workshop will also review some techniques of line repetition in stanzaic and fixed poetic forms including the pantoum, triolet, and villanelle. Participants will have time to practice one or more of these techniques of repetition by writing a few lines, stanzas, or a short poem.
Christopher Simons is Senior Associate Professor of Literature at International Christian University in Tokyo. He has held the Harper-Wood Studentship in Creative Writing at St John’s College Cambridge. His most recent poetry collection is Flight Risk (Isobar Press, 2021). His criticism and poetry have appeared in numerous UK publications including the TLS.
Recent poetry books: Flight Risk (Isobar Press, 2021); Underground Facility (Isobar Press, 2018); One More Civil Gesture (Isobar Press, 2015); No Distinguishing Features (wordwolf press, 2011).
Charles Kowalski
The Magic of Humor
Craft Workshop
Fiction, Nonfiction
What wizardry lies in writing magical symbols that make anyone who looks at them fall into helpless laughter? Here, we explore ways to infuse writing with laugh-out-loud humor, such as combining divergent situations to make a comic premise, creating comic characters, and running dialogue and narration through “funny filters.”
Of all the ways to make people laugh, one of the hardest is through the written word. This workshop will present several techniques for infusing writing with laugh-out-loud humor, including:
Charles Kowalski is the author of the award-winning thriller Mind Virus, the political/espionage thriller The Devil’s Son, the historical fantasy Simon Grey and the March of a Hundred Ghosts, and several short stories. When not writing, he teaches at Tokai University.
David Gilbey
Reeling and Writhing: A Poetry Editing Workshop Preparing for Publication
Craft Workshop online
Poetry
A closed workshop, requiring participants to submit poems before the conference as well as read and be ready to discuss the work submitted by others. To join, contact David directly at debidogirubi@gmail.com
The workshop is based on the familiar and successful structure and strategy as offered by John Gribble at the 2008 JWC and my own over the last six years. It will involve my sending out a brief to intending participants requiring submission of drafts of poems, then, before the actual workshop, reading and making comments on each of the participant’s poems and finally, participating in the workshop discussion itself at the conference.
This workshop allows writers to work on a poem or two in readiness for publication, recognising that conference delegates are themselves writers, teachers and editors and that there are both personal and professional benefits from a closely-focussed discussion of emerging texts. So the purpose of this workshop is to give a small group of poets the opportunity to meet, read and discuss in depth, a sample of each other’s work. The workshop will be open to a limited number of participants but writers of varying degrees of experience will be welcome. The session will be closed and of two hours duration. There will be two parts to the workshop: preparation and participation. Preparation also has two parts: submitting and close reading. Those who sign up for the session will be contacted before the conference.
Poet David Gilbey was Adjunct Senior Lecturer in English at Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, Australia, and the founding President of Wagga Wagga Writers Writers. His three collections of poems are Under the Rainbow (1996), Death and the Motorway (2008) and Pachinko Sunset (2016). He has taught English at Miyagi Gakuin Women’s University in Sendai, Japan 1996, 2000 and 2007.
Eli K.P. William
How to Build Worlds
Short Lecture with Q&A
Fiction
All fiction takes place in an imagined world, however much that world may or may not resemble our own. Thus creating worlds is an essential skill for any writer of stories. It becomes especially crucial, however, when the fictional world being conceived diverges from what we consider real or familiar.
In this presentation, Eli K.P. William will offer practical advice on world-building, with a focus on science fiction. He will describe his own process in writing The Jubilee Cycle trilogy and draw on examples from other authors.
Eli K.P. William is the author The Jubilee Cycle, a science fiction trilogy set in a future Tokyo. The series includes Cash Crash Jubilee, The Naked World, and A Diamond Dream. He has also contributed book reviews and essays in English and Japanese to such publications as the Japan Times, the Pacific Rim Review of Books, and Subaru. His translation of the Japanese novel, A Man, by Keiichiro Hirano, is a bestseller, and he has translated essays and short stories by some of Japan’s most renowned authors for Granta, Monkey, Kyoto Journal, the Southern Review, and more. Follow him on Twitter: @Dice_Carver or visit his homepage: elikpwilliam.com
Gregory Dunne
Jeremy Seligson
Teachings on Poetry from the Uncollected Notebooks of Cid Corman
Short Lecture with Q&A
Poetry
The uncollected notebooks of Cid Corman are explored for their teachings on poetry and the life of poetry. The notebooks span the years 1959 to 1975, a time when he was maturing as a poet and as an editor. The ongoing relevance of his poetics are shared and discussed.
Some years ago, the late American Kyoto-based expatriate poet, Cid Corman gifted Fred Jeremy Seligson, an American poet living in Korea, a collection of his notebooks/journals as a token of his appreciation for the financial support that Seligson had offered him during particularly difficult years. These notebooks span the crucial time period between 1959 and 1975, when Corman first arrived in Kyoto and was actively publishing his seminal literary magazine Origin and maturing as a poet. Although Corman’s other journals and papers were purchased and placed in research libraries after his death in 2004, these notebooks remained outstanding and uncollected. At present, Jeremy and I are engaged in creating a book, comprised of selections from the notebooks that will serve poets and those interested in poetry with gleanings from the notebooks of Corman’s most salient insights and teachings on the art and craft of poetry. This presentation will share our findings regarding Corman’s poetics. In doing this, we will show how Corman’s ideas concerning the art and craft of poetry remain vital and will be ever relevant.
Gregory Dunne has published prose and poetry in such venues as The American Poetry Review, Catamaran, Prairie Schooner, Manoa, Willow Springs, The Mainichi Shimbun, Crazyhorse, Kyoto Journal, Poetry East. He contributed to The Strangest of Theatres: Poets Writing Across Borders. (The Poetry Foundation and McSweeney’s. 2013.) His books of poetry are Fistful of Lotus (Elizabeth Forrest, 2000), Home Test (Adastra Press, 2009), and Other/Wise (Isobar Press, 2019). His critical memoir, Quiet Accomplishment: Remembering Cid Corman was published in 2014 (Ekstasis Editions). He is associate poetry editor at Kyoto Journal and teaches in the Faculty of Comparative Culture at Miyazaki International College.
Fred Jeremy Seligson J.D. Indiana University, lived in Kyoto from 1975 to 1977 where he participated in Cid Corman’s weekly workshops and began writing poetry. He has taught at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Wonkwang University and most recently Yonsei University, all in the Seoul area.
He has published poems in Hummingbird, Ocata, Otherwise Engaged, chapbooks in Longhouse, poetry books Daughters and Vietnam Diary (bilingually in AEIOU France) and won the Dangun Poetry Award for Foreigners in Korea. Also he has authored Oriental Birth Dreams and Queen Jin’s Handbook of Pregnancy. He is currently working on a prose work about his days in Kyoto, The Man Who Fell In Love With A Tree and one on Korean Dragon Dreams.
Iain Maloney
Storytelling: Scaffolding, Subtext and Secondhand Scenes
Short Lecture with Q&A, Craft Workshop
Fiction, Nonfiction
Christopher Booker famously claimed that there are only seven plots, and all stories are a variation on these archetypes. Whether we are working with fiction or non-fiction writers are storytellers, but too often we concentrate on the story and forget about the telling. We are so caught up in what that how becomes an afterthought. As an editor, this is where most books that cross my desk fail, and is the most common reason for a manuscript being rejected.
Using examples from published and unpublished manuscripts, I will examine typical problems with drafts, particularly in areas where early-stage writers commonly slip up, and suggest ways of dealing with these issues. The talk will also involve a workshop element.
Dr Iain Maloney is Associate Professor at Sugiyama Jogakuen University in Nagoya. He is the author of seven books, writes for the Japan Times and is a professional editor.
Isobar Press
This Year at Isobar
Reading with Q&A
Poetry
Paul Rossiter will introduce this year’s publications from Isobar Press, and will read from Robert MacLean’s Wintermoon, which distils twenty years of living and studying Zen in Kyoto into a single seasonal cycle seen through the lens of haiku. Taylor Mignon will introduce VOU: Visual Poetry, Tokio, 1958–1978, his anthology of visual work from Kitasono Katue’s legendary avant-garde magazine VOU. Philip Rowland will introduce and read from An Open Parenthesis, his striking new volume of minimalist poems. Janine Beichman will introduce and read from This Overflowing Light: Selected Poems, her translations of poems from all stages in the career of the important twentieth-century poet Ishigaki Rin.
Paul Rossiter has published ten books of poetry since 1995. After retiring from teaching at the University of Tokyo in 2012, he founded Isobar Press, which specialises in publishing English-language poetry from Japan, and English translations of modernist and contemporary Japanese poetry. More information can be found at: https://isobarpress.com
Janine Beichman has published translations of Masaoka Shiki, Ōoka Makoto, and Yosano Akiko. She has received grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, and America PEN, and is a winner of the 2019-2020 Japan-United States Friendship Commission Prize for the Translation of Japanese Literature.
Taylor Mignon is a poet, editor, translator and university lecturer living in Saitama. He cotranslated Distant Frogs: Selected Senryu by Gengorō (2007), and led the translation and editing of Bearded Cones & Pleasure Blades: The Collected Poems of Torii Shōzō (2013). He is a cofounding editor of Tokyo Poetry Journal.
Philip Rowland’s poetry collections include Something Other Than Other (Isobar Press, 2016). He is the founding editor of NOON: journal of the short poem, editor of the Isobar anthology NOON: An Anthology of Short Poems (2019), and co-editor of the anthology Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years (Norton, 2013).
Jenna Hammer (aka CoffeeQuills)
Spinning Web Fiction for Fun & Profit
Short Lecture with Q&A
Fiction, Other Genre
Game Writing
Quick discussion of what authors and writers want, going into the pros that web fiction can offer and the pitfalls that are hidden among the opportunities, and showing writers and authors that – in addition to traditional publishing and indie publishing – web fiction can be a 3rd option in their writing career.
Wander deeper into the realms of internet writing and find places where writers can explore the opportunities web fiction offers through serializations (in which a story can be uploaded chapter by chapter even as it is being written) such as Kindle Vella and Radish, or interactive writing with Choice of Games and Tales, in addition to the benefits that free places such as Wattpad, HoneyFeed, and Royal Road offer.
CoffeeQuills, of Tokyo, is an embodiment of their slogan Many QuillsMany Genres. They are a game developer with 4thewords, stream daily writing sprints on Twitch, and have indie published three books: Blasted Research, Digital Lights, Spells, Snow, & Sky. They exist on coffee and seafood.
Joan Bailey
Pitch Writing: Tips on Crafting a Solid Story Idea
Short Lecture with Q&A online
Nonfiction, Career
This online pitch writing workshop will discuss and practice strategies for writing effective pitches that editors want to read. Learn the basic components of a pitch, what helps a pitch stand out, and what to avoid. The goal is a clear, concise pitch that gets an editor’s attention.
Crafting a good pitch, like any other piece of writing, requires time, effort, and often a few drafts. This online workshop will look at pitches for different publications on a variety of topics. We will talk about what every pitch should include, the questions an editor wants every pitch to answer, and how to personalize it while keeping the tone professional.
We will analyze example pitches to see how the writer put them together to match the voice and goals of the publication. Attendees will receive sample pitches, and there will be plenty of time for questions and answers.
Joan Bailey is a freelance writer based in Japan. Her work focuses on food, farming, and farmers markets, and can be found at Atlas Obscura, The Japan Times, Modern Farmer, Civil Eats, Tokyo Weekender, Savvy Tokyo, and Outdoor Japan. Visit joandbailey.com to read your fill!
John Rucynski
A Passion for Japan: The Process of Editing a Collection of Personal Narratives
Short Lecture with Q&A
Nonfiction
Editing a collection of personal narratives is a complicated, multistage process. For the presenter, this process started with many years of pondering the question “What can I add to the available nonfiction English-language books about Japan?” and ended with the publication of A Passion for Japan: A Collection of Personal Narratives (BlueSky Publishing, 2022). The presenter will guide participants through the process with a focus on the following key questions:
1) How do I come up with a good theme (and subtheme)?
2) How do I prepare a call for submissions and solicit contributors?
3) How do I share important writing guidelines (and get contributors to follow them)?
4) How do I offer constructive feedback on very personal writing?
5) How do I respect individual writing styles while also maintaining a consistent theme and tone?
John Rucynski is associate professor in the Center for Liberal Arts and Language Education at Okayama University. In addition to regularly publishing articles about language education, he has edited two volumes on humor in language acquisition, co-written three textbooks, and edited a collection of personal narratives about life in Japan.
Jillian Marshall
Reimagining Memoir: Storytelling as Analytical Inquiry
Short Lecture with Q&A online
Nonfiction
What lies between the traditional boundaries of non-fiction genres? This presentation examines the analytical possibilities of memoir and storytelling. Bookended by presentation and discussion, we will read a chapter from my new book as a case-study in analytical memoir, learning about Japanese music culture in the process.
This hybrid presentation and group reading introduces new approaches to memoir devised during my time in (and departure from) academia. Following with a brief lecture questioning the limits of non-fiction genre — what does the slippage between memoir and ethnography reveal? — we’ll examine analytical memoir by reading a chapter of my new book, Japanthem: Counter-Cultural Experiences, Cross-Cultural Remixes. Originally written as part of my doctoral thesis in Japanese ethnomusicology, the selected chapter and Japanthem on whole posit memoir and storytelling as colloquial sites of anthropological inquiry (in this case, getting subtly bullied by my Buddhist dance teacher in Akita Prefecture). With the Q and A that follows, I ultimately hope to inspire new possibilities in non-fiction writing and bridge not just the intellectual rigor of academia with the public sphere, but cultural (mis)understandings between Japan, the US, and beyond in the process.
Jillian Marshall, PhD, is a writer, educator, and musician who champions public intellectualism. Her first book, Japanthem: Counter-Cultural Experiences, Cross-Cultural Remixes, debuted in April with Three Rooms Press. Jillian’s other writings have been published by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Cornell University Press, and Music Television.
Kelly Quinn, The Font
The State of the Font
Reading, Short Lecture with Q&A
Instructional, Career
This presentation will explain what is happening at The Font Journal — changes in the editorial staff, submission numbers, subscription numbers, data about the number of visitors, and publication opportunities for writers.
There will also be a reading featuring recent contributors to The Font.
The Font Journal is well-known to many members of the Japan Writers Conference community as a publication for language teachers and learners. Since 2013, The Font has published essays, poetry and fiction pieces from language teachers around the world. James Crocker founded and has been Chief Editor from its foundation. James has been on hiatus since March 2022. This presentation will introduce the new editor and provide some data metrics on visitor and submission rates, where are submissions coming from, who is reading The Font, and some information about publication and editorial opportunities at The Font. Also, because of the long-time familiarity of the JWC with The Font, it is hoped that there will be a chance for suggestions and advice from other members about ways to improve and expand opportunities for both writers and the publication itself.
The featured readers include Michael Pronko, Steve Redford, and Jared Kubokawa.
Kelly Quinn teaches English in Japan. He is the author of several mediocre academic articles and the book Japanese History You Should Know, IBC publishing. He is currently Chief Editor of The Font.
Liane Grunberg Wakabayashi
Good News for Authors: Sourcing Expert Advice for Free
Short Lecture with Q&A. online
Instructional
For writers on a budget, knowing what to spend money on and what can be sourced for free, need not be a source of frustration or regrets. Find out about a plethora of free resources that will help you gain confidence in deciding what services are truly essential to pay for and what you can best do on your own.
There’s currently a mantra in the publishing industry that’s working to our advantage as writers. That is, “give away expert advice for free, then hook your writer with a paid service.” The expert advice found online covers everything a new or experienced author needs to know in this rapidly changing publishing world. These experts know that before they can hook an author onto a paid service, they had best offer to educate us why we need their services. The good news is that some of these free offers are so useful, so effective, you might not need the paid services in the long run. In this presentation, Liane will discuss her top free, or near-free resources, most of them a click away, to help authors at every stage of the writing process. Learn about websites, email subscription services, YouTube and podcast platforms, by both famous influencers and lesser known experts, offering practical information, community support and wonderful writing incentives.
Liane Grunberg Wakabayashi is an artist and writer for many publications during her thirty years in Tokyo (1987-2017). Since moving to Israel, she writes for The Jerusalem Post Magazine and is the author of the recently published memoir: The Wagamama Bride: A Jewish Family Saga Made in Japan.
Marc Antomattei
Watch Your Steps! How I Sidestepped Potential Legal Pitfalls and Lived to Publish Another Day
What do you do when you face a potential legal problem? As the author of four books, legal issues arose with everything I published. In this lecture, I will present an anthology of four separate but complete stories about my experiences of what I did to overcome legal hurdles to publish my books successfully. Each story is distinguished from the next but tied together by the theme of avoiding the law.
Story 1: The Photograph (Licensing)
Story 2: The Threat (Libel)
Story 3: Business Identity Theft (U.S. Public Domain Part 1)
Story 4: 001 License To Steal (U.S. Public Domain Part 2)
Disclaimer: This presentation is not legal advice and should not be taken as such; it is simply my experiences of what I did when faced with legal adversity.
