Interested in hosting JWC 2024 or beyond? Email to japanwritersconference@gmail.com
Interested in hosting JWC 2024 or beyond? Email to japanwritersconference@gmail.com
A heartfelt thanks to our amazing presenters, enthusiastic attendees, and dedicated organizers for making this conference a resounding success! Stay tuned for updates on next year’s meeting location—it’s going to be even more exciting! In the meantime check out the pictures, video, and recap article below!




























Writers Unite: Navigating the Craft at the English-Speaking Japan Writers Conference
Recap article - GoConnect - Nov 2, 2023
For the 2023 program and for our email subscription click the corresponding button below
About Us
The Japan Writers Conference (JWC) is a free, annual conference open to all. Since 2007, the JWC has attracted English-language writers in a variety of fields for a weekend of sharing ideas and experiences on the art, craft and business of writing.
Entirely organized by volunteers, the JWC is hosted by a different Japanese university each year, with past venues in Tokyo, Hokkaido, Kobe, Kyoto, Tokushima, Iwate and Okinawa—this year it will be held at Sugiyama Jogakuen University in Nagoya, Aichi.
















Past presenters include translator Juliet Winters Carpenter, Colunnist Baye McNeil, YA writers Holly Thompson and Suzanne Kamata, science writers Amanda Alvarez and Elizabeth Tracker, journalist Elaine Lies, poet Jessica Goodfellow, poet/editors Phillip Rowland and Richard Jones, creative nonfiction writer Ann Tashi Slater, and novelists Barry Eisler, Naomi Hirahara, and Vikas Swarup; journals and publishers include The Font, Cha, Kyoto Journal, Fine Line Press, and Isobar Press.
See Zoom-talk videos from the pandemic years at our YouTube Channel.
FAQ
This conference is free to all.
The JWC is free and open to all. Registration is not required, and everyone can come directly to the venue. However, we strongly recommend that anyone interested in attending the conference registers to stay updated, particularly in case of unexpected circumstances such as typhoons. The registration button will be available once the program is ready in August. Note: certain sessions may require preregistration or the submission of materials. Please refer to the corresponding schedule for further details.
All published writers, translators, editors, agents and publishers are welcome to submit presentation proposals. We especially encourage proposals from new submitters. One of our strengths has been variety, and the best way to foster variety is to have new presenters each year.
Those who have presented at past conferences are (of course) welcome to submit new proposals. But please, in the words of Ezra Pound, “Make it new.”
Presentations on all genres and all aspects of writing and publishing are welcome. The deadline for presentation proposals is June 1.
Most of the presentations at JWC are in English. However, sometimes there are also bilingual presentations. Please check the conference program for details.
Presenters and their publishers are free to bring copies of their books to sell at the conference. We will have a designated room with tables where they can display books, and this room is always popular with conference goers. Most simply leave their books on a table along with a price list and an envelope for money while they attend conference sessions. We have had no trouble with books going missing with this method. However, we cannot guarantee that people will pay. Also, we ask that people be sensitive to space limitations.
Please check out the following:
- meetup.com (there are several writers’ groups, including Tokyo Writers Workshop)
- swet.jp (Society of Writers, Editors and Translators)
- japan.scbwi.org (Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators)
- www.writersinkyoto.com (English-language authors working or living in Kyoto).
We appreciate that travel and lodging can be expensive. However, because we are a free event, JWC does not have the resources to help with expenses.
Sorry, we are unable to help with this.
For all other questions, please contact us at: japanwritersconference@gmail.com
Get Involved
Join JWC events
To stay in touch with the latest information, subscribe to our mailing list:
Spread the news
We are always looking for a chance to publicize the JWC. If you know of a publication that would be interested in publishing an announcement or interview, please let us know.
Recommend speakers
If you know someone the JWC might approach–either living in Japan or planning to visit Japan next autumn–please let us know. Contact information would be a great help!
Host a JWC
We are always looking for sites for future conferences. If you would like to host a JWC in the future, please let us know. The sites could be anywhere in Japan. Our annual conferences are two days long and are usually held over a weekend in the fall. We need at least four classrooms: three for conference sessions and one to display books. The session rooms should have projectors that can be used for PowerPoint presentations. Because this is a free conference, we cannot pay for the use of these rooms.
Team
We’ll see you in Nagoya!
LEAD ORGANIZER. Kartika is a former climate scientist, who one day arrived at a point that recalled her youth’s passion for writing. She started taking writing more seriously in 2021. Her work has appeared in Grande Dame Literary and White Enso, among others. She has experience coordinating academic events, and since 2023 she has served as co-organizer of JWC. She is pleased to meet all writing enthusiasts, despite their background, in JWC events.
CO-ORGANIZER. John is a poet and writer on music and other topics. A native of Southern California, he has lived in Tokyo since 1993. His work appears internationally and his books include 100 Poets, One Song Each (a translation of The Ogura Hyakunin Isshu of Fujiwara no Teika), Ueno Mornings and Another Wrong Fedora. He has been involved with the JWC since the first conference in 2007, and has served as co-organizer since 2009.
CO-ORGANIZER. Karen is a fiction writer who has lived in Tokyo since 1993. She serves with John Gribble as co-organizer of the Japan Writers Conference and the monthly Tokyo Writers Workshop. Her story “Dot Rat” was included in Best American Mystery Stories 2017. At JWC she has given the presentations “Writing Violence” and “Writing About Sex.”
PUBLICITY COORDINATOR. Tom is a staff writer for The Japan News, he has given four presentations at the JWC over the years: “Interviewing Creative Subjects” in 2010, “Editing for Brevity” in 2014, “Anatomy of a Book Review” in 2018, and “How to Write a Pub Quiz” in 2021. He is also a co-author of “Tokyo Chic” and “The Sushi Lover’s Cookbook.”
WEBMASTER. Jonathan is a UK born web developer and English teacher who has been living in Chiba, Japan for about a decade. Besides updating the JWC website, in his free time he develops apps, reads short fiction and plays tabletop roleplaying games.
