SWET Spotlight
SWET’s far-flung community pulses with activity. Members are carving a niche, polishing skills, sharing expertise, and building toward aspirations. What are they doing? Why do they do it? What do they think about it? What can we learn from them? SWET interviews members with an achievement to celebrate, a significant occasion to mark, or something special to share. Let us know what you are doing. To arrange an interview, Contact Us. The SWET Blogroll features personal blogs of members in the Member Spotlight page sidebar.
May 4, 2023
Entering into the World I Created: Interview with Karen Hill Anton, author of “A Thousand Graces”
Karen Hill Anton is well known for her columns in the Japan Times, which she described in an article for SWET’s series on English-language newspaper columnists. Her memoir, The View From Breast Pocket Mountain, beloved by a wide readership, has earned three literary awards. She spoke to SWET about her memoir at length for a SWET Talk Shop... more
November 2, 2020
Manga Lettering and Translation
By Susan E. Jones
One of the fantastic aspects of SWET is its inclusivity. Not limited to just one part of the long process of publishing in English, it welcomes writers, translators, editors, and other wordsmiths who contribute in various ways to the finished product. The SWET Talk Shop on August 22, 2020 looked at the skilled craftspeople who are contributing... more
July 2, 2020
Inclusive Language and Translations
From the SWET Newsletter Archive/Editors’ Corner
Note: This article was written and updated last in 2015 and SWET is aware that language has been changing rapidly in the last decade. We refer readers to articles such as the following for further reading and reference. Contact SWET to contribute links to further reading and suggestions at
February 6, 2019
Jared Lubarsky: What Puts the Spring in My Step
Author of the recently published Counter-Kabuki: Sixty-Seven Playlets on the Silly Side of Life in Japan, Jared Lubarsky has been a full-time resident of Barcelona, Spain, since 2005. He was raised in Massachusetts and did his undergraduate and graduate studies in Pennsylvania, where he also had his first teaching job, at Haverford College. He arrived in Tokyo in 1976 to... more
March 5, 2018
Simon Rowe: An Independent Author’s Journey
Simon Rowe is an independent writer who currently resides in the city of Himeji, situated in western Honshu and known for its splendidly preserved Edo-period castle. After 20 years of roving the world as a travel writer, he has turned to penning short fiction and screenplays. He has recently self-published a collection of short stories, Good Night Papa:... more
November 30, 2017
Michihiro Hirai’s Technical and Business English Expertise Marathon
Long-time SWET member Michihiro Hirai works with publishers and language-related organizations as a translator, writer, teacher of technical and business English, and consultant. He is also a collector of English-language qualifications: he recently let us know that he had passed his goal of earning 50 of them and is eager for more. Taking this opportunity to celebrate... more
SWET Member Blogroll
Books on Asia
Book reviews and more
Holly Thompson - Blog on writing, teaching, living and learning
Poetry and more
Rebecca Otowa's Blog
Assorted reveries
Greg Goodmacher - Onsen (Hot Spring) Addict in Japan
As the name suggests, about onsen in Japan
Tim Patrick - Japan Everyday
Articles about everyday life in Japan
Jennifer O'Donnell - J-En Translation
Japanese-English translation
Suzanne Kamata - Gaijin Mama
Lively posts on writing and publishing, mothering, the literary life, and getting an MFA
Paul Cipywnyk - Paul Cipywnyk's Blog
Photography from Vancouver, Canada