Debonair sartorial guru Marc Antomattei started his spirits journey as a Japanese whisky reviewer and commentator for his men’s lifestyle YouTube channel Gentleman Masterclass. Writing and publishing the book 50 Japanese Whiskies in 2020 made Antomattei the first African-American to author a book about Japanese whisky.
Meg Eden Kuyatt
Revising with Focus: The Thesis of the Novel
Craft Workshop online
Fiction, Career
Once you’ve written a draft, it can be difficult to figure out where to go next. A range of people will provide feedback, but who is right? How do you go about discerning what to edit and what to keep the same? To effectively edit, it’s critical to identify a novel’s underlying argument—its heart. In this workshop, we’ll discuss the “thesis statement” approach to editing, looking at examples of novels’ “thesis statements,” as well as providing exercises to help you identify and hone in on your novel’s thesis.
Meg Eden Kuyatt is a 2020 Pitch Wars mentee, and teaches creative writing at Anne Arundel Community College. She is the author of the 2021 Towson Prize for Literature winning poetry collection Drowning in the Floating World (Press 53, 2020) and children’s novels, most recently Selah’s Guide to Normal (Scholastic, 2023). Find her online at www.megedenbooks.com or on Twitter at @ConfusedNarwhal and Instagram at @meden_author.
Michael Frazier
O Death, Where is Your Sting?: A Poetics of Hope!
Craft Workshop
Poetry
Turn on the news and it is inevitable to see a news broadcast about someone dying. By a virus, a health condition, a natural disaster, or a twisted mind with a weapon. This generative workshop is a poetics on death and grappling with the fear death induces by unmasking the demon and realizing our hope.
This is a generative workshop for those interested in writing about and through the reality of being ephemeral beings in a world that is posed against our fragile lives. We will read poems anticipating, about, and responding to death. Some poets may include Danez Smith, Safia Elhillo, Li Young Lee, Max Ritvo, Mary Oliver, and others. We will read anti-eulogies, psalms, palindromes, and other poems that resist the inevitable. We will understand how they write around and through the concept of dying, with particular interest in how hope is the hinge of their poetry. We will write our own poems that face our fears.
Michael Frazier is a poet and high school teacher living in Kanazawa, Japan. Pushcart Prize and Best New Poets nominated, his poems appear in Poetry Daily, The Offing, RHINO, Tinderbox, Tokyo Poetry Journal, and elsewhere.
Michael Pronko
Making Scenes: Types, Elements, Effects, Integration
Short Lecture with Q&A
Fiction
Scenes linger in readers’ minds. Recall a great novel and you might think of character first, but always a character doing or saying something amazing. That’s a scene. This talk will consider ways to conceive, construct, and energize scenes in novels.
Scenes are the most essential building block of novels. By attending to the complexities of scenes, novels can be strongly developed, not just structurally, but in terms of affective quality and narrative energy. This talk will first look at types of scenes and consider where different scene types can be placed in the larger narrative. The essential elements of scenes will be examined together with their effects, both in terms of the narrative and the kinds of emotions evoked. Other issues such as pacing, balance, dialogue, irony, and opening and closing lines will also be discussed. Lastly, this talk will think about how to position and integrate scenes for a stronger overall sequence of scenes. By focusing not just on structural issues, but on emotional issues, the impact of scenes can be re-examined and given deeper consideration. Examples will be drawn from well-known novels and films.
Michael Pronko has written for many publications but now focuses on the award-winning Detective Hiroshi series set in Tokyo. He also has three collections of writing about Tokyo and runs the website Jazz in Japan. He teaches American Literature at Meiji Gakuin University.
Tokyo Zangyo. Raked Gravel Press (2021)
Tokyo Traffic. Raked Gravel Press (2020).
Inbound/Outbound Japan. Tokyo: Kinseido Publishing (2020).
The Moving Blade. Raked Gravel Press (2017).
The Last Train. Raked Gravel Press (2017).
Motions and Moments: More Essays on Tokyo. Raked Gravel Press (2015).
Nithin Coca (live), Chie Matsumoto (online), Joan Bailey (online)
Cooperatives and Self-Ownership for Writers
Panel Discussion
Nonfiction
Unfiltered was created in 2020 as a journalist and reader-member-owned and operated platform for writing. Join three journalist-members of Unfiltered as they share why the cooperative model can be a viable alternative for writers as they share their story and those from other creative cooperatives around the world.
Journalists face new challenges as the industry comes under the control of a few large media outlets. In particular, Japanese media organizations lack diversity and lean toward narrow gatekeeping. The multi-lingual members of Unfiltered decided to create a place to share a broader range of stories and vantage points, to give voice to the marginalized. In less than two years, Unfiltered has covered sex workers and Covid-19, the Ainu and human rights, and freedom of the press in Japan among others.
While writer cooperatives are relatively new, cooperatives have long empowered workers around the world. Three Unfiltered journalist members will discuss the cooperative model, reader inclusion, and the process of setting up and managing a media cooperative. We’ll also share how other new, innovative cooperatives allow writers, photographers, and artists to create content outside of the traditional business model in places like Hong Kong, the US, and Europe.
Chie Matsumoto is a freelance journalist covering mainly social justice issues and marginalized communities. Her work appears on Unfiltered.coop, and in Gender Expression Guidebook (2021) (Japanese) and State of Sexual Harassment in Media (2020) (Japanese) among others.
Nithin Coca is a Japan-based, Asia-focused freelance journalist who covers climate, environment and human rights across the region. He’s also the author of Traveling Softly and Quietly, a travel memoir published in 2013.
Joan Bailey is a freelance food journalist based in Japan. Her work can be found at Unfiltered.coop, Atlas Obscura, The Japan Times, Modern Farmer, Civil Eats, and joandbailey.com
Sara Ellis
Why MFA When You Can BB?
Short Lecture with Q&A, Craft Workshop
Fiction
I will give a short overview of Big Bang and talk about my experiences as well as research and input from other participants producing original work. A workshop component will be in the second part of the presentation with Q & A, time allowing.
A Big Bang is a writing challenge wherein writers are paired with artists in the creation of a longform fic to a specific deadline. Writers take part in Big Bangs for a variety of reasons: love of fandom, to experiment with original concepts, and for the comradery and intensive experience of writing long works to a deadline. Nevertheless, writing within specific fandoms also provides writers (and readers) with a powerful opportunity to discover strengths as well as diagnose and target weak points in their writing. While BB story concepts range from old Hollywood romances to retellings of Jurassic Park or blended Star Wars/Star Trek canons, the common points allow writers to better target where they might improve in areas such as pacing, characterization, and exposition. This presentation will focus on the experience and benefits of participating in Big Bangs to improve craft and produce original longform work. I will be citing my own experiences and research as well as that of other BB participants.
Sara Kate Ellis is a Lambda Emerging Writers Fellow and attended the Milford Science Fiction Workshop in 2017. Her recent stories have appeared in Analog, Fusion Fragment and Metaphorosis.
“Snow on Snow” Visions, Shadowdance (Bulgaria)
“In-Flight Damage” Analog
“Collapse Noise,” Fusion Fragment
“The Ratio of Silence” Space and Time
“From Farm to Table: Superman as the Great Provider,” presented at the Superhero Project, Wolfsburg Catholic University, Germany
“Women at Refrigerators: The Gender Politics of Food and Eating in Supergirl,” Genre en Series, France
“To Die For” Sanvers Zine
“Sturm und Clang,” Metaphorosis
Sara Fujimura
Book Signing Superstar
Short Lecture with Q&A
Career
You have a book signing! How do you look like a professional even if it is your first event ever? Spring 2022 Tempe Library Writer-in-Residence, Sara Fujimura walks you through a roll-and-go author kit that all easily fits in a piece of carry-on luggage. Author checklist included!
From small library events and school visits to major U.S. book festivals and huge anime cons, young adult author Sara Fujimura has signed books at all of them. Though she is now a hybrid author, you may be surprised to know that many of Fujimura’s biggest signings were BEFORE she was traditionally published with Tor Teen. This workshop walks participants through setting up a simple but effective signing table with components that will all easily fit in a piece of carry-on luggage. Fujimura discusses what to do when your signing is a complete failure (it happens!) and how to course-correct afterward. A take-home worksheet makes sure authors show up at their events with all the necessary components. It also helps authors clarify their why for each event, collect important metrics, and offers tips on how to level up their book-signing game.
Sara Fujimura is a hybrid author of four award-winning young adult books: Tanabata Wish, Breathe, Every Reason We Shouldn’t (Tor Teen), and Faking Reality (Tor Teen). She is represented by Ann Rose of the Prospect Agency. Every Reason We Shouldn’t was named an NPR Best Book of 2020. www.sarafujimura.com
Sarah Coomber
Moment by Moment: Demystifying the Writing of a First Memoir
Craft Workshop online
Nonfiction, Other Genre
Memoir
Telling your story in memoir form can be daunting—you have a lifetime’s worth of experiences to draw from. Where to begin?
Moment by moment.
In this craft workshop, I will share several strategies to help you on your way.
Memoirs, like life, progress moment by moment. The most important thing is not whether your particular story is full of excitement, tragedy or coincidence. What matters is what you bring to the moments in your story—how you view, interpret, reflect on and react to them.
Infusing moments with meaning will help you uncover your larger story. This can occur with sensory explorations, analogies, linked memories, about-ness and more.
I will share what I wish I’d known before writing my first memoir and will coach you through several of my favorite moment-developing strategies.
Attendees are encouraged to bring a scene or observation to explore.
Sarah Coomber is the author of The Same Moon (Camphor Press, 2020), a memoir about two years she spent regrouping in rural Japan after wrecking her Minnesota life. She has worked in public relations and journalism, coaches writing, has degrees in creative writing and journalism, and achieved level four certification in the Seiha School of koto. https://sarahcoomber.com/
Swastika Jajoo, Masayuki Kobayashi, Trishit Banerjee
Curating a Community Newsletter: The Story of ‘iro’
Panel Discussion
Instructional, Career
This will be a discussion geared towards understanding how community revitalisation and town rebuilding can benefit from art and artists, focusing specifically on the story of ‘iro’, a student-led newsletter launched in April 2022 in Futaba, Fukushima.
We aim to first introduce our project Palette Camp, which was launched in 2021 as a means to help create a sustainable future for Futaba, a town located in Fukushima severely affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. We will then shift focus to how writing and recording become intrinsic to any effort directed towards community building, sharing how stories need to be prioritised in our world today that seems to have become overwhelmed by statistics. We will then share how we conceptualised our newsletter, shedding light on challenges we faced along the way, what has been most rewarding during this journey and our vision for the future.
Masayuki, Trishit and Swastika are the team behind Palette Camp. Masayuki Kobayashi is the Founder of Rurio and Palette Camp, and Trishit and Swastika (Hiba) are Co-founders.
Trishit Bannerjee has worked extensively with journalism in both Japan and India. He won the Grand Prize at the 2019 All Japan English Presentation Contest. His article on community rebuilding was also featured on Japan Times in May 2022 (https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2022/05/30/issues/rebuilding-community-starting-scratch/)
Besides being a poet, Swastika Jajoo was one of the 100 young journalists selected for the Future News Worldwide Summit by the British Council (2021 Edition): https://www.britishcouncil.org/future-news-worldwide
Trishit Bannerjee:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r7LwWZi11s&t=342s
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2022/05/30/issues/rebuilding-community-starting-scratch/
Swastika Jajoo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIKgRfJLCOI&t=80s
https://theseventhwave.co/three-poems-by-swastika-jajoo/
Swastika Jajoo
Poetry as a Social Space
Craft Workshop
Poetry
Poetry as a Social Space
This workshop will focus on how poetry, especially spoken word, can be used to reimagine the social spaces we inhabit. I would like for the participants to reflect closely on the issues our society faces today, and urge them to think about how poetry can be a tool for visualising social change. I will make a brief presentation about how poetry has been used in various social contexts in our world, sharing excerpts with a focus on India and Japan since these are the two landscapes I am most familiar with.
I would like to begin by inviting the participants to contemplate the meanings of the words ‘society’ and ‘poetry,’ and create a virtual mind map simultaneously as they share their opinions. I will then proceed to talk about the traditional perception of poetry as a formal art, often out of reach for ordinary people, and contrast it with how poetry is becoming increasingly democratised in our world today, and how the stage is now society itself. I will then share some visuals from how spoken word poetry started out, and also share contemporary instances of it being used to stir social change. I will also talk about the dangers that come with poetry for social change — very often, we see poets appropriate the experience of others rather than passing the mic where they should be. Finally, I will have the participants form groups where they discuss a specific social theme and generate short verses pertinent to their chosen theme which will be shared with everyone towards the end as a means of closing the loop.
Originally from India, Swastika is currently a Master’s student in Linguistics, based out of Sendai, Japan. Her poetry is much like how she understands her unparalleled love for the local matcha latte and the longing for her mother’s spiced chai: an exercise in navigation. She won the second prize in the poetry contest organized as part of the international Glass House Poetry Festival in July 2020. Her work is featured or upcoming in Eunoia Review, Capsule Stories, The Wild Word, Riggwelter, Muse India, and Huffington Post, among others, and her spoken-word pieces have been featured on UnErase Poetry, one of India’s leading spoken-word content producers. In April 2019, she gave a TEDx talk featuring spoken-word poetry at her school, Tohoku University. She was also invited to perform with Rolling Stone India for Pride Month 2020.
Her favourite things are fresh snow, old books and a traditional Japanese sweet called anmitsu.
Steven Wolfson
A Story Analyst’s Approach to Screenwriting: A Workshop on the Ins and Outs of Screenplay Development
Craft Workshop
Whether you are writing a studio feature or an independent film, at some point your script will enter the process known as ‘development.’ This workshop focuses on what really happens when a screenplay is developed for production. From issues of character and story to three-act structure and commercial viability, the class will look at the development process from both the perspective of the writer and the production company or studio. Through a series of writing exercises, students will learn how to manage script notes while at the same time protecting the integrity of their screenplay. The final goals of the workshop are a demystification of the development process and the tools to make your screenplay as production-friendly as possible.
Steven Wolfson has taught screenwriting, playwriting and creative writing at The Writers Program at UCLA for the past 20 years and holds the distinction of having created the most new classes, workshops and seminars of any instructor in the program’s history. He has been awarded The Outstanding Instructor of the Year award twice, in both screenwriting and creative writing. As a screenwriter, Wolfson has sold projects to Fox, Lions Gate, TNT, MTV, Langley Entertainment, Beacon Films and producer Arnold Rifkin. Wolfson wrote the independent romantic comedy, Dinner and Driving, which premiered at The Austin Film Festival and went on to win audience awards at several film festivals and was sold to HBO. Wolfson also wrote and co-produced the critically acclaimed Lionsgate feature, Gang Tapes, a coming-of-age drama set in South Central, Los Angeles. Gang Tapes played to sold-out audiences at film festivals in both The United States and Europe.
Suzanne Kamata
Clara Kiyoko Kumagai, Kristin Osani, Clarissa Goenawan, Sara Fujimura
Pivot: Writing for a Post-Pandemic World
Panel Discussion
Fiction
How do you keep going when the world, the publishing landscape, and YOU have had major paradigm shifts since 2020? Multi-published authors Sara Fujimura, Clarissa Goenawan, Suzanne Kamata, Clara Kiyoko Kumagai, and Kristin Osani discuss the limitations and growth opportunities that come with this new post-pandemic reality.
Are you waiting for the publishing world to “go back to normal?” The bad news: It’s not. Supply chain woes, soaring material costs, editorial burnout, and continued unrest in the world have made traditional publishing harder to break into and even harder to sustain a career. Savvy authors pivot. Five multi-published, award-winning, globally-minded authors give a state-of-the-industry report from their region of the world. They identify specific challenges they’ve had in the last two years, including launching new books during a pandemic (One out of 10 stars. Highly DON’T recommend!). They also offer tips and techniques on how to keep your writing career rolling when it seems the world is constantly conspiring against you.
American Suzanne Kamata has lived in Shikoku for over 30 years. During the pandemic, she published an award-winning middle grade novel, Pop Flies, Robo-pets and Other Disasters; The Baseball Widow, a novel for adults, and Waiting, her poetry debut. She is an associate professor at Naruto University of Education.
Clarissa Goenawan (she/her) is an Indonesian-born Singaporean writer and translator. Her award-winning short stories have appeared in literary magazines and anthologies in Singapore, Australia, Japan, Indonesia, Italy, the UK, and the US. Rainbirds, her debut novel, has been published in eleven different languages. Her second novel, The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida, came out in 2020. Watersong is her third novel.