WEB DEVELOPER. Patrick is a free-lance science writer and editor, who is currently involved with a project intersecting blog design, data visualization, and kakenhi application. He is the web design specialist at JWC. He was born in Taiwan; grew up in southern France and then in northern Germany; and holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from Penn State. He currently lives in Fukushima prefecture and dreams of writing fiction that is worthwhile someday.
JAPANESE-ENGLISH TRANSLATOR. Saki is an undergraduate student at Department of International Education, Tsuru University, Japan. At JWC, she helps translate from English to Japanese.
CO-Organizer. Swastika works as Manager for Fukushima Seaside (https://www.fukushimaseaside.jp), Japan and is simultaneously pursuing her PhD in Linguistics at Tohoku University. She has previously been an Editorial Resident for The Seventh Wave, and has published her poetry in Eunoia Review, Mudroom and Parentheses Journal among others. She has been nominated for Best of Net and Pushcart Prizes, and loves few things as much as she loves chai and Curious George.
2023 JWC HOST. Iain is the author of eight books, including the critically acclaimed “The Only Gaijin in the Village” (Birlinn, 2020), a memoir about his life in rural Japan. His latest book is “The Japan Lights” (Tippermuir, 2023). He teaches Creative Writing and English Literature at Sugiyama Jogakuen University in Nagoya. He is also a freelance editor and journalist, mainly for The Japan Times. He was born and raised in Aberdeen, Scotland and he currently lives in Japan. He studied English at the University of Aberdeen, graduated from the University of Glasgow’s Creative Writing Masters in 2004, and holds a PhD from the University of Sunderland.
Kartika Lestari
LEAD ORGANIZER. Kartika is a former climate scientist, who one day arrived at a point that recalled her youth’s passion for writing. She started taking writing more seriously in 2021. Her work has appeared in Grande Dame Literary and White Enso, among others. She has experience coordinating academic events, and since 2023 she has served as co-organizer of JWC. She is pleased to meet all writing enthusiasts, despite their background, in JWC events.
John Gribble
CO-ORGANIZER. John is a poet and writer on music and other topics. A native of Southern California, he has lived in Tokyo since 1993. His work appears internationally and his books include 100 Poets, One Song Each (a translation of The Ogura Hyakunin Isshu of Fujiwara no Teika), Ueno Mornings and Another Wrong Fedora. He has been involved with the JWC since the first conference in 2007, and has served as co-organizer since 2009.
Karen McGee
CO-ORGANIZER. Karen is a fiction writer who has lived in Tokyo since 1993. She serves with John Gribble as co-organizer of the Japan Writers Conference and the monthly Tokyo Writers Workshop. Her story “Dot Rat” was included in Best American Mystery Stories 2017. At JWC she has given the presentations “Writing Violence” and “Writing About Sex.”
Tom Baker
PUBLICITY COORDINATOR. Tom is a staff writer for The Japan News, he has given four presentations at the JWC over the years: “Interviewing Creative Subjects” in 2010, “Editing for Brevity” in 2014, “Anatomy of a Book Review” in 2018, and “How to Write a Pub Quiz” in 2021. He is also a co-author of “Tokyo Chic” and “The Sushi Lover’s Cookbook.”
Jonathan Rudd
WEBMASTER. Jonathan is a UK born web developer and English teacher who has been living in Chiba, Japan for about a decade. Besides updating the JWC website, in his free time he develops apps, reads short fiction and plays tabletop roleplaying games.
Patrick Han
WEB DEVELOPER. Patrick is a free-lance science writer and editor, who is currently involved with a project intersecting blog design, data visualization, and kakenhi application. He is the web design specialist at JWC. He was born in Taiwan; grew up in southern France and then in northern Germany; and holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from Penn State. He currently lives in Fukushima prefecture and dreams of writing fiction that is worthwhile someday.
Saki Usui
JAPANESE-ENGLISH TRANSLATOR. Saki is an undergraduate student at Department of International Education, Tsuru University, Japan. At JWC, she helps translate from English to Japanese.
Swastika Jajoo
CO-ORGANIZER. Swastika works as Manager for Fukushima Seaside (https://www.fukushimaseaside.jp), Japan and is simultaneously pursuing her PhD in Linguistics at Tohoku University. She has previously been an Editorial Resident for The Seventh Wave, and has published her poetry in Eunoia Review, Mudroom and Parentheses Journal among others. She has been nominated for Best of Net and Pushcart Prizes, and loves few things as much as she loves chai and Curious George.
Iain Maloney
2023 JWC HOST. Iain is the author of eight books, including the critically acclaimed “The Only Gaijin in the Village” (Birlinn, 2020), a memoir about his life in rural Japan. His latest book is “The Japan Lights” (Tippermuir, 2023). He teaches Creative Writing and English Literature at Sugiyama Jogakuen University in Nagoya. He is also a freelance editor and journalist, mainly for The Japan Times. He was born and raised in Aberdeen, Scotland and he currently lives in Japan. He studied English at the University of Aberdeen, graduated from the University of Glasgow’s Creative Writing Masters in 2004, and holds a PhD from the University of Sunderland.
Contact
JWC 2023 Venue
Sugiyama Jogakuen University
17-3 Hoshigaoka Motomachi, Chikusa Ward, Nagoya, Aichi 464-0802
Train
Note: the nearest Shinkansen stop is Nagoya.
- From Nagoya Station, take the Higashiyama Subway Line (the yellow line) to Hoshigaoka station. Fare: 270 yen. Time: 20 min.
- Take exit 6 and turn left walking up the hill. You will pass the Hoshigaoka Terrace mall.
- When you reach the traffic lights, cross over to Hoshigaoka Driving School and turn left.
- Sugiyama Jogakuen University sits on both sides of the road. Enter the right-hand side campus through the main gates, under the archway. Total walking time: 7 min.
Plane
- From Central Japan International Airport (Centrair), take the MyuSky Meitetsu train to Nagoya Station.
- From Nagoya Station, take the Higashiyama Subway Line (the yellow line) to Hoshigaoka station. Fare: 270 yen. Time: 20 min.
- Take exit 6 and turn left walking up the hill. You will pass the Hoshigaoka Terrace mall.
- When you reach the traffic lights, cross over to Hoshigaoka Driving School and turn left.
- Sugiyama Jogakuen University sits on both sides of the road. Enter the right-hand side campus through the main gates, under the archway. Total walking time: 7 min.
Car
Please use the map above for directions.
Note: we do not recommend travel by car, as there is no free parking on campus. If you need to come by car due to disabilities, please contact the conference organizers.
Hotel
While there are no hotels in Hoshigaoka, there are a few along the Higashiyama Line in Sakae, Fushimi, Imaike, and Meieki (around Nagoya Station). We note that the Saturday night social gathering will be held at the Coat of Arms Bar & Restaurant in Sakae, the heart of Nagoya city (map).
Press
News, magazines, blogs, videos

