Publishing Books on Japan: 45 Years and Still Trying to Get It Right
Peter Goodman, Stone Bridge Press

Interviewer: Beth Cary
Date: December 5, 2020 (Saturday)/US time December 4, 2020 (Friday)
Time: 11:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m. JST (main talk starts at JST 12:00 noon; US EST 10:00 p.m.; US PST 7:00 p.m.)

Peter Goodman discusses what he learned in his early editing experience, which has stood the test of time and changing technology; how he has maneuvered through the shifting grounds of the publishing industry during the past three decades, as it lurched into the twenty-first century; and what he sees as the future of publishing, especially as it relates to independent publishers and opportunities for self-publishing. These are of particular import for books and translations on Japan as they seek to find their audience.

Our speaker, Stone Bridge Press president and publisher Peter Goodman, is a graduate of Cornell University. He lived in Tokyo for nine years, where he worked as an editor for English-language publishers Charles E. Tuttle and Kodansha International before returning to the United States in 1985. Peter established Stone Bridge Press in Berkeley in 1989. He has served as in-house editor, ghostwriter, translator, and project manager on nearly 400 Japan- and Asia-related titles. Distributed by Consortium Book Sales, Stone Bridge exemplifies the small and independent press with access to a national market. Peter concluded his term as Board Chair of IBPA, the Independent Book Publishers Association in 2017, and until recently hosted the IBPA-sponsored podcast “Inside Independent Publishing,” which can be found at:  https://insideindependentpublishingwithibpa.simplecast.fm/.

Interviewer Beth Cary is a translator and interpreter in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has edited several of Stone Bridge Press’s books, mostly related to films and animation. Along with Peter, she is part of the SWET outpost in Northern California.

Watch video here: https://youtu.be/9c7Dx3tQjaU