Kristin Osani (she/her) is a queer fantasy writer who lives in Kyoto, where she works as a freelance Japanese-to-English video game translator when she’s not wordsmithing, working on nerdy cross-stitching, or cuddling her two cats (three if you include her husband). She has translated games like The Kids We Were, Voice of Cards, and Triangle Strategy. Her original fiction has appeared in FlashPoint SF, the Arcanist, and Ghost Orchid Press’s Beyond the Veil: Supernatural Tales of Queer Love anthology.
Clara Kumagai is from Ireland, Canada and Japan. Her fiction and nonfiction has appeared in publications such as The Stinging Fly, The Irish Times, Banshee, Room, Cicada, and The Kyoto Journal, among others. Her children’s story, A Girl Named Indigo, was translated and published in Japanese with the title Indigo wo sagashite (Shogakukan, 2020). Her young adult novel, Catfish Rolling, is forthcoming in 2023. She currently lives and works in Tokyo.
Sara Fujimura is a hybrid author of four award-winning young adult books: Tanabata Wish, Breathe, Every Reason We Shouldn’t (Tor Teen), and Faking Reality (Tor Teen). She is represented by Ann Rose of the Prospect Agency. Every Reason We Shouldn’t was named an NPR Best Book of 2020. www.sarafujimura.com
Todd Jay Leonard
Publishing in the EFL Market in Japan: Four Perspectives on How to Make Your Proposal Count
Short Lecture with Q&A
Instructional
This presentation will outline the current publishing market in Japan for EFL/ESL textbooks by reviewing the various points of view of the publishing industry. The presenter, Todd Jay Leonard, has published extensively within the ESL/EFL market in Japan and will offer helpful advice to budding authors who wish to pursue projects geared to Japan’s domestic market.
Most likely, every language teacher in Japan has (at some point during his/her tenure) contemplated writing a textbook to fill a void in the market…in that constant search for the perfect, all-encompassing textbook.
In today’s competitive publishing world, getting the proverbial “foot in the door” can seem daunting and nearly impossible. What are publishers looking for in the current market? What appeals to editors who ultimately decide which titles go to production and which ones do not? What are the salespeople on the front lines hearing from their market base? What must an author do in order to get his/her book published?
This presentation focuses on these very questions, offering inside insights from all the various points of view that must be considered when writing a proposal to publish a textbook–the publisher, the editor, the salesperson, and the author. Professor Leonard explains the realities within the publishing industry and addresses some common myths associated with EFL publishing.
Todd Jay Leonard has been actively involved in book publishing for 30 years and has published 26 books. He has published books with a number of different Japanese publishing companies and this experience has given him a unique perspective in offering advice to potential authors on what the market is looking for currently and what the publishing industry is searching for in new titles.
He lives, writes, and teaches on the southern island of Kyushu, where he is a university professor at University of Teacher Education Fukuoka and is the department head for the English Department for the graduate faculty. He has published extensively in academic journals, magazines, and newspapers on cross-cultural, historical, and Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) themes.
Zoria Petkoska
Archeologia Poetika: The Poetry Restoration Writing Method
Craft Workshop – A lecture on the method I invented followed by a workshop in which everyone can try it
Poetry
Archeologia Poetika is an idea born out of both doom and hope. What if we lost or damaged the wealth of poems human history has? How can we restore them? It’s an imaginary scenario that led to creating this method.
The Archeologia Poetika method involves destroying a poem partially and trying to restore it. It drives you to distill the essence of a poet, inhabit their voice, choose your words, be mindful of structure and form.
Aside from being an entertaining poetry game, Archeologia Poetika is great for teaching poetry and creative writing. Among poets, it’s a good way to refresh a poem and get ideas for rewrites/edits through how others will “restore” your work.
Archeologia Poetika is a poetry reading/writing method that I came up with circa 2017. Since, I’ve practiced with fellow editors at Tokyo Poetry Journal with great success. See examples here: https://www.topojo.com/post/archeologia-poetika-aka-the-poetry-restoration-method-unearthing-old-21st-century-poetrys
Zoria Petkoska is an Associate Editor at Tokyo Poetry Journal, Editor-in-Chief of the literary journal [Ш], and working full time as the Commissioning Editor at Tokyo Weekender magazine. She completed a MEXT Research Fellowship at TUFS on Japanese visual poetry translation, and has published two poetry books. She writes in English, Macedonian, and Japanese, and has been published in poetry magazines and anthologies in Japan, China, Hong Kong, and the USA, among others.
Alan Summers
The Pull of the Lonely Single Line of Haiku
Short Lecture with Q&A
Poetry
How do we journey through a single line of haiku and back again counterintuitively? Through Q&A, discussion, and micro-workshopping we will find out.
Japan Times award-winning writer Alan Summers discusses tactics of the ‘single line haiku’ and how it embraces poetic tension. Is haiku, in English, as one poetic line, rather than over three lines, where we might capture more of the original Japanese essence?
“In adopting the tercet, those who write haiku in English are doing the exact opposite of those who write haiku in Japanese: practically all Japanese haiku writers use a monolinear form.”
“On Haiku” Hiroaki Sato (New Directions Publishing Corporation, 2018)
We will engage, with examples, discussion, workshopping, how the one line of haiku reverses narrative, or at least perceived ‘linear’ narrative; how “story” impacts on, and inside, haiku poems differently than other poems, through the “and then shift.”
In conclusion, the sole or solo line of haiku will reveal its inner landscape of white space and negative space as well as its untold story.
Alan Summers is a multi-award winning haiku poet. His bilingual article on one line haiku appeared in Haiku Svyat (issue 5-6/2019-2020) published by the Bulgarian Haiku Union. He is the founder/lead tutor for Call of the Page: www.callofthepage.org
Charles Kowalski
Personality Types and Character Arcs
Short Lecture with Q&A
Fiction
What do your characters want? What do they fear? The answers can provide ready-made road maps for their character arcs – the quest for what they want, and the detour that leads them to what they need. Discover how nine basic personality types help chart the course for your characters’ journey.
This workshop shows how fiction writers can use a classical nine-point personality profiling system to develop characters and determine character arcs. Participants will learn:
Charles Kowalski is the author of the award-winning thriller MIND VIRUS, the political/espionage thriller THE DEVIL’S SON, the historical fantasy SIMON GREY AND THE MARCH OF A HUNDRED GHOSTS, and several short stories. When not writing, he teaches at Tokai University.
Christopher Simons
The Magic Inverse: Bringing the Magic into Contemporary Poetry
Craft Workshop
Poetry
In this craft workshop, we will practice how to bring ‘magic’ into contemporary adult poetry without alienating journal editors, contest judges, and publishers. ‘Magic’ could be anything not considered realist: myth and folklore, fantasy, science fiction, magic realism, horror, etc. Poems submitted in advance will be considered for workshopping.
In this super-rational age, advances in science and technology are matched by growing readership for fantasy, science fiction, and other supernatural narratives. The more rational global society becomes, it seems, the greater our appetite for supernatural tales. The world of adult contemporary poetry publishing, however, can sometimes be an exception to this rule. This workshop will explore how to write well-crafted poems for readers who would enjoy folklore, myth, fantasy, and science fiction in their poetry—but without alienating journals and publishers. The workshop will consider an array of poetic charms, spells, and hypno-beams (i.e. formal and narrative strategies) to allow poets to write about magic, monsters, and killer robots without being dismissed by journal editors and contest judges. We will practice building a ‘magic inverse’: integrating magic into the music of verse. As A. E. Stallings writes in ‘Listening to Peter and the Wolf with Jason, Aged Three’: ‘I asked him where the wolf is. With grave logic / He answers me, “The wolf is in the music.”’
Participants are welcome (but not required) to submit a short poem to the workshop. Given the limited session time, not all poems may be discussed, but we will try to look at as many as possible. Workshop poems should be no more than 20 lines, on a theme or subject related to folklore, fantasy, or SF. Please submit your poems by 1 October. Submit to simons@ICU.ac.jp.
Christopher Simons is Senior Associate Professor of Literature at ICU in Tokyo. He has held the Harper-Wood Studentship in Creative Writing at St John’s College Cambridge. His most recent poetry collection is Flight Risk (Isobar Press, 2021). His criticism and poetry have appeared in numerous UK publications including the TLS.
Recent poetry books: Flight Risk (Isobar Press, 2021); Underground Facility (Isobar Press, 2018); One More Civil Gesture (Isobar Press, 2015); No Distinguishing Features (wordwolf press, 2011).
David Brennan
Editing Tips and Techniques
Short Lecture with Q&A
Fiction
In this session I would like to focus on the how paying serious attention to editing your work can drastically improve it and boost your chances of winning competitions and getting published.
To new writers editing can seem dull and boring, but it is in editing and re-editing your work that often the real magic lies.
Perhaps the writer is composed of two parts: the writer and the editor. For the first ugly draft you need to keep the editor part under reins. However, for subsequent drafts you should gradually allow it more leash. In this session we will look at practical advice, techniques and suggestions on how to improve your editing skills, from working alone to joining a writers group to finally working with an editor. Do and dont’s along the way that may provide some useful insight for you when editing your own work.
David, born and raised in Upperchurch in County Tipperary Ireland, currently lives in China. In 2019 he published his debut novel Upperdown with Epoque press. He was one of the winners of the Irish Novel Fair 2018. In 2016 he won the Frank O’Connor Mentorship Bursary Award and has been shortlisted for the Bristol Short Story (2017), the Doolin Short Story award (2016), the Curtis Bausse Short story award, the Fish Memoire (2018) and longlisted for the Fish Memoire prize (2016 & 2017) and the Colm Tobin Award (2017). He has also published stories and poems in The Irish Times, Number 11, Memoryhouse, The Ogham Stone, Crabfat, Shanghai Poetry Zine, Tokyo Poetry Journal and Jungle Crows (a Tokyo anthology).
David Gilbey
Reeling and Writhing
Craft Workshop
On line, preregistration required
Poetry
Reeling and Writhing: A Poetry Editing Workshop preparing for publication
A closed workshop, requiring participants to submit poems before the conference as well as read and be ready to discuss the work submitted by others. To join, contact David directly at debidogirubi@gmail.com
The proposed workshop is based on the familiar and successful structure and strategy as offered by John Gribble at the 2008 JWC and my own over the last twelve years. It will involve my sending out a brief to intending participants requiring submission of drafts of poems, then, before the actual workshop, reading and making comments on each of the participants poems and finally, participating in the workshop discussion itself at the conference.
This workshop allows writers to work on a poem or two in readiness for publication, recognising that conference delegates are themselves writers, teachers and editors and that there are both personal and professional benefits from a closely-focussed discussion of emerging texts. So the purpose of this workshop is to give a small group of poets the opportunity to meet, read and discuss in depth, a sample of each other’s work. The workshop will be open to a limited number of participants but writers of varying degrees of experience will be welcome. The session will be closed and of two hours duration. There will be two parts to the workshop: preparation and participation. Preparation also has two parts: submitting and close reading. Those who sign up for the session will be contacted before the conference.
David Gilbey was Adjunct Senior Lecturer in English at Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, Australia, and the founding President of Wagga Wagga Writers Writers, as well as a poet. His three collection of poems are ‘Under the Rainbow’ (1996), ‘Death and the Motorway’ (2008) and ‘Pachinko Sunset’ (2016). He has taught English at Miyagi Gakuin Women’s University in Sendai, Japan 1996, 2000 and 2007.
Edward Levinson
Simple Nature Attunement – Tips and Practices for Writers of Any Genre
Short Lecture with Q&A
Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry
Attunement is one of the main keys to creativity and inspiration. In this presentation Edward will share the simplest of techniques that can used to increase one’s attunement with nature and self, thus increasing our state of receptivity and balance from which all creative endeavors can benefit.
Based on 40+ years of experience with nature meditations and attunement practices, I continuously find they benefit my writing, my photography, and my whole life. The effects of these practices are relevant to any kind of writing: fiction or non-fiction, memoir or poetry, travel writing or journaling, as well as teaching these same subjects. In this presentation, I use selections of my haiku and photographs to illustrate both literally and figuratively the power of breath combined with sharing simple practices to attune to the elements and then go beyond that. The goal is to become aware of the seen and unseen energies that surround us and allow them to become a part of our beings, our personalities, our writer persona, even part of the characters in our writings. From this cultivated attuned space, inspired writing emerges, perhaps not instantaneously, but with continued practice, words will sprout in a fertile field.
Edward Levinson has lived in Japan since 1979. Whisper of the Land, his memoir, was published by Fine Line Press. He is an award-winning photographer and short filmmaker. He lives on Chiba’s Boso Peninsula staying attuned with nature and his garden, which inspires much of his haiku and poetry.
Gordon Vanstone
Developing a Sense of Place
Short Lecture with Q&A, Group Reading with Q&A
Lecture/Reading with Q&A
Fiction
‘Place’ in fiction is more than just setting as it informs and enhances character, plot, theme, atmosphere, voice, and language use. Place can play a central role in influencing the narrator’s choices, challenges, and motivations. Citing select passages from my novel, I’ll highlight strategies used to create a strong sense of place and draw readers in.
A crucial aspect of the storyteller’s job is to get your readers immersed in the world of your narrator, only then can you transport them through your tale. Place plays a vital role in this process. It’s most effective when places are portrayed as authentic, engaging, meaningful and relatable. Place can be a powerful tool to generate plot, character development and conflict. The setting becomes more than the backdrop of a novel; it dictates all that happens. It almost comes alive and pulls the reader along with it.
Reading select passages of my novel, I’ll highlight strategies used to draw readers in and create a strong sense of place: evoking the senses, capturing the essence (the devil is in the details), setting the scene vs utilising ‘nudges’ to create an accretion of environmental elements, giving locals a voice, showing impact on characters’ actions and emotions, burrowing down from the macro and establishing connections and fluidity between.
Gordon currently lives in Singapore. In April 2021, he published his first novel, Rainy Day Ramen and the Cosmic Pachinko, with Monsoon Books. Gordon lived in Japan as an international school teacher for eight years between 2004 and 2015. His novel, in part, is an ode to the country which captured a piece of his heart.
Hans Brinckmann
Maintaining Close Connections With a City or Country Can Help Your Career
Short Lecture with Q&A
Career
One of the many sources of inspiration for a writer is a life-long connection with a certain place – a city or area, or even a country. In my case, I maintained a special connection with Kyoto, going back to the late 1950s, which recently brought surprising literary results.
Some authors focus their writing on certain places. My writings are set in many different locations, but one thread that has continued over time is Kyoto. Ever since the late 1950s, when I interacted with Kyoto artists and oddballs, I’ve stayed in touch, and included Kyoto in several of my writings. In 1970, my essay, Kyoto-san, was the lead article in the inaugural issue of Koto, a Japanese magazine. In 2011, The Tomb in the Kyoto Hills and other stories was published. In 2019 the Writers in Kyoto group invited me to give a lecture on my Kyoto connections, and they included one of my stories in Kyoto Journal, followed by a review of my memoir The Call of Japan. Then, this spring, after joining Writers in Kyoto, I participated in a short-story competition, and won Third Prize! Clearly, my long connection with Kyoto has been richly rewarded.
Born in Holland in 1932, Hans Brinckmann – though keen on writing – joined an international bank. Assigned to Japan in 1950, he stayed 24 years. He returned to Japan intermittently and since 2003 is a permanent resident and writer of seven works of fiction, non-fiction and poetry. URL: https://habri.jp
Holly Thompson
Possibilities with Poetry and Picture Books
Short Lecture with Q&A
Poetry
Picture books are a format, not an age range category. This session will be of interest to poets, visual arts folks, as well as writers interested in writing for young people. Poetry and picture books are perfect allies–the distillation of poetry well suits the 32-page picture book format. Poetry in picture books ranges across all sorts of forms and styles, and this session introduces approaches and possibilities for crafting picture books with poetry.
Poetry and picture books are perfect allies–the distillation of poetry is ideal for the 32-page picture book format. Contrary to popular belief, poetry in picture books does not always rhyme and ranges across all sorts of forms and styles, including individual poems in a thematic collection; a single continuous free verse or formal poem as book text; or lyrical prose text. Since picture book text is often limited to just 500 words, and poetry skills can enable writers to deftly manage compression of text and craft a manuscript that leaves ample room for the illustrator to add further layers of meaning and story. Poetry can also help enhance page-turn anticipation, can allow for broaching complex topics for the young, and can ensure that readers of picture books will span all ages. This session introduces a range of approaches and possibilities for using poetry to craft compelling picture books.
Holly Thompson (hatbooks.com) is author of picture books, verse novels and prose novels. She serves as SCBWI Japan Co-Regional Advisor and teaches picture book writing and creative writing at Grub Street, UC Berkeley Extension, and Yokohama City University.
Iain Maloney
The Writing Process, Autocomposting and Writer’s Block
Short Lecture with Q&A
Fiction
My latest book, a novella, was written in two days, but was the result of nearly ten years of thinking and planning. In this talk I will look at my own writing process as well as that of other writers and discuss the idea of autocomposting and of writer’s block.