THE JAPAN NEWS
Japan Writers Conference turns new page in 17th year - OCT 8, 2023

GOCONNECT
Global Authors to Gather at the 17th English-Speaking Japan Writers Conference - OCT 6, 2023

CONNECT MAGAZINE
Tom Baker (Saitama) interviewed by the CONNECT Team - May 19, 2023

THE JAPAN NEWS
Japan Writers Conference reflects a changing world - Oct 5, 2022

TOKYO WEEKENDER
The Japan Writers Conference: 8 Questions With John Gribble - Sep 29, 2022

THE JAPAN TIMES
Japan Writers Conference and revival of Monkey magazine make for a literary October - Oct 4, 2020

THE JAPAN TIMES
Tackling writer's block at the Japan Writers Conference - Oct 9, 2019

B.S. Donovan (Blog)
Japan Writers Conference - Oct 15, 2017 - No confefe, it was a conference, last weekend. Same as last year, I had two days to think about, talk about, and dream of writing...

B.S. Donovan (Blog)
Japan Writers Conference - Oct 30, 2016 - This last weekend I joined the Japan Writers Conference at Tokushima University. An annual event, about a hundred educators, journalists, poets, writers, and hangers-on like...

Trevor Kew (Blog)
Japan Writers Conference 2014 – Iwate University (Morioka) – Oct 25-26 - Nov 3, 2014 - The Japan Writers Conference (JWC) is a unique event for writers, poets, translators and publishers who live in Japan but work (for the most part)...