Speaker: Hugh Ashton
Date: November 27, 2010 (Saturday)
Time: 3:00-5:00 p.m. (followed by the SWET/JAT bonenkai)
Fee: 1,000 yen SWET and JAT members; 1,500 yen non-members
Place: Room A, U’s 2, Umeda, Osaka Map
Reservations: SWET Kansai

Hugh Ashton completed a novel, Beneath Gray Skies, which did not find favor with the traditional publishing world, for whatever reason. Exploring the world of independent self-publishing, he discovered that it was so much fun that he decided to publish his second novel, At The Sharpe End, independently as well, with the result that it reached (briefly) number 5 in the Amazon Japan thriller bestseller list. Hugh will be discussing the pleasures and perils of “DIY publishing,” and reading from his books. Both titles will be available for purchase at the event.

Hugh Ashton emigrated to Japan from the UK in 1988, where he has remained ever since; writing instruction manuals for a variety of consumer products, assisting with IT-related projects at banks and financial institutions, and researching and writing industry reports on the Japanese and Asian financial industries. Some of the knowledge he has gained in these fields forms the background for At the Sharpe End. Hugh currently lives with his wife Yoshiko in the old town of Kamakura to the south of Tokyo, where he is working on future novels and stories.

[This event is followed by the SWET Kansai/JAT Kansai Bonenkai, starting at 6 p.m., nearby.]