My latest book, the novella “Life is Elsewhere/Burn Your Flags” was written in two days, but was the result of nearly ten years of thinking and planning. Too much attention is given to the part of creative writing where pen meets paper and not enough to everything that comes before, which I will argue is perhaps much more important. In this talk I will look at my own writing process as well as that of other writers who exemplify the concept of writing as a process in which putting words on paper is only one part. I will discuss the idea of autocomposting, of writer’s block and misconceptions about what creative writing looks like in practice.
Iain Maloney is originally from Scotland and now lives in Gifu. He is the author of three novels, a haiku collection, a memoir and a new novella, “Life is Elsewhere/Burn your Flags”.
James Crocker, Andrew Innes
Best of The Font – A Literary Journal for Language Teachers
Group Reading with Q&A
Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Career
Readings from Japan-based authors published in The Font in 2020/21
The Font is a literary journal for language teachers and learners. It has been publishing quality fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry and essays by language teachers and learners since 2013. These are all on the theme of teaching and learning languages at home and abroad. In other words, it is a place for teachers and learners to reflect on their experiences and observations while teaching and learning languages, or while living and teaching abroad.
This presentation features a selection of the best publications of the past two years, read by the authors themselves. The authors will answer questions after doing their readings.
James Crocker has published 20 text books and readers for language learning with OUP and Macmillan. He has also published numerous articles on language teaching. James has been editing and publishing The Font since it’s inception.
Andrew Innes is from Cheshire near Manchester in England and since 2002 lives in Himeji. He divides his time between teaching at Mukogawa Women`s University, Himeji Dokkyo University, Kobe Shoin Women`s University and various freelance classes around the Kansai area. He has written on whether teachers can detect if students have used machine translation in their work and the tell-tale signs that they have; and the use of video in class to reduce transactional distance during online teaching. His forthcoming book touches on various themes of interest such as science fiction and how technology can blur the boundaries of our identity (Generation C), psychedelia (Pattern Separation), Cancel culture (Ms. Representation), Othering (The Gaijin Parade), Buddhism (The Koan), The Korean Wave (Veritas), Tourist pollution (When in Rome), New ageism (Digital Detox), horror (The Rotten Mikan), and metamorphosis (The Short Story Collective). He has written three stories for The Font and had a story published in Tokyo Weekender. He describes himself as a new writer and very much learning his craft.
Joan Bailey
Social Media for Writers: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Clubhouse and You
Panel Discussion
Career
Join three writers working in fiction, non-fiction, young adult fiction and non-fiction, and science communication to discover how they use social media to promote their work, develop community, and explore their respective fields. Learn what has worked for them (and hasn’t), and how to approach this important realm of shameless self-promotion.
This panel discussion will feature three Japan-based writers: Suzanne Kamata, (fiction, non-fiction, and young adult, ); Hannah Kirshner (non-fiction, Water, Wood and Wild Things, March 2021 Viking), and Elizabeth Tasker, (non-fiction, The Planet Factory, 2017, Bloomsbury) and book title. Each writer will share how they use social media venues to promote their work, do research, foster community, and explore their respective fields and beyond. They will also share things that haven’t worked and why; their tips for getting started and approaching this realm of interaction; and why social media matters, including specific benefits they have found. Participants will have a chance to ask specific questions related to social media use and leave with a list of best practices.
Joan Bailey is a freelance writer based in Japan. Her work focuses on food, farming, farmers markets, and travel and can be found at The Japan Times, Tokyo Weekender, Modern Farmer, Civil Eats, Savvy Tokyo, and Outdoor Japan. Visit joandbailey.com to read your fill!
Joanne Anderton
Speculative fiction autobiography: The joys and the challenges of mixing truth with imagination
Short Lecture with Q&A
Other Genre
This lecture is an exploration of autobiography, speculative fiction, and the way in which we turn lived experience into narrative. I will discuss the joys and challenges of adapting my time living in Japan into a ‘speculative fiction autobiography’, and what other writers can gain from my research and experimentation.
How do you recount a lived experience, when writing it as a traditional memoir feels incomplete? Is it possible to mingle science fiction, fantasy and horror with autobiography, but maintain a sense of truth?
My creative writing PhD, The Realness of Unreal Things, is an attempt to do just that. A mixed genre collection, this ‘speculative fiction autobiography’ blends speculative short stories and creative non-fiction, drawn from my time living and working in Japan.
In this lecture, I will discuss the process of adapting my experiences in this unorthodox way, what’s challenging about it, what’s fascinating about it, and what other writers can gain from my research and experimentation.
The role of factuality in memoir inhabits a problematic space. I propose that speculative fiction autobiography will enable writers to examine the deeper truths of their lived experience, by freeing us from the difference between the real and the unreal.
Joanne Anderton is an Australian author and PhD candidate. She has won awards for her speculative fiction, which includes the novels Debris, Suited and Guardian, and the short story collection The Bone Chime Song. She has published a children’s picture book and non-fiction in Island, Meanjin and The Japan News.
Joe Palermo
No Pianos, Pets or Foreigners! Self Publishing a Memoir in eBook, Paperback and Audiobook Format at Minimal Cost
Short Lecture with Q&A
Nonfiction
A young Japanese woman was running through Tokyo station screaming “Save me! Save me!” There was a Japanese man chasing her and closing in. He grabbed her wrist and caught her about 10 feet in front of me. The woman was still yelling “Save me! Save Me!” but the Japanese people in the crowded station ignored her, not wanting to get involved.
This is the beginning of one of the stories from my experience living in Japan in the 1980’s, where I had moved right after graduating university. It was still rare to see an American who could speak Japanese fluently. This book guides the reader though my many adventures navigating through Japanese culture while living in the outskirts of Tokyo, as well as Tokyo proper.
I will detail my experience writing and publishing a book and audiobook about my life in Japan, using Amazon KDP and Amazon ACX. I will talk about what I learned through the process and what I would do differently.
Joe Palermo has retired after 30+ years as a corporate executive at the Nielsen Company and Information Resources, Inc. (IRI). He lived and worked in Japan for eight years and is the author of “No Pianos, Pets or Foreigners! My Life in Japan in the 80’s”.
Joy Jarman-Walsh
Live + Engaging Networking via Interviews with Japan Insiders
Short Lecture with Q&A
Non-fiction
Moving beyond words on a page by live broadcasting interviews to a worldwide audience in realtime – it seems daunting but is transparent and engaging, reaching new audiences tired of traditional media. If you are researching an article, you are actually prepared to livestream- let me explain how to do it, and why it’ll make your content better.
I’ve been on a crazy and unexpected journey researching and hosting daily interviews with various experts and insiders in Japan, or abroad who are focused on Japan, to dive into what it means to seek sustainability. A big part of seeking sustainability is transparency, which I think is also critical for good writing, which can be achieved by engaging with your audience as you create the content. I believe that one of the best ways to do this is by livestreaming content to engage with a wider audience. As of the end of May, I’ve done over 250 live interviews and the comments and questions of live viewers has been an important aspect of the finished product. I think this concept can inform and improve almost any type of writing project. There are key strategies to prepping for interviews as well as running live talkshows which engage with a live audience. There is also post-production work that needs to be done, including getting the interview onto a podcast platform. I will lay out not only the why’s but also the how-to’s of the process.
Joy Jarman-Walsh (jjwalsh) runs a daily livestream talkshow called #SeekingSustainabilityLive which had it’s 250th episode in May 2021. Joy co-founded GetHiroshima in 1999, worked as an Assistant Professor teaching Tourism and Business for more than 21 years, then started her own sustainability-focused travel consulting business, InboundAmbassador, in 2019. Joy has written for academic journals as well as travel copy and destination articles. Joy has an MA in Sustainable Tourism from ASU (USA).
Karen Hill Anton
Memoir: “It’s all in the writing – you get no credit for living”
Short Lecture with Q&A
Nonfiction, Memoir
In this talk we’ll delve into what the aspiring memoirist does to create and craft a narrative that is engaging.
Memoir is currently a genre as popular as fiction, and thousands of memoirs are published every year. You can have your memoir stand out in this crowd by telling a story—one that is compelling and captivates readers. And assuming you’re not a celebrity, readers of memoirs want to know: “What’s so interesting about this person’s life that will induce me to read it?” You need to tell them on Page One.
Written well, your memoir will have momentum and not just be a collection of vignettes: “I went there, I did that.” Your reward in writing your story well will be in having readers not only relate, but care. And caring is what gets them from the first page to the last.
In this talk we’ll address, ask, and answer the question: How do we write a life as a story?
Karen Hill Anton wrote the “Crossing Cultures” column for The Japan Times for fifteen years. Originally from New York City, she has lived in rural Shizuoka prefecture since 1975. Her memoir The View From Breast Pocket Mountain is winner of the SPR Book Awards Gold Prize, and the Book Readers Appreciation Group Medallion. https://www.karenhillanton.com
Liane Wakabayashi
Marketing Your Memoir Long Before It’s Completed
Short Lecture with Q&A
Nonfiction
This lecture begins anecdotally, with Liane recalling the advice of a New York book publishing industry insider, who taught her how to take the long-range view of completing a memoir–by publishing extracts. She’ll walk you through the steps of reaching your audience, publishing one story at a time, and thereby communicating with your audience while your book is still in progress.
One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was that promoting a book essentially begins on the day we start writing it. When you’re immersed in writing a memoir, perhaps the last thing that you’re thinking about is pressing the pause button to market excerpts of your unfinished book to print and online magazines, or reading it out loud or on Zoom to your intended audience. In this lecture, we’ll talk about the why’s, the how’s and the when’s, step by step. As a journalist with nearly 40 years experience, I’d like to help inspire you to take the best excerpts of your memoir, let them be read, get your name known, and feel your confidence to soar, especially at the critical mid-point in book writing. Surely, the road to memoir completion is both a test of nerves and faith, and when someone else believes in your book, you are much more likely to as well.
Liane Grunberg Wakabayashi, raised in New York City, lived in Tokyo from 1987 to 2017, when Israel tugged at her heartstrings. Excerpts and themes from The Wagamama Bride have appeared in The Jewish Forward, Tablet, Asian Jewish Life Magazine, The Japan Times and The Jerusalem Post Magazine. Seven stories from The Wagamama Bride are now also being serialized on the Jewish world’s second largest website, Chabad.org.
The Wagamama Bride: A Jewish Family Saga Made in Japan, Goshen Books 2021
www.goshenbooks.com
Linda Gould
Ten Things to Do Before Submitting Your Work for Publication
Craft Workshop
Self-editing is hard. The hands-on activities in this workshop will give you advice and practice in developing editing skills that will improve your work and chances of being published.
Many submissions are rejected for silly mistakes. This workshop will provide a checklist that all writers should follow before submitting to any publication, and will provide activities to improve content and line editing, as well as proofreading skills.
Linda Gould is the Managing Editor of White Enso. She has a degree in journalism and extensive writing, editing and design experience. She is the founder of the Women’s English Writing Group of Japan, writes fantasy and ghost stories, and is the author of The Diamond Tree, a dual-language book.
Melinda Taliancich Falgoust
Self-Publishing on a Shoestring: Quality Independent Publishing on a Zero or Low Budget
Short Lecture with Q&A
Fiction
Participants will become acquainted with the mandatory six components every independent publisher must address if they desire to produce a quality, professional product. In every category, multiple cost-effective options will be addressed and demonstrated to allow the widest margin of participants to find a tool that “fits like a glove.”
The stigma associated with self-publishing is slowly dissolving as even some of the Big Five’s top best-sellers are choosing the independent route over New York. With the availability of many tools to help the diligent author, there is no reason stopping anyone from putting a quality, competitive piece of work into the literary marketplace. Participants of this particular workshop will learn the fundamental steps of book production that every indie publisher must know, define over fifty free and low-cost resources available to aid in book production and marketing and acquire specific, introductory skills to produce effective and quality marketing materials.
Melinda Taliancich Falgoust is an internationally award-winning author whose writing has appeared in Reader’s Digest, AHMM, and others. She frequently presents at literary events world-wide on craft including the Japan Writers’ Conference, Killer Nashville, and the West Virginia Book Festival. Her presentations offer a “novel” approach to help authors succeed.
Melinda Joe
So You Want to Be a Food Writer?
Short Lecture with Q&A
Non-fiction
People often assume that, as a food writer, I spend my days popping bonbons and swilling champagne. This is false, but not entirely so. In this short talk, I’ll dispel myths about food writing, discuss the pros and cons, and give tips for those new to freelancing.
Food writing is more than restaurant criticism. This presentation will give an overview of different kinds of food writing, introduce examples of food media outlets, and describe ways that the industry is changing. Drawing upon more than a decade of experience as a food journalist, I’ll offer insight into what makes a compelling story, how to break into the business, and share some of the most important lessons I’ve learned as a freelancer — as well as my most memorable food adventures.
Melinda Joe is a journalist based in Tokyo who specializes in food and drinks. She is a Japan Times columnist, and her work, which has been translated into four languages, has appeared in Condé Nast Traveler, Nikkei Asia, Newsweek, WSJ Asia, CNN, and others.
Melissa Uchiyama
Growing Chutzpah: A Writer’s Superpower
Craft Workshop, Other Type
Craft and Encouragement
Other Genre
This is a workshop for all writers of all genres as it encourages boldness in collaboration, pitching, and publishing. Chutzpah is the way towards valuing our ideas enough to make bold moves.
We will explore the idea of “chutzpah”, the yiddish word for having the courage and audacity as writers. Publishing, in itself, is a series of steps that carry us from the private to the public, but all too often, the writer must navigate self-sabotaging thoughts, thoughts that keep the writer and the words cut off. Chutzpah is the antidote, bringing levity and spunk, shoring up the writer to harness the confidence to pitch effective ideas and drafts. It can bring our whole process of writing from meek to tremendous.
This workshop will look at the whole process, from seed idea to published piece and even onto the next step. Inspecting an idea and finding it good and profitable, we nurture it, (just how this looks will be discussed in-session) aiming big–to pitch the magazines, editors, and book queries from a place of strength and assurance in our identity, ideas, and work.
Participants will see where they have also thought “big”, taking an idea, finding its worth, and then growing it to pitch, whether inviting collaboration, beginning a new project, all of the “thinking big”. We will take part in an activity that inspires and ignites “big thinking” and all of the chutzpah we need as writers.
Melissa leads creative writing camps, collaborating with Japan-based authors and illustrators. Her essays appear in places such as The Washington Post, LA Review of Books, Brevity, Kyoto Journal, Taste, The Japan Times, and the Sunlight Press. She is featured in various anthologies like Mothering Through the Darkness and Knocked Up Abroad Again. Melissa will be launching online workshops on the subject of Jewish Food Writing.
Michael Dylan Welch
Even in Kyoto: Place Names in Haiku
Short Lecture with Q&A, Craft Workshop
Half lecture, short writing exercise, plus sharing and discussion
Poetry
We need more place names in haiku! This interactive PowerPoint presentation by Michael Dylan Welch celebrates Bashō’s iconic haiku, “even in Kyoto / hearing the cuckoo / I long for Kyoto,” and features numerous parodies and allusions to the poem as examples of utamakura or place names in haiku and explores how this poem has inspired many others. This presentation also touches on the Welsh word hireath, a sweet sort of homesickness, and the Roman concept of genius loci, or the pervading spirit of place. Also includes an invitation to try writing your own “even in Kyoto” variations, with optional sharing and discussion.
Michael Dylan Welch cofounded the Haiku North America conference in 1991 and the American Haiku Archives in 1996, and founded the Seabeck Haiku Getaway in 2008 and National Haiku Writing Month (www.nahaiwrimo.com) in 2010. He has published dozens of poetry books. His website, devoted mostly to haiku, is www.graceguts.com.
His poetry, essays, and reviews have been published in journals such as Bacopa Literary Review, Cascade, City Arts, Clover: A Literary Rag, Fan, Frogpond, HQ, Hummingbird, Kyoto Journal, Line Zero, Mainichi Daily News, Matrix, Modern Haiku, Mosaic, Poetry Kanto, Poetry Nippon, Poet’s Market, Pointed Circle, Rattle, Raven Chronicles, Right Hand Pointing, Seattle Weekly, StringTown, The Writer’s Chronicle, and Writer’s Digest. My work has also appeared in books from such publishers as Writer’s Digest Books, Kodansha, Tuttle, Andrews-McMeel, Mosaic Press, MQP, Iron Press, Red Moon Press, Snapshot Press, Brooks Books, Boatwhistle, NeoPoiesis Press, Black Moss Press, and others. Most recent books include: Dance into the World, editor, Tanka Society of America, 2020; Seabeck Reunion, editor, Haiku Northwest Books, 2020; Jumble Box, editor, Press Here, 2017; Seven Suns / Seven Moons (with Tanya McDonald), NeoPoiesis Press, 2016; and Off the Beaten Track: A Year in Haiku, Boatwhistle Books, 2016.
Michael Frazier
A Poem is a Thing that Moves: Contemporary Lyric Poems
Craft Workshop
Poetry
A lyric poem is a thing that moves, through time, one’s mind, and, in turn, moves the hearts of readers. We will read and analyze lyric poems that move towards unanswerable questions, via associative jumps, by Leila Chatti, Li-Young Lee, and Aracelis Girmay. We will write our own lyric poems!
Scan through most recently released poetry collections and you are bound to find poems marked not by chronological narratives, but by incongruent images, ideas, and questions seemingly held together by only a distinct first-person voice and the magic of poetry. In this workshop we want to dispel the illusion of the non-linear lyric poem. We will read a handful of lyric poems that rely on associative jumps by Leila Chatti, L-Young Lee, Terrance Hayes, and Aracelis Girmay. We will analyze how these writers navigate through a poem (motifs, music, etc.), and pursue a question to arrive at a new revelation (the turn). As a result, we will understand how their poems are maps for how their actual minds move and perceive the world. A poem is a thing that moves, through time, one’s mind, and, in turn, moves the hearts of readers. Under scaffolded prompting, we will write our own lyric poems that prioritize the patterns of our psyche.
Michael Frazier is a poet & HS Teacher living in Kanazawa, Japan. Pushcart Prize & Best New Poets nominated, his poems appear in Poetry Daily, The Offing, RHINO, Tinderbox, Tokyo Poetry Journal, and elsewhere. Currently, he’s facilitating a biweekly zoom poetry book club open to the public. Message @fraziermichael to join!
Michael Pronko
Why secondary characters aren’t secondary
Short Lecture with Q&A
Fiction
This talk will focus on what many how-to writing books leave out—effective ways to develop secondary characters and reasons why they are so important. By analyzing examples of secondary characters, examining their effects, and considering ways to create these characters, the talk will consider this crucial element of fiction.
No matter where a reader might focus in a work of long fiction, secondary characters are not that secondary. Though main characters tend to hog the reading spotlight, without secondary characters acting as mirror, foil, double and counterpoint, the main characters would have little story arc. However well a main character is written, secondary characters add more than just hurdles or help. They add a dimensionality that can transform a story from flat trajectory to complex journey. Secondary characters might not get equal billing, but they deserve equal attention. This talk will look at what many how-to writing books leave out— reasons for emphasizing secondary characters and effective ways to develop them. This talk will analyze examples of secondary characters, examine their effects, offer ways to develop them, and consider the larger implications of character-filled stories.
Michael Pronko has written for many publications, but focuses on the Detective Hiroshi series, including the award-winning The Last Train, The Moving Blade, and Tokyo Traffic. He also has three collections of writing about Tokyo and runs the website Jazz in Japan. He teaches American Literature at Meiji Gakuin University.
Paul Rossiter, Eric Selland, C. E. J. Simons
This Year at Isobar
Group Reading with Q&A
Poetry
In this session, Paul Rossiter will introduce and read from his two new books, The Pleasures of Peace, consisting of recent work from Japan and the UK, and Coconut Palms & Sandalwood Boxes, a book-length sequence of poems chronicling a trip – geographical and historical – through Sri Lanka; Eric Selland will introduce and read from his translation of Yoshioka Minoru’s modernist masterpiece. Kusudama; and C. E. J. Simons will introduce and read from his volume of new poems Flight Risk.
Paul Rossiter has published ten books of poetry since 1995. After retiring from teaching at the University of Tokyo in 2012, he founded Isobar Press, which specialises in publishing English-language poetry from Japan, and English translations of modernist and contemporary Japanese poetry. More information can be found at: https://isobarpress.com
Eric Selland has published five books or chapbooks of his own work and has translated a total of seven volumes of poetry by important contemporary Japanese poets. His translation of The Guest Cat, a novel by Takashi Hiraide, was on the New York Times bestseller list in early 2014, and his translation of poems by Kiwao Nomura, The Day Laid Bare, was chosen as a Recommended Translation by The Poetry Book Society, UK, for their winter 2020 season.
C. E. J. Simons is Senior Associate Professor of Literature at ICU in Tokyo. He has held the Harper-Wood Studentship in Creative Writing at St John’s College Cambridge. His most recent poetry collection is Flight Risk (Isobar Press, 2021). His criticism and poetry have appeared in numerous UK publications including the TLS.
Sarah Hinlicky Wilson
How to Launch Your Own Independent Press
Short Lecture with Q&A
Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translation
As recently as a decade ago, “self-publishing” was a euphemism for shameful “vanity publishing.” Since then publishing has radically altered, and the new indie approach is edgy, innovative, and challenging an entrenched industry. Wilson shares her journey of launching her own press, plus tips and resources for starting your own.
Until recently, you couldn’t get published without gatekeepers, who not only dictated your content but took 90%+ of your profits. The alternative was exploitation at the other extreme by vanity publishers charging outrageous sums to print your book.
Innovation over the past decade has changed everything. You can hire top-tier freelance editors, designers, and illustrators easily and safely through online marketplaces. You can affordably print a single book, or a thousand, or distribute ebooks and audiobooks. With personal websites, newsletter sign-ups, social media, and more, you can build a tribe of fans directly. Add to this the warm and collaborative support that indie authors and publishers offer one another, and you’ll never bother pitching an agent again!
Sarah Hinlicky Wilson shows how she launched her own press—and how you can, too.
Sarah Hinlicky Wilson is the author of 200+ articles and multiple books. She co-hosts the podcast “Queen of the Sciences: Conversations between a Theologian and Her Dad” and writes the quarterly e-newsletter “Theology & a Recipe.” She is associate pastor at Tokyo Lutheran Church and founder of Thornbush Press.
Steven Wolfson
Development 101: A Workshop on the ins and outs of Screenplay Development
Short Lecture with Q&A
Screenwriting
This workshop focuses on what really happens when a screenplay is developed for production. From issues of character and story to three-act structure and commercial viability, the class will look at the development process from both the perspective of the writer and the production company or studio.
Whether you are writing a studio feature or an independent film, at some point your script will enter the process known as ‘development.’ This workshop focuses on what really happens when a screenplay is developed for production. From issues of character and story to three-act structure and commercial viability, the class will look at the development process from both the perspective of the writer and the production company or studio. Through a series of writing exercises, students will learn how to manage script notes while at the same time protecting the integrity of their screenplay. The final goals of the workshop are a demystification of the development process and the tools to make your screenplay as production-friendly as possible.
Steven Wolfson has taught screenwriting, playwriting and creative writing at The Writers Program at UCLA for the past 20 years and holds the distinction of having created the most new classes, workshops and seminars of any instructor in the program’s history. He has been awarded The Outstanding Instructor of the Year award twice, in both screenwriting and creative writing. As a screenwriter, Wolfson has sold projects to Fox, Lions Gate, TNT, MTV, Langley Entertainment, Beacon Films and producer Arnold Rifkin. Wolfson wrote the independent romantic comedy, Dinner and Driving, which premiered at The Austin Film Festival and went on to win audience awards at several film festivals and was sold to HBO. Wolfson also wrote and co-produced the critically acclaimed Lionsgate feature, Gang Tapes, a coming-of-age drama set in South Central, Los Angeles. Gang Tapes played to sold out audiences at film festivals in both The United States and Europe.
Suzanne Kamata
Clara Kiyoko Kumagai, Kristin Osani , Clarissa Goenawan, Sara Fujimura
Writing Identity, From Inside and Outside
Panel Discussion
Fiction
In this era of #ownvoices and a heightened awareness of identity politics, what stories should be told, who should be allowed to write them, and how they should be presented are often contentious issues. In this moderated session, five authors of different backgrounds, writing inside and out of their lanes, will discuss diversity, identity, inclusivity, and their own experiences and approaches to writing these in their own work.
Identity politics play a large part in determining which stories are published and how they are currently received in the English-speaking market. Generation Z readers — the audience for YA and New Adult titles — are especially aware of issues surrounding diversity, appropriation, and ownership. In this session, to be moderated by Suzanne Kamata, four authors of different backgrounds, writing about Japan from inside and out of their lanes, will discuss diversity, identity, inclusivity, and their own experiences and approaches to writing these in their own work.
In this era of #ownvoices and a heightened awareness of identity politics, what stories should be told, who should be allowed to write them, and how they should be presented are often contentious issues. In this moderated session, five authors of different backgrounds, writing inside and out of their lanes, will discuss diversity, identity, inclusivity, and their own experiences and approaches to writing these in their own work.
Award-winning author Suzanne Kamata was born and raised in the United States, but has lived in Japan for more than half of her life. She is the author or editor of 15 published books including, most recently, The Baseball Widow (Wyatt-Mackenzie Publishing, 2021) and Pop Flies, Robo-pets and Other Disasters (One Elm Books, 2020).
Clara Kiyoko Kumagai is from Canada, Japan and Ireland. She writes fiction and non-fiction for children and adults, and has had work published in Banshee, Room, Event, and Cicada. She currently lives in Tokyo.
Kristin Osani is a freelance Japanese to English translator, writer, and editor
Her previous projects include LEFT ALIVE, ONINAKI, CODE SHIFTER, DRAGALIA LOST, and many more. Her short fiction is forthcoming in Flash Point SF.
Clarissa Goenawan is an Indonesian-born Singaporean writer. Her award-winning short fiction has appeared in literary magazines and anthologies in Singapore, Australia, Japan, Indonesia, the UK, and the US. Rainbirds, her first novel, has been published in eleven different languages.
Sara Fujimura is an award-winning young adult author and creative writing teacher. She is the American half of her Japanese-American family, and has written about Japanese culture and raising bicultural children for such magazines as Appleseeds, Learning Through History, East West, and Mothering, as well as travel-related articles for To Japan With Love. Her young adult novels include Tanabata Wish, Breathe, Every Reason We Shouldn’t (Tor Teen, 2020) and Faking Reality (Tor Teen, 2021). She lives in Phoenix with her husband and children.
Suzanne Kamata, THE BASEBALL WIDOW (Wyatt-Mackenzie Publishing, 2021)
Clara Kumagai, “Memorials,” in The Stinging Fly, Winter 2020-21
Kristin Osani, English translation of Balan Wonderworld: Maestro of Mysteries, Theatre of Wonders by Soshi Kawasaki (Square Enix, 2021)
Clarissa Goenawan, THE PERFECT WORLD OF MIWAKO SUMIDA (Soho Press, 2020)
Sara Fujimura, FAKING REALITY (Tor Teen, 2021)
Todd Jay Leonard
So you want to publish a book? 10 Basic Points to Keep in Mind!
Short Lecture with Q&A
Career
Professor Leonard has published extensively over the past 30 years and is willing to share his experiences of both Japanese traditional publishing houses and POD formats to assist budding authors in their quests to get published.
This lecture will cover ten primary points that “potential” authors need to keep in mind when submitting a proposal to a publishing company or when self-publishing a book. He will outline the basic process from the book’s initial concept to getting the book into print to marketing it. His extensive experience in publishing as an author in Japan will serve to assist budding authors with the basics in the overall process that need to be considered when pursuing a publishing contract or when self-publishing. This is a short lecture with a Q & A format.
Todd Jay Leonard lives, writes, and teaches on the southern island of Kyushu, where he is a university professor at the University of Teacher Education Fukuoka. He has published extensively in academic journals, magazines, and newspapers on cross-cultural, historical, and Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) themes. He is the author of 25 books.
Tom Baker
Trivia Tips: How to Write a Pub Quiz
Short Lecture with Q&A
Other Genre
Quizzes should be challenging but fun – and that requires well-written questions. I will discuss various question formats, writing with brevity and clarity, organizing categories, anticipating and heading off disputes, making obscure questions guessable, and techniques for flattering your audience by writing easy questions that sound hard.
“I once attended a pub quiz in Bristol where a dispute over an answer resulted in a wild west-style brawl and the police had to be called,” a woman told the BBC in 2005. “Arrests were made, including the quizmaster.”
Quizzes should be fun. If you wish to host one that doesn’t end in tears – or behind bars – well-written questions are essential.
Drawing on my experience as both a contestant and a quizmaster, I will offer tips on how to write questions that are clear, entertaining, and minimally disputable.
Using examples from quizzes seen on TV and at pubs around Tokyo, I will discuss a variety of question formats, writing with brevity and clarity, ways of organizing categories, anticipating hecklers and nit-pickers, making obscure questions guessable, and the importance of flattering your audience by writing easy questions that sound hard.
Tom Baker appeared on four regular-season episodes of the U.S. quiz show “Jeopardy!” in 2004, before returning for the season-ending Tournament of Champions. He first guest-hosted a round of a Tokyo pub quiz in 2019, and has written and presented more than 20 rounds since then.
He presented over 20 rounds of questions live at a monthly charity pub quiz held at the Footnik bar in Ebisu, Tokyo, before the pandemic began, and has continued on Zoom since then. Topics have included “The FBI 10 Most Wanted List,” “Pigs and Rats,” “Literary Works,” “Officeholders,” “Prime Numbers,” “Traveling Around Japan,” “Body Parts” and “Motorcycle Gangs and Clubs.”
Walt Mussell
Across Time and Time Zones: Researching history from half a world away.
Short Lecture with Q&A
Fiction
Presentation will discuss ways to do historical research on Japan while residing in another country. Presentation will include tips from famous authors on how they performed research (including non-Japan). Presentation to offer Q&A for attendees who wish to submit their own challenges and brainstorm ways to solve them.
Japan is the inspiration for the presenter’s works. He spent four years there in the 90s, met his wife there, and has visited several times since. However, his last visit was in 2008 and his first book, The Samurai’s Heart, was published in 2017. The presenter will detail the challenges he faced in researching Japanese history from the southern U.S. and what he has done to overcome it.
In addition, the presenter will introduce a list of challenges faced by historical authors that research not only Japan but histories of other countries as well. Detailing the challenges faced by other authors will hopefully provide attendees ideas as to how they might creatively pursue their own research challenges.
Lastly, the presenter will engage the attendees to bring up their own research challenges and the group will brainstorm on ways to help the writers solve their challenges.
Walt Mussell lives in an Atlanta-area suburb. He writes historicals, mostly about Japan where he lived for four years. He refers to his work as “Like Shogun, but the heroine survives.” His works include The Samurai’s Honor, The Samurai’s Heart, and A Second Chance. Visit his website at waltmussell.com.
Yuri Kageyama
Yoshiaki Tago, Kouzan Kikuchi (if we have a Q&A)
NEWS FROM FUKUSHIMA: Meditation on an Under-Reported Catastrophe by a Poet
Film, theatre, dance, music, poetry, possible Q&A
Film showing with possibly a Q&A with the writer, director and musician
The showing of my award-winning film that documents a performance in San Francisco of a theater piece I wrote of poetry, music and dance. Film directed by Yoshiaki Tago. Performance directed by Carla Blank. A Japan premiere. The film is 1 hour and 14 minutes long.
Fukushima is the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. It will take decades and billions of dollars to keep the multiple meltdowns under control. Spewed radiation has reached as far as the American West Coast. Some 100,000 people were displaced from the no-go zone. But, 10 years after 3.11, the story hardly makes headlines.
Journalist Yuri Kageyama turns to poetry, dance, theater, music and film, to remind us that the human stories must not be forgotten. Carla Blank, who has collaborated with Suzushi Hanayagi and Robert Wilson, brings together a multicultural cast of artists to direct this provocative theater piece. Performing at ZSpace in San Francisco are U.S.-based actors/dancers Takemi Kitamura, Monisha Shiva, Shigeko Sara Suga. The musicians are Stomu Takeishi, Isaku Kageyama and Joe Small, as well as Japan-based Kouzan Kikuchi. Lighting design by Blu. Video by Yoshiaki Tago, who also directed the film. The film has won various awards, including Best Documentary Feature at the Rome International Movie Awards and Grand Festival Award at the Berkeley Video and Film Festival. It is still making the festival rounds and is not yet widely available to the public. The showing will be a Japan premiere. We are interested in getting feedback from this literary audience. Parts of the piece were first published in Ishmael Reed’s literary magazine KONCH in 2015. Reed called it, “A powerful reflection on the corruption and greed of men and their indifference to human life.” An earlier version debuted at LaMama in New York, with music led by Melvin Gibbs, in 2015.
Yuri Kageyama is a poet, journalist, filmmaker and author of THE NEW AND SELECTED YURI (Ishmael Reed Publishing, 2011). Her films include NEWS FROM FUKUSHIMA, and THE VERY SPECIAL DAY, a collaboration with stop motion animation artist Hayatto. B.A. Cornell University. M.A. University of California, Berkeley. Certificate New York Film Academy.
Zoria Petkoska
Cyber Poetry: Writing the Future in Poetry and Writing Poetry From the Future
Short Lecture with Q&A
Poetry
This lecture will dig into all the ways cyber poetry possibilities have expanded thanks to technology. I will explore the ways poetry can be futuristic, where it overlaps with concrete poetry in its use of asemic elements, and how can we employ AI writers.
Spliced with coding, images and sounds, cyber poetry or digital poetry (to use two of the most prominent terms for this still-emerging genre) is getting ever more popular and complex thanks to leaps in technology. It certainly seems anachronistic to not use technology as a tool or as a theme in poetry, seeing how it is an integral part of our lives. One might say that when we started publishing poems on websites that was an early form of cyber poetry. However, not everyone is using the full potential of technology to create cyber poetry. We will discuss all the ways technology can be a tool, down to employing AI generators as writers. This will also raise the question of authorship and credit. I will also explore the overlaps with concrete poetry, and the difference from sci-fi writing.
Zoria Petkoska K. is an Associate Editor at Tokyo Poetry Journal, editor-in-chief of the literary journal [Ш], and an Assistant Editor at Tokyo Weekender magazine. She completed a MEXT Research Fellowship at TUFS on Japanese visual poetry translation, and has published two poetry books. She writes in English, Macedonian, and Japanese, and has been published in poetry magazines and anthologies in Japan, China, Hong Kong, and the USA, among others.
Barry Eisler
How to Write a Killer Opening
An interactive lecture with plenty of Q&A.
Fiction
The job of every sentence in a novel is to make the reader want to read the next sentence. Which makes the first sentence especially important! We’ll talk about what what kind of first sentence, first paragraph, first sequence pulls the reader out of the everyday world and into the world of your story.
A story boils down to three elements: who, what, and where. Character, plot, and setting. To pull a reader into a story, from the first words you have to serve up some combination of those elements. But to keep the reader going, you have to paradoxically nourish the reader with information that simultaneously famishes the reader for more. As T.S. Eliot said in Gerontion, “the giving famishes the craving.” We’ll start by examining the opening lines of Ken Follett’s The Key to Rebecca—one of the best opening sequences ever:
The last camel collapsed at noon.
It was the five-year-old white bull he had bought in Gialo, the youngest and strongest of the three beasts, and the least ill-tempered: he liked the animal as much as a man could like a camel, which is to say that he hated it only a little.
Barry Eisler spent three years in a covert position with the CIA’s Directorate of Operations, then worked as a technology lawyer and startup executive in Silicon Valley and Japan, earning his black belt at the Kodokan Judo Institute along the way.
Eisler’s award-winning thrillers have been included in numerous “Best Of” lists, have been translated into nearly twenty languages, and include the #1 bestsellers Livia Lone, The Night Trade, and The Killer Collective. Eisler lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and, when he’s not writing novels, blogs about national security and the media. www.barryeisler.com
Bob Tobin
Writing, Publishing and Promoting Your Non-Fiction Book
Short Lecture with Q&A
Nonfiction, Career
This will be a nuts and bolts session on writing and publishing a non-fiction book.
Topics include: starting with what you know, blogging, writers conferences, finding an agent or publisher, making a pitch, query letters, organizing materials, beta reviewers, writing a proposal, editing, self-publishing, POD and traditional publishing.
Bob Tobin is a non-fiction author who writes about happiness, careers and self-development. He’s the author of several titles in English and Japanese. His most recent book is ˆNo Regrets: How To Kickstart Your Career And Your Life [Pub. Discover 21] He’s Professor Emeritus, Keio University Originally from Boston, Bob now lives on the island of Okinawa.
Charles Kowalski
Masterminds, Minions, and Monsters: Creating 3D Villains
Craft Workshop
Fiction
Create compelling villains that readers will love to hate! This workshop will introduce three main villain motivations (the “3 D’s”) and show how these form seven archetypes, plus six effective recruiting tools for henchmen (FLAMES), the top five justifications for villainy, and how to defeat the villain for a satisfying ending.
“A story is only as good as the villain.” – Clive Barker
Bad guys make good stories, and this workshop will focus on creating compelling villains that readers will love to hate.
Here are the questions to be asked and answered in this workshop.
What makes a compelling villain? How can the BOOM technique help create a villain with a believable backstory?
How do the three main motivations of villains intersect to form seven villain archetypes? What are the common personality characteristics of each?
What are the six tools used by master villains to recruit followers? What are the top five justifications for villainy?
What are the five main patterns of villain defeat and their common variations?
Come find out!
Charles Kowalski is the award-winning author of contemporary thrillers MIND VIRUS and THE DEVIL’S SON, and the Japan-themed historical fantasy SIMON GREY AND THE MARCH OF A HUNDRED GHOSTS. When not writing, he teaches at Tokai University.
Christopher Simons
Virtuosity in Verse: Writing Powerful Cross-Disciplinary Poems
Craft Workshop
Poetry
This poetry workshop will discuss and practice strategies for writing short poems that use concepts and vocabulary from cross-disciplinary subjects that may be unfamiliar to most readers. The goal of the workshop will be to create poems that are clear and engaging without compromising their complexity of thought and language.
The workshop will look at poems on non-literary subjects (or not conventionally literary subjects) such as medicine, astrophysics, economics, politics, anthropology, linguistics, psychology. . . anything that uses concepts and technical vocabulary that aren’t immediately obvious to the general reader. How can a poem of 20 lines engage with new or challenging concepts and theories in such a way that the poem maintains the ’truth’ of the other discipline, but isn’t dry or obscure?
Poets want their work to be published and read as widely as possible; this reality drives poets and publishers towards poems built on simple subjects, clear vocabularies, and familiar feelings. Yet our world is anything but simple. In order to remain relevant, poetry must engage with new scientific and technological vocabularies; new idioms from politics and popular culture; new kinds of relationships. This workshop will explore strategies for writing and revising poems about cross-disciplinary subjects that use vocabulary, images, and concepts that most readers may find unfamiliar. How can a short poem of this kind show the reader what the poem is about, without ruining the poetry? How can such a poem find an audience, or create one? Should poets use footnotes, or expect (or even demand) that readers Google as they read? This session will workshop poems submitted in advance; however, participants are welcome to attend without submitting work.
Christopher Simons is Senior Associate Professor of Literature at ICU in Tokyo. He has held the Harper-Wood Studentship in Creative Writing at St John’s College Cambridge. His most recent poetry collection is Underground Facility (Isobar Press, 2018). His criticism and poetry have appeared in numerous UK publications including the TLS.
David Brennan
Playing Around with Voice
Lecture/Reading with Q&A
Fiction
I will do a reading from my novel which has a very distinctive voice. I will talk about this and voice in general, its importance and techniques used to achieve it. This will be followed by a Q&A and contributions/suggestions from those in attendance.
Voice is perhaps the most important quality in writing fiction yet the most difficult to achieve. I will read from my novel Upperdown which has gained praise for it’s distinctive voice. I will also discuss and give examples of other writers who have achieved distinctive voices for their characters. You can have a brilliant story but if the execution of the voice doesn’t bring it to life, the story will be like the tree falling in the woods with nobody to hear it. However, you can get away with a mediocre story if you have a very distinctive voice. A good writing voice is idiosyncratic, representative of humanity and imperfect. This lecture and reading hopes to touch on the topic of not being afraid to follow the imperfection of voice.
David currently lives in Suzhou. In June 2019 he published his first novel, Upperdown, with epoque press. He was been nominated for the Hennessey Award 2019/2020. He was one of the winners of the Irish Novel Fair 2018. In 2016 he won the Frank O Connor Mentorship Bursary Award and has been shortlisted for the Bristol Short Story (2017), the Doolin Short Story award, the Curtis Bausse Short story award, the Fish Memoire (2018) and longlisted for the Fish Memoire prize (2016 & 2017) and the Colm Tobin Award (2017).
David Gilbey
Reeling & Writhing at a Distance: a poetry editing workshop
This is a closed workshop of two hours’ duration, limited to 8 participants. This year it will be offered via Zoom Participants will submit drafts of poems which will be circulated so each can read and prepare comments. In the workshop writers will read their work and participants will provide editorial advice.
This workshop allows writers to work on a poem or two in readiness for publication, recognising that there are both personal and professional benefits from a closely-focussed discussion of emerging texts. So the purpose of this workshop is to give a small group of poets the opportunity to meet, read and discuss in depth a sample of each other’s work. Writers of varying degrees of experience are welcome. There will be two parts to the workshop: preparation and participation. Preparation also has two parts: submitting and close reading those who sign up for the session, all of whom will be contacted before the conference.
To sign up, contact David directly at debidogirubi@gmail.com
David Gilbey was Adjunct Senior Lecturer in English at Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, Australia, and the founding President of Wagga Wagga Writers Writers, as well as a poet. His three collection of poems are ‘Under the Rainbow’ (1996), ‘Death and the Motorway’ (2008) and ‘Pachinko Sunset’ (2016). He has taught English at Miyagi Gakuin Women’s University in Sendai, Japan in 1996, 2000 and 2007.
Don Maybin and Eucharia Donnery
Resuscitating “The Active Learner”: A journey of self-abuse?
Short Lecture with Q&A
Other Genre
Textbook writing
This is a report on our adventure of revising and re-publishing an out-of-print textbook series still very much in use. Revision work was guided by input from teachers who used the series. Our goal was to rewrite material and remove “warts”, including typos, wordy directions, poorly-ordered activities, and unscripted recordings that were too natural for their own good.
Although the copyright reverted to the authors, some components are locked in a “grey zone”, including illustrations and some recordings.
A tentative work schedule was decided – then along came coronavirus and all schedules were ditched! And we need to consider the new textbook in an online context.
The final hurdle will be getting the book re-published. Should we go back to the publishers? Self-publish? Put it online? Each possibility has advantages and disadvantages. We will discuss all three.
Don Maybin and Eucharia Donnery work in the Department of Applied Computer Sciences at Shonan Institute of Technology (SIT) in Fujisawa. They are the current authors of “The Active Learner”, a communication management text designed to change behavior, especially with SIT’s lovable computer geeks.
Gregory Dunne
The Truth of Poetry
Short Lecture with Q&A
Poetry
John Gardner stated that only writers of fiction tell the truth, as opposed to politicians, and just about everyone else. Writers of fiction, he went on, create worlds that are essentially dreams, and that if the dream should be interrupted by a false note, something untrue to the human experience, the novel would fail because the reader would stop reading. Thus, novelists are, in this sense, truth tellers. This lecture, applies a similar theory to lyric narrative poetry, and posits that the fictive worlds created within the narrative poem must be truthful and that this requires the poet to push beyond the literal into the more capacious world of the imagination.’
This lecture aims to help poets appreciate the way in which the autobiographical fact can work with the imagination to create a truer, more fully realized poem. The lecture will focus on poets trying to salvage drafts which aren’t working. It will provide strategies to help poets reach the goal of creating living, breathing, “true” poems.
Gregory Dunne is the author of Fistful of Lotus (Elizabeth Forrest, 2000), Home Test (Adastra Press, 2009), Other/Wise (Isobar Press, 2019) and Quiet Accomplishment: Remembering Cid Corman (Ekstasis Editions, 2014). He is associate poetry editor at Kyoto Journal and teaches in the Faculty of Comparative Culture at Miyazaki International College.
Hans Brinckmann
Making A Memoir From A Personal Journal
Lecture with Q&A
Nonfiction
A memoir of one’s life in Japan can attract readers interested in Japan’s culture and society. especially if it reflects unbiased observation, interaction with residents, and thorough fact-checking, and is supported by a journal.
In 2005, I published a memoir entitled “The Magatama Doodle, One Man’s Affair with Japan,” which attracted enthusiastic reviews, as did the Japanese version in Hiromi Mizoguchi’s translation. It eventually went out of print, but second-hand copies remained available on amazon at exorbitant prices – up to US$1,300! Its popularity made me decide to republish the book, with a new section covering the years up to now. The successor to the original publisher agreed to issue it under a new title, “The Call of Japan: a Continuing Story – 1950 to the Present Day.”
The success of the original book was no doubt due to the personal nature of the story, and its roots in the postwar period, which was supported by the journal I kept over the years. It provided the flavour of authenticity, essential for a good memoir
Award-winning author Hans Brinckmann (URL: https://habri.jp), born in The Hague, after a 36-year career as a “reluctant banker” turned to writing fiction, non-fiction and poetry. His titles include:
The Call of Japan: a Continuing Story – 1950 to the Present Day (Renaissance Books, UK, 2020)
The Monkey Dance (H2H Publishers, 2017) A brief memoir of the last winter of WW 2 in Holland
In the Eyes of the Son, a novel (Savant Books and Publications, Honolulu, 2014)
The Tomb in the Kyoto Hills and other stories (Strategic Publishers, 2012)
The Undying Day (H2H Publishers/Trafford, 2011) A bi-lingual selection of poetry written with side-by-side with Hiromi Mizoguchi’s translation
Showa Japan: the Post-War Golden Age and its troubled legacy (Tuttle, hardback 2008; paperback 2013) Japanese translation by Hiromi Mizoguchi (Random House-Kodansha, 2009)
Noon Elusive and other stories (H2H Publishers/Trafford, 2006)
The Magatama Doodle, One Man’s Affair with Japan, 1950-2004 (Global Oriental, UK, 2005)
Holly Thompson and Mariko Nagai
Re-envisioning Revisions: A YA/MG Novel Revision Workshop
Craft Workshop
Fiction
A closed two-session workshop for those who pre-register
Please note: It is no longer possible to sign up for this workshop
Re-envisioning Revisions is a closed YA/MG novel revision workshop for participants who have pre-submitted complete novel drafts (original or J>E translation) for group feedback prior to JWC. At JWC, participants will discuss whole novel revision strategies and techniques and workshop writers’ selected revised excerpts.
Writers often get bogged down in whole novel revision and struggle to re-envision their work. This workshop will create groups of writers and translators of YA and MG fiction to read and comment on each other’s novel drafts prior to meeting for novel revision workshop sessions at JWC. The aim is to give YA/MG writers/translators a fixed deadline for completing a novel draft, to ensure that in small groups they can offer and receive feedback on drafts in advance of JWC.
During the two back-to-back JWC Re-envisioning Revision workshops, writers will reflect on feedback, discuss tools and techniques identified for advancing their novel, and plan key strategies for revision. Writers/translators will have a chance to share a brief excerpt of a revised scene, and will set personal goals for completing whole novel revisions within the support of a larger writing group. The end goal is to grow writer revision practices toward developing strong YA/MG novels viable in today’s children’s and teen publishing markets. Open to participants who submit a completed draft of a young adult or middle grade novel by July 30. Those interested in participating should send an email of interest to japan@scbwi.org by July 10 with JWC YA/MG Novel Revision in the subject heading.
Holly Thompson (www.hatbooks.com) is author of the verse novels Falling into the Dragon’s Mouth, Orchards, The Language Inside; picture books Twilight Chant; One Wave at a Time, The Wakame Gatherers and the novel Ash. She writes poetry, fiction and nonfiction, teaches at Yokohama City University, and is SCBWI Japan Co-Regional Advisor.
Mariko Nagai (www.mariko-nagai.com) is the author of Histories of Bodies: Poems, Georgic: Stories, Irradiated Cities, Dust of Eden, Under the Broken Sky and the forthcoming The Sword of Yesterday. Mariko Nagai is a Professor at Temple University Japan and is SCBWI Japan Co-Regional Advisor.
Iain Maloney
The Only Gaijin in the Village: Making Narratives Out of Experience
Lecture/Reading with Q&A
Nonfiction
In 2016 my wife and I bought a house and moved to a small village in rural Gifu Prefecture. I began writing a series of columns for Gaijinpot about my experiences as the only gaijin in the village, which was published as a memoir in spring 2020.
This presentation will focus on making narratives out of the real world experiences, both personal and from contemporary history. There are two sides to this coin: I will talk about the process of fictionalizing real events, looking at writers such as David Peace, while touching on my own fiction work. I will also look at turning everyday experiences into memoir. I will talk about the process of moving from writing fiction to narrative non-fiction, the similarities between the two forms and the challenges inherent in leaving the imaginary for the actual. I will also talk about appropriation, and the tensions between factual accuracy and the requirements of storytelling.
Iain Maloney teaches English and creative writing at Nagoya University of Foreign Studies. He is the author of three novels and a collection of poetry. His memoir about life in rural Japan, The Only Gaijin in the Village, was published in spring 2020. www.iainmaloney.com @iainmaloney
Jane Joritz-Nakagawa, Yoko Danno and Goro Takano
Poetry Reading with Q&A
Poetry
Yoko Danno, Jane Joritz-Nakagawa and Goro Takano will each read a brief selection of poetry from their recent books, followed by Q&A with the audience.
In this session three very experienced and widely published poets will read aloud recent work. Time will be allotted at the end of the reading for participants to ask questions of the poets.
Although YOKO DANNO is Japanese, born and educated in Japan, she writes poetry solely in English. Her poems have appeared internationally in many journals and anthologies, online and in print. Her recent books of poetry include: “Aquamarine” (Glass Lyre Press, 2014), “Woman in a Blue Robe” (Isobar Press, 2016), “Further Center: Poems 1970 ~ 1998” (with an introduction by Gary Snyder, The Ikuta Press, 2017) and “Photo Scrolls” (prose poems with photographic images, a collaboration with James C. Hopkins, the Ikuta Press, 2020). Visit: http://www.ikutapress.com/danno3.html
Click here for a list of Danno’s books on Amazon
JANE JORITZ-NAKAGAWA is the author of over a dozen books and chapbooks of poetry and also is the author of essays, short fiction, and cross-genre works. Recent books include “Poems: New and Selected” (Isobar, 2018), “<<terrain grammar>>” (theenk Books, 2018), and, as editor, “women : poetry : migration [an anthology]”, theenk Books, 2017. Her new poetry book “Plan B Audio” will be published in approximately July, 2020 with Isobar. Email is welcome at janejoritznakagawa(at)gmail(dot)com. Visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Joritz-Nakagawa
GORO TAKANO has published three poetry collections through BlazeVOX (NY): “Responsibilities of the Obsessed,” “Silent Whistle-Blowers,” and “Non Sequitur Syndrome.” “On Lost Sheep,” Takano’s translation of the works of the Japanese modernist poet Shiro Murano, was published through Tinfish (HI). Takano’s first Japanese-only poetry collection, “Nichiyo-bi no Shinju” (“Sunday Double Suicide”) was published through Karan-sha (Fukuoka).
Joan Bailey
Meet the Editor and Talk about the Pitch
Panel Discussion
Nonfiction/Career
Join editors from five Japan-based publications to discover what kinds of story pitches they are looking for, what makes a good one, and why pitches get passed over. Learn the dos and don’ts of pitching as well as how to catch a busy editor’s eye.
This panel discussion will feature five editors from Japan-based publications: The Japan Times, Savvy Tokyo, Gaijin Pot, Tokyo Cheapo, and Tokyo Weekender. Each editor will share generally what kinds of stories they are interested in and what they are looking for now; what makes a good pitch; what doesn’t make a good pitch; what additional skills are helpful; and what they want to know about you, the writer. They will also discuss the challenges their publications face and how that affects freelance writers pitching stories to them. Participants will have a chance to ask specific questions about the pitching process and leave with a list of resources.
Joan Bailey is a freelance writer based in Tokyo. Her work focuses on food, farming, farmers markets, and travel. Her work can be found at The Japan Times, Tokyo Weekender, Modern Farmer, Civil Eats, Savvy Tokyo, and Outdoor Japan. Visit joandbailey.com to read your fill!
John Dougill
Writers in Kyoto: The Group
Short Lecture with Q&A
Instructional
Writers in Kyoto was set up over five years ago with six members. It has since expanded to over 50 paid-up members. What do they do? Why do they exist? And what lessons can be learnt?
Writers in Kyoto is a group of some 50 published and self-published English-language authors with a special connection to the ancient capital. It is run on a membership basis and is involved with promotion, book launches, readings, the exchange of information, and social events. We have a good relationship with Tuttle and collaborate with Kyoto Journal and the Kansai branch of SWET.
Our main activities include lunch talks, a writing competition, and producing anthologies of members’ writing. We also run a website and have two Facebook pages, one for public viewing and one for members only. In addition we have invited some of the country’s leading writers to give presentations – Karel van Wolferen, Robert Whiting, Richard Lloyd Parry, Judith Winters Carpenter, and Alex Kerr amongst others.
In this presentation the speaker will review the first five years with a view to seeing what lessons can be learnt.
John Dougill is a retired professor of British Culture, who has been 30 years in Japan. Amongst his books are Kyoto, A Cultural History; Japan’s World Heritage Sites; Zen Gardens and Temples of Kyoto; and In Search of Japan’s Hidden Christians. He runs the Green Shinto blog and is founder-organiser of Writers in Kyoto.
John Gribble, Kristina Butke, Percival Constantine, Alec McAulay, Warren Decker
The MFA: The Good, The Bad, and The Expensive
Panel Discussion
Career
Should I get an MFA or other graduate-level degree in writing? Aren’t they expensive? Are they difficult? Are they any good? What sort of program should I look at? What kind of benefits should I expect to receive? These questions and others will be addressed in this session.
Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and other advanced degrees with a writing emphasis have become a viable option for those seeking to improve their writing skills and advance themselves professionally. Some programs are full- or part-time on a university campus, some are on-line, some are hybrids, blending elements of both. The panelists, all with advanced writing degrees, will each talk about the programs they attended, their own experiences and answer your questions.
John Gribble is a noted gasbag. He rarely knows what he is talking about, but he states his ignorant opinions with great vigor. He has spent far too much of his life in school and other institutions. He is also a poet, co-organizer of the Japan Writers Conference and the Tokyo Writers Workshop, and earned his MFA at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina. His available books are Another Wrong Fedora and Ueno Mornings.
Kristina Elyse Butke is an American writer, editor, and teacher who indulges in cosplay, art, and all things otaku. She has a BA in English Literature from Capital University and an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. A former college English teacher, playwright, and composer, she now writes fantasy and horror. Her work has been published by ExFic, First Class Literary, and Synaeresis Magazine, among others. She’s also worked the convention circuit, presenting panels on writing fanfiction and genre fiction at events such as Ohayocon, Matsuricon, and Colossalcon. In terms of editing, one of her latest projects included subtitle edits for Pied Piper Inc.’s release of the anime Skip Beat!, and she currently edits and contributes to Speculative Chic.
Kristina lives in Kumamoto prefecture in Japan, where she works in multiple high schools as an assistant language teacher. When she isn’t working on all the things, she travels to shrines, hunts for Kumamon, and spends more money than she should at the JUMP shop.
Raised on a consistent diet of superhero comics, action movies, and video games, Percival Constantine wanted to grow up and write the type of fiction he consumed. Now as a prolific author of pulp fiction, he’s written around thirty books across various genres. He’s also the host two podcasts—Japan On Film and Superhero Cinephiles. When he’s not working on projects, he somehow finds time to teach classes in literature, film, and English. Born and raised in Chicago, he’s now based in Kagoshima, Japan.
Alec McAulay is an award-winning writer and director. Originally from Glasgow, Scotland, he has lived in Japan since 1989. He teaches Creative Writing at Yokohama National University. Alec has an MA Screenwriting (Distinction), and a PhD (Screenwriting) from the Faculty of Media & Communication, Bournemouth University. His children’s novel Robot Santa (unpublished) is about a ‘hafu’ Scottish-Japanese girl who builds a robot Santa to save Christmas.
Warren Decker is a teacher and writer based in Izumi, Japan. He has published poetry, fiction, and nonfiction in The Best American Poetry 2018, The New Ohio Review, Modern Haiku, Sou’wester, and other journals. His first book of poetry The Long Side of the Midnight Sun is available from Isobar Press. He has an MFA in creative writing from the online program at the University of Texas, El Paso.
Kai Raine
Subsidy Presses and Self-Publishing: A First Timer’s Perspective
Short Lecture with Q&A
Career
There is a lot of information out there about self-publishing, but it can be overwhelming for a first-timer. In this lecture, I will detail my first experience with subsidy publishing, and lessons I have since learned in self-publishing.
When self-publishing, there is a lot to consider: ISBNs, cover art, editors, layout, format… And all this on top of all the writing and polishing of your writing. This can be overwhelming for a first-time self-publisher, who might not know where to start.
In this lecture, I will recount my first publishing experience, in which I went with a subsidy press, and explain the lessons I learned about both self- and subsidy publishing.
I will share information about Gatekeeper Press, the publisher I used, but I will also detail some downsides of that experience.
This is a lecture aimed at first-time authors.
Kai Raine is a PhD student of cognitive science in robotics. Kai is the author of the subsidy-published fantasy novel These Lies That Live Between Us. Kai spends her free time writing and reading anything she can get her hands on.
Karen Hill Anton
Memoir: Everyone has a story – here’s how you can tell (write!) yours
Short Lecture with Q&A
Nonfiction
Memoirists speak of their experience of writing as cathartic, but this author thinks it may be much more than that. She says writing your memoir, an endeavor of personal storytelling you’re prepared to share with the world, can be a deeply satisfying revelation.
Having recently published The View From Breast Pocket Mountain: A Memoir, in this session the author will share what she’s learned, and explore with attendees the essential elements of this genre.
In this session we will cover such topics as Chronology, Identifying Theme, Structure, Yourself as the Principal Character, Voice, Detail, and Dialogue.
Karen Hill Anton wrote the column “Crossing Cultures” for the Japan Times (1985-1999). Her short story appears in “The Broken Bridge” (Stone Bridge Press) and recently in the essay collection “The Meaning of Michelle” (St. Martin’s Press). Originally from New York City, she’s lived with her family in rural Shizuoka since 1975.
Recipient of the “Outstanding Nonfiction (Memoir)” award at the Southern California Writers Conference, September 2018, The View From Breast Pocket Mountain is available at www.karenhillanton.com
Marco Lobo
Providing Authenticity through Research in Both Fiction and Non-Fiction
Short Lecture with Q&A
Fiction/Nonfiction
A look into research sources for developing timelines and fact-checking in order to build an environment that supports a credible narrative.
One of the greatest challenges in writing historical novels is ensuring that historical descriptions for the period are authentic. Often an arduous task, it is also a delight to be able to immerse readers in the real world of a novel’s protagonists and antagonists.
With no experience of biographical writing, I accepted a commission to document the life of a historical figure (and family member) who died in the 1960’s. With a very restrictive deadline, I threw myself into the research and successfully completed the project on time. Reviews of the book have been overwhelmingly positive. I will share my experience with this project.
With a 40-year business career, Marco built his reputation by helping European and North American multinationals establish their commercial footprint in Japan and the wider Asia region.
He published his first book in 2012, ‘The Witch Hunter’s Amulet’ a historical novel. He has since published three more historical novels: ‘Mesquita’s Reflections’, ‘The Atavist’, ‘JINCAN’, and ‘…everyday is mine’, a biography of Pedro José Lobo.
Melinda Falgoust
The Mad, Mad, Science of Dissecting the Plot Monster: A Universal Formula for Success
Short Lecture with Q&A, Craft Workshop
Fiction
It IS Rocket Science…well, sort of.
Participants learn the scientific formula distilled from the teachings of master storytelling gurus worldwide which can be applied universally across all types of writing. With a slight margin for error, the formula holds true for most successful works, many which will be examined in this presentation.
Every good doctor (evil genius scientist) knows the inner mechanics of his patient (or monster). Writers are no different. We have no Gray’s Anatomy, but we do have some scions of story science to provide guidance to the systems and organs that make a truly good story sing – the 16 elements that form the anatomy of plot.
Attendees will participate in guided dissection of some successful, well-known titles in children’s and adult literature to see how the Plot Formula applies and, when adhered to, nearly guarantees a concise, tightly woven plot that keeps the monster under control.
Melinda Falgoust is an internationally award-winning author whose writing has appeared in Reader’s Digest, AHMM, and others. Most recently, she was recognized as a finalist in the Clive Cussler Adventure Writer’s Competition. The veteran actor often reaches into her actor’s bag-of-tricks to introduce quirky characters that bring her presentations alive!
Michael Frazier
I AM MY FAMILY (a persona workshop)
Craft Workshop
Poetry
This is a poetry workshop (open to writers of all genres) who are interested in writing about and through their family. We will use the persona form—writing in the voice of family members—to interrogate ourselves. Some poets we’ll look at include Natalie Diaz, Paul Tran, and Julian Randall.
No one can move forward without looking back at where they’ve come from. This is the principle that guides this workshop. Persona poetry is poetry in the voice of someone, or thing, other than ourselves: shiba inu, wild iris, Sailor Moon, Kanye West, or even your bed. We will use the persona to focus on and interrogate our own families and make meaning out of the relationships that have formed us. In order to embody the voices of our family (biological or chosen) we must practice radical empathy. While a persona is in the voice of someone else, my hope is that in the poems we will write, we will turn inwards and learn something new about ourselves. We will look at writers who wield the persona and voices of their family with urgency like Paul Tran, Yalie Kamara, Hiwot Adilow, K-Ming Chang, Natalie Diaz, and Eduardo C. Corral.
Michael Frazier is a poet in Kanazawa. He graduated from NYU, where he was the 2017 poet commencement speaker & co-champion of CUPSI. He’s performed at venues including Nuyorican Poets Café & Lincoln Center. On staff at The Adroit Journal, his poems appear in COUNTERCLOCK, Construction, Visible Poetry Project, among others.
Mike (Michael) Guest
Depicting Multiple Identities and Marginalized Characters in Fiction
Short lecture with Q&A
Fiction
Intersecting cultural, ethnic, and social identities are a feature of our increasingly hybrid/hyphenated society, and one that has emerged in modern fiction. In this presentation, with reference to his own writing struggles, the presenter will discuss how writers might tackle the depiction of such characters while avoiding stereotypes and caricatures.
Intersecting and, often, competing senses of self and other — ethnic, cultural, linguistic, sexual, or social — is a fact of 21st century life. The world is becoming increasingly populated with hyphenized-hybrid cultural and linguistic identities, a wider recognition of non-traditional sexual/gender identities, ‘third-culture children’, all working within multiple socio-cultural milieus. Such characters are also now increasingly emerging in fiction, as in the presenter’s novel, ‘The Aggrieved Parties’. This, however, creates a fiction writer’s dilemma: How can we depict such complexity in our characters without falling into the traps of pandering to stereotypes or using such characters merely as vehicles for socio-political commentary? Taking examples from both his own and others’ work plus thirty years’ experience living and traveling ‘abroad’, the presenter hopes to ignite a discussion as to how balance, sensitivity, and accuracy in creating complex identities in pan-cultural fiction might best be achieved.
Michael (Mike) Guest is Associate Professor of English in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Miyazaki. Besides over twenty years’ worth of academic publications, Guest has written two novels, the latest being ‘The Aggrieved Parties’
The Aggrieved Parties: A Novel
He also maintains an EFL blog, ‘Musings and Methods’,
https://ltprofessionals.com/author/mike-guest
and a literary blog, ‘Honeyed Badger Feet’.
Michael Pronko
The Structuring Blues
Short lecture with Q&A
Fiction
This talk will propose various forms of structuring in the creative process. Both conceptual and practical approaches to employing structuring processes will be explained as ways to enhance the creative process and become more productive.
Structuring longer forms of writing is extremely important. Some writers can handle that in their head, but many need the help of paper, pen, craft books and computer tools. This talk will go into the how and why of structuring a novel with a focus on keeping the process flowing, productive and changeable. Structure need not be confining, formulaic or straightjacketing. Just the opposite, utilizing structure is one of the most important ways to improvise and create freely. This short lecture with Q&A will talk about the stages of structuring a novel, starting with the initial core idea and moving through three- and five-part concepts of structure, to final revisions. At each stage of the process, a supple, tensile concept of structure can greatly enhance improvised creativity and narrative flow. The talk will look at various techniques for best using structuring techniques.
Michael Pronko has written for many publications. His mystery novels, The Last Train and The Moving Blade, won numerous awards. Tokyo Traffic was released in 2020. He also has three books about Tokyo life and runs the website Jazz in Japan. He teaches American Literature at Meiji Gakuin University.
Michael Dylan Welch
Going Nowhere: Learning Haiku from Pico Iyer (and a writing exercise)
Lecture with exercise and discussion
Poetry
Join Michael Dylan Welch for an inspirational PowerPoint presentation on the art of going nowhere, and writing haiku about it. Haiku poets are accustomed to seeing the virtue of the ordinary, but now that we’re all mostly still in coronavirus lockdown, or have been for a while, we’ve all been forced to “go nowhere.” Pico Iyer, the well-known travel writer based in Kyoto, has written about the art of stillness that finds much in common with haiku. This presentation explores his ideas and applies them to haiku, and may inspire you even if you write other poetry or fiction. You can help with the presentation by taking turns reading “nowhere” haiku shown on screen. After the presentation and a brief discussion, we’ll turn our attention to a writing exercise, and then share what we write (if you like) for group discussion.
Michael Dylan Welch is originally from England, and grew up there and in Ghana, Australia, and Canada. He currently lives near Seattle, but enjoys visiting Japan (his wife is Japanese, from Gifu prefecture). Michael’s haiku have been recited for the Empress of Japan, performed at the Baseball Hall of Fame, printed on balloons, and chiselled into stone. He has won first prize in the Henderson, Brady, Drevniok, and Tokutomi haiku contests, among others, and his poems, essays and reviews have appeared in hundreds of books, anthologies, and journals in more than twenty languages. His translations from the Japanese (with Emiko Miyashita) have included books on Noh, furoshiki, bonsai, and a translation of the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, a selection of which appeared on the back of 150,000,000 U.S. postage stamps. Michael was also keynote speaker for the 2013 Haiku International Association convention in Tokyo. He served as vice president of the Haiku Society of America for many years, and cofounded the Haiku North America conference in 1991 and the American Haiku Archives in 1996. He founded the Tanka Society of America in 2000 (and returned recently as president), the annual Seabeck Haiku Getaway in 2008, and National Haiku Writing Month in 2010 (www.nahaiwrimo.com). Michael has also served two terms as poet laureate of Redmond, Washington, where he is also president of the Redmond Association of Spokenword and curator since 2006 of the monthly SoulFood Poetry Night readings. He has published more than 75 books, mostly related to haiku. You can learn more about Michael, and read his essays and poems at www. graceguts.com.
Naomi Hirahara
The Gardener Did It: Developing a Mystery Sleuth
Lecture with Q&A
Fiction
One of the most popular categories of books, the mystery genre opens a door to history, culture and setting. At the center of a successful standalone novel or series is its sleuth.
Naomi Hirahara, author of the Edgar Award-winning Mas Arai mystery series, will share specific details on how she developed her gardener protagonist and discuss other sleuths–from classics such as Sherlock Holmes to more contemporary ones like Maisie Dobbs.
A former journalist with The Rafu Shimpo newspaper in Los Angeles, Naomi worked on her debut book for 15 years before SUMMER OF THE BIG BACHI was published in 2004 by Random House. Since then she has released a total of 10 mysteries, one middle-grade book and several nonfiction history books. Her final Mas Arai mystery, HIROSHIMA BOY, will be published in Japan by Shogakukan in 2021. Her upcoming historic standalone set in 1944 Chicago, CLARK AND DIVISION, is scheduled for publication in 2021 with Soho Crime. For more information, go to www.naomihirahara.com. All her novels, both print and electronic, are available on all platforms; the entire Mas Arai mystery series, including two in Japanese, are offered as audiobooks on Audible.
Patrick Parr
How to Write and Sell Biography
Short Lecture with Q&A
Nonfiction
For anyone looking to write about someone other than themselves. To write original biographical portraits, it takes knowing where to look. Archives, interviews, microfilm…if you like these words, come on in.
For this presentation/Q and A, I’ll take the audience through a simple five-step process to create a unique article about someone who you assume everything has been written about.
I’ll also show how I started creating my ‘biographical portrait’ platform back in 2014 after writing short fiction for fifteen years.
I’ll also describe how to properly research and write an article (or book) about a well-known historical figure, such as Albert Einstein or Martin Luther King Jr.
Patrick Parr’s first book is The Seminarian: Martin Luther King Jr. Comes of Age. His newest is One Week in America: The 1968 Notre Dame Literary Festival and a Changing Nation. He is a history columnist for Japan Today and teaches at Lakeland University of Japan.
Paul Rossiter, Warren Decker, Gregory Dunne, Jane Joritz-Nakagawa, Philip Rowland
This Year at Isobar
Reading with Q&A
Poetry
Five Isobar poets will introduce and read from their latest books: The Long Side of the Midnight Sun (Warren Decker), Other/Wise (Gregory Dunne), Plan B Audio (Jane Joritz-Nakagawa), and The Painting Stick (second, expanded edition, Paul Rossiter), NOON: An Anthology of Short Poems (Philip Rowland, editor).
In this session, five Isobar authors will introduce their latest books. Warren Decker will perform passages from his book-length poetic drama, The Long Side of the Midnight Sun, in which the hero, Craig, along with his wife and family, leaves home in Osaka and embarks on a mind-altering journey in Ocean City, Maryland. Gregory Dunne will read his quietly moving elegies and open-hearted poems of friendship, marriage, family and vocation from his collection Other/Wise. Jane Joritz-Nakazawa will read from Plan B Audio, her powerful book-length poem written in response to a life-threatening illness and in the aftermath of the radical surgery that saved her life. Paul Rossiter will read from The Painting Stick, a collection of poems from 1991-2002, originally published in 2005; eleven (at last finished!) poems from the same period have been added to this second, expanded edition. Philip Rowland will read from NOON: An Anthology of Short Poems, which he edited.
Warren Decker lives in Izumi, Japan,
trapped in his doubts, but presuming he can
write his way out by rhyming each line
with his feet keeping time. He aspires to shine
like a luminous wave of blinding compassion
but was just a dim ripple the last time we asked him.
Warren’s poetry, fiction and non-fiction have appeared in The Best American Poetry 2018, Frogpond, Modern Haiku, NOON: journal of the short poem, Acorn, The New Ohio Review, THINK, Sou’wester, Fifth Wednesday, and several other online and print journals. He has also been spotted performing his rhymed poetry online and in front of live audiences in Osaka.
Gregory Dunne is the author of Fistful of Lotus (Elizabeth Forrest, 2000), Home Test (Adastra Press, 2009) and Quiet Accomplishment: Remembering Cid Corman (Ekstasis Editions, 2014). He is an associate poetry editor at Kyoto Journal and teaches in the Faculty of Comparative Culture at Miyazaki International College. Dunne has published poetry in Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, cold drill, Crazyhorse, Hummingbird, Kyoto Journal, Modern Haiku, Poetry East, Poetry Kanto, Rock and Sling, Verse and Voice and Yomimono, among others. His books are Fistful of Lotus (Elizabeth Forrest, 2000) and Home Test (Adastra Press, 2009). His critical memoir, Quiet Accomplishment: Remembering Cid Corman was published in 2014 (Ekstasis Editions).
Jane Joritz-Nakagawa is the author of ten poetry collections, as well as chapbooks, ebooks, and a volume of selected poems: Poems: New & Selected (2018). She has also edited an anthology of innovative transcultural poetry and essays by fifty women poets titled women : poetry : migration [an anthology]. She has published poetry, essays and memoirs in many journals, including A glimpse of, The Argotist Online UK, Dispatches from the Poetry Wars, Marsh Hawk Review, Modern Haiku, New American Writing, NOON: journal of the short poem, Otoliths, Past Simple, Plumwood Mountain, Sibila, Tears in the Fence, Translating Chronic Pain, and Wordgathering. She has published ten books of poetry, including Poems: New & Selected (Isobar Press, 2018), and in 2018 she edited women : poetry : migration [an anthology] (theenk Books).
Paul Rossiter has published nine books of poetry since 1995. After retiring from teaching at the University of Tokyo in 2012, he founded Isobar Press, which specialises in publishing English-language poetry from Japan. More information about Isobar Press can be found at: https://isobarpress.com. Journals where his work appear include NOON: journal of the short poem, Otoliths, PN Review, Poetry Salzburg Review, Tears in the Fence, Shearsman, Tokyo Poetry Journal and World Haiku. He has published nine books of poetry since 1995: the most recent are Temporary Measures (Isobar Press, 2017), and On Arrival (Isobar Press, 2019).
Philip Rowland lives in Tokyo, where he works as a professor of English. He is the author of Something Other Than Other (Isobar, 2016), the founding editor of NOON: journal of the short poem, editor of NOON: An Anthology of Short Poems (Isobar, 2018), and co-editor of the anthology Haiku in English: The First Hundred Years (Norton, 2013). His other publications include together still (Hub Editions, 2004), where rungs were (Noon Press, 2007), someone one once ran away with (Longhouse, 2009), before music (Red Moon Press, 2012), Something Other Than Other (Isobar, 2016). He is the founding editor of NOON: journal of the short poem.
Percival Constantine
Finding Success With Self-Publishing
Lecture with Q & A
Career
The rise of ebooks has made it easier than ever to get your book to your readers without going through a publisher. But is self-publishing even right for you? How do you find readers? Can you actually make money? Self-published author Percival Constantine will help you answer these questions and more so you are better informed about what decision is best for your writing career.
Raised on a consistent diet of superhero comics, action movies, and video games, Percival Constantine wanted to grow up and write the type of fiction he consumed. Now as a prolific author of pulp fiction, he’s written around thirty books across various genres. He’s also the host two podcasts—Japan On Film and Superhero Cinephiles. When he’s not working on projects, he somehow finds time to teach classes in literature, film, and English. Born and raised in Chicago, he’s now based in Kagoshima, Japan.
Website: http://percivalconstantine.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/percivalconstantine
Twitter: http://twitter.com/perconstantine
Email: pc@percivalconstantine.com
Steve McClure
The Art of the Interview
Short Lecture with Q&A
Instructional
Veteran journalist Steve McClure passes on some tips about how to prepare for, conduct, and write up a successful interview.
There’s a lot more to conducting a successful interview than sitting down with your subject and turning on your recording device (or opening your notebook) and asking questions. In this talk, veteran Tokyo-based journalist Steve McClure outlines how to prepare for, conduct, and write up an interview so that the finished product — in print or electronic form — is clearly presented, informative and maybe even entertaining. Making an interview work involves striking the right balance between planning and spontaneity, thinking on your feet, and remembering that the point of doing an interview is to enable the subject to communicate his or her ideas or information to your intended audience — it’s not about you. A good interviewer is a combination of stenographer, psychologist and logician. And good interviewing skills are useful in all sorts of fields — not just journalism.
Steve McClure is a native of Vancouver, Canada, and has lived in Tokyo since 1985. From 1991 until 2008 he was the Japan correspondent and then Asia bureau chief of Billboard magazine. He now works as a TV news rewriter at NHK World as well as a freelance writer and narrator.
Steve Redford
Stuck in a Dark Tunnel? Really? — Managing the Writing of a Novel
Short lecture with a bit of workshopping and discussion
Fiction
This presentation/discussion will focus on the problems involved in managing the writing of a novel–useful, hopefully, for those who have in the past struggled with “keeping a novel together,” and for those trying to tackle a long piece of fiction for the first time.
You’ve got an idea for a novel, a rough idea of plot and conflicts, a rough idea for five or six major characters. You want to guarantee the likelihood of producing an excellent work of fiction and increase the likelihood of finishing it. How much more brainstorming about character and plot should you do before you actually begin the writing of the novel itself? How completely do you need to understand each character’s personality, quirks, likes/dislikes, past experiences, recent experiences, and impressions?These are questions this presentation will address. After some statements on writing by a number of novelists, the presenter will discuss how he’s approaching the writing of his current project. A short exercise will follow, encouraging participants to consider how important depth of knowledge about a character can be.
Steve Redford is originally from Atlanta, Georgia. He has one M.A. in American Literature and Creative Writing, and another in Advanced Japanese Studies. He has been a professor of American literature at Shizuoka University for twenty-two years. Most importantly, he is a hiker, a ukulele player, and a gardener. His website is https://www.persimmon-dreams.com/
Steve’s books include: When a Sissy Climbs a Mountain in May and Along the Same Street
Steven Wolfson
The Art of Cinematic Storytelling
Lecture with Q&A
The greatest challenge facing all screenwriters, whether novice or professional, is the process of transforming a premise into a compelling, sustainable story. This workshop focuses solely on the art of the story, with an emphasis on such fundamentals as character development, super-objective, rising conflict, scene work, and three-act structure. Participants learn how to spot critical mistakes often made in the first draft of a screenplay. The final goal of the workshop is a greater understanding of what makes a story work and a series of tools that participants can immediately apply to their current script.
Steven Wolfson has been an Outstanding Instructor of the Year in The Writers Program at UCLA twice where he has taught for the past 20 years. A highly sought-after story consultant and dramaturg, he has worked one-on-one with several A-list Hollywood writers and directors.
As a screenwriter, Wolfson has sold projects to Fox, Lions Gate, TNT, MTV, Langley Entertainment, Beacon Films and producer Arnold Rifkin. Wolfson wrote the independent romantic comedy, Dinner and Driving, which premiered at The Austin Film Festival and went on to win audience awards at several film festivals and was sold to HBO. Wolfson also wrote and co-produced the critically acclaimed Lionsgate feature, Gang Tapes, a coming-of-age drama set in South Central, Los Angeles. Gang Tapes played to sold-out audiences at film festivals in both The United States and Europe.
Suzanne Kamata
Wheelchair User or Wheelchair-bound?: Writing About Disability
Short Lecture with Q&A
Fiction, Nonfiction
In this session, I will discuss positive and problematic representations of persons with disabilities in literature, including my own work, with a view to developing better awareness.
With the approach of the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics (hopefully), people with disabilities in Japan have been given more attention than perhaps ever before. English textbooks for Japanese children now frequently include stories about or representations of people with disabilities. Worldwide, initiatives such as #weneeddiversebooks and the call for #ownvoices have led to an increase of books featuring characters with disabilities. That said, some of these representations, and the way that they are discussed remain problematic. When do stories about disability become “inspiration porn”? What kind of language should we use when discussing disability? Who has the right to tell these stories? In this session, I will address these questions, using examples from recently published Japanese textbooks and literature featuring children in Japan and other countries, including my own work.
Suzanne Kamata is the award-winning author or editor of twelve published books including Love You to Pieces: Creative Writers on Raising a Child with Special Needs (Beacon Press, 2008), Gadget Girl: The Art of Being Invisible (GemmaMedia, 2013), A Girls’ Guide to the Islands (Gemma Open Door, 2017), Squeaky Wheels: Travels with My Daughter by Train, Plane, Metro, Tuk-tuk and Wheelchair (Wyatt-Mackenzie Publishing, 2019), and Indigo Girl (GemmaMedia, 2019). She is an Associate Professor at Naruto University of Education.
Todd Jay Leonard
Publishing in the EFL Market in Japan: Four Perspectives on How to Make your Proposal Count
Short lecture with Q & A
Career
This presentation will outline the current publishing market in Japan for EFL/ESL textbooks by reviewing the various points of views of the publishing industry. The presenter has published extensively within the ESL/EFL market in Japan and will offer helpful advice to budding authors who wish to pursue projects geared to Japan’s domestic market.
Most likely, every language teacher in Japan has (at some point during his/her tenure) contemplated writing a textbook to fill a void in the market…in that constant search for the perfect, all encompassing textbook.
In today’s competitive publishing world, getting the proverbial “foot in the door” can seem daunting and nearly impossible. What are publishers looking for in the current market? What appeals to editors who ultimately decide which titles go to production and which ones do not? What are the salespeople on the front lines hearing from their market base? What must an author do in order to get his/her book published?
This presentation focuses on these very questions, offering inside insights from all the various points of view that must be considered when writing a proposal to publish a textbook–the publisher, the editor, the salesperson, and the author. Professor Leonard explains the realities within the publishing industry and addresses some common myths associated with EFL publishing.
Todd Jay Leonard has been actively involved in book publishing for thirty years. He is the author of 22 books. He has published books with a number of different Japanese publishing companies. He lives, writes, and teaches on the southern island of Kyushu, where he is a university professor at University of Teacher Education Fukuoka. He has also published extensively in academic journals, magazines, and newspapers on cross-cultural, historical, and Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) themes.
Warren Decker
Pterodactylic Pentagrameter: Working with Rhyme and Meter
Craft Workshop
Poetry
In this workshop we will focus on poetry that incorporates rhyme and meter. As a participant, please bring 2-10 lines of rhymed and metered poetry for us to discuss. Please also be ready to share your unique techniques for finding the right meter and rhymes for your poetic lines.
Paradoxically, the confines of rhyme and meter can often serve to open unexpected creative doors. One who sets out to write about “fractals” may find “pterodactyls” swooping into their poem. Maintaining a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed beats might lead a poet—after many hours at the keyboard—feeling as though a supernatural rhythmic force is guiding them to choose the perfect words and in the perfect order.
In this workshop, while looking at specific examples of rhyme and meter as exhibited in the participants’ samples, we will collectively attempt to recall the wonderful technical terminology describing syllabic meter (for example: “iambic pentameter,” and “dactylic tetrameter”), but also consider looser and more intuitive accentual poetic rhythms.
Furthermore, we will discuss the incredible variation contained within the seemingly simple concept of “rhyme,” focusing on concrete examples to understand how and why certain rhymes work.
Warren Decker has published poetry, fiction and non-fiction in The Best American Poetry 2018, NOON, The Font, Frogpond, Modern Haiku, Acorn, The New Ohio Review, THINK, Sou’wester, Fifth Wednesday, and several other online and print journals. He also performs his poetry online and in front of live audiences in Osaka.
Wendy Jones Nakanishi (aka Lea O’Harra)
How to Write a Crime Novel
Short lecture w/ Q & A
I will offer advice and suggestions to individuals who wish to try to write a murder mystery. These include the importance of creating a group of clearly-defined individuals (including, of course, the potential victim and the potential murderer) within a well-established context: people with whom readers can identify, in situations which are readily comprehensible, Plotting, naturally, is an essential component of such a novel. The author needs to increase the tension and stakes (and suspense) steadily throughout the book. All the main plot lines and subplots need to support or complement each other, ratcheting up the tension. Detail has to be vividly presented — and made implicit rather than explicit, allowing readers to draw their own conclusions. I will provide examples from from famous exemplars of this fiction genre as well as from my own crime fiction novels.
Wendy Jones Nakanishi, an American by birth, has lived in Japan for 36 years, employed full-time at private Japanese universities. She has published widely in her academic field of English literature and also writes creative non-fiction and short stories. In recent years, under the pen name of Lea O’Harra, she has published three crime fiction novels in her ‘Inspector Inoue Mystery Series.’
https://www.amazon.co.jp/s?k=lea+oharra&ref=nb_sb_noss