February 11, 2013
Japan Writers Conference, Nov. 2–3, 2013
Update:
Seventh Japan Writers Conference is on in Okinawa. Organizer John Gribble sends the following additional information and last-minute changes. SWET salutes JWC and wishes everyone well!
JWC Update 1 Nov. 2013
First, on Saturday morning in Room 3, Hugh Ashton will speak on "Writing about Japan for an audience outside Japan." He's an expert.
Second, our co-coordinator, Bern Mulvey is ill and unable to attend. He was to give a reading on Sunday in Room 1 at 11:00.
Filling that slot will be our presenter from Singapore, Alison Jean Lester. She writes ,"I'd be happy to do a session on how improv reduces writer's block. Very fun, actually!"
All in favor of fun be there.
Buffet ticket will be sold at an information table Saturday.
See you there.
JWC Update from John Gribble, 28 October 2013
Hello again,
Here is a little more about the Japan Writers Conference coming up next weekend.
According to Gianni Simone, there will be a piece on The Japan Writers Conference and some of the presenters in The Japan Times on Tuesday, October 29th.
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Now here’s some schedule clarification. Because we have several presenters this year giving multiple presentations, there was some confusion about which presentation would be in which time slot. Here are the details.
Alex Shishin:
1. Saturday 2:00, Reading, ‘‘The Eggplant Legacy’: A Short Story with a Japanese Narrator”
2. Sunday 2:00, Lecture, “Words of Love and Aesthetic Validity in This Almost Liberated Age”
Hans Brinckmann
1. Saturday 3:00, With translator Hiromi Mizoguchi, lecture with readings, “The delights and pains of translating poetry – from English to Japanese.”
2. Sunday, 11:00, Lecture, “First Person or Third? Why making the right choice – deliberately or accidentally – matters in writing fiction. An author's perspective.”
Percival Constantine
1. Sunday 2:00, Lecture, “Self-Publishing: The Pros and Cons of Bypassing Traditional Publishing”
2. Saturday, 2:00, Lecture, "Pulp"
Robert Tobin
1. Sunday 10:00, Lecture, “How To Give A Talk They'll Remember: Tips for Writers”
2. Saturday 4:00, Lecture, “Book Marketing For Writers Who Hate Marketing”
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The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Japan has been an important part of the Conference for several years. This year, award-winning YA novelist Benjamin Martin will host a noon SCBWI gathering. He writes,
“Are you interested in writing or illustrating for children or teens? Join SCBWI Japan for an informal meet-up in Room 2 on Saturday, 12:00-12:50 pm. Bring your lunch and meet other writers and illustrators from around Japan. Chat with current members, learn about upcoming and yearly events, and get to know others in the children’s writing market. Visit [url=http://japan.scbwi.org]http://japan.scbwi.org[/url] for more information on Japan's regional chapter of SCBWI.”
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Rize buffet tickets will be sold Saturday during the day at the Conference. They are 3000 yen. The place opens at 6:00, so that’s when we’ll begin. Reservations are still being taken.
And don’t forget the casual get-together at the Eager Beaver Canadian Pub [url=http://www.eagerbeaverokinawa.com/ ]http://www.eagerbeaverokinawa.com/ [/url]; on Friday night (Nov. 1) from 8:00-10:00 PM
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Those planning to attend Sean Lotman’s "Picturing Haiku: the Pairing of Images and Poems in Pursuit of a More Thorough Sensibility" need to remember to bring photos to exchange for the writing part of the presentation.
As in the past, there will be a Saturday night party, a pizza and tapas buffet at Rize. The cost is 3000 yen per person. This includes the drinks, making this a good deal indeed. Rize is a classy but comfortable-looking place, as you can see here: http://www.okinawarize.com/
To get on the reservation list, e-mail John at gribble@gol.com.
At the buffet there will be a repeat of the popular “In My Secret Life” reading/performance. As in the past, readers/performers present the work of others, not themselves. So who are you, really? Dashiell Hammett? Lady Gaga? The ever-popular Anonymous? Let him or her out for five minutes. This is open to who anyone would like to perform but you need to sign up for a slot. Contact John for this. There will be eight five-minute slots (shortened from last year) and John has already put his name down for one of them. There will also be a special MC-Time Limit Enforcer this year.
Poet and editor David Gilbey is coming up from Australia to lead his closed poetry workshop “Reeling and Writhing’: A Poetry Editing Workshop – preparing for publication” for the fourth time. Here is your opportunity to have some of your poems read closely and commented on by a group of like-minded poets. Learn what’s working in your poems and receive some suggestions how to fix that which isn’t so hot. To take part, you must sign up in advance. For details contact David directly at DGilbey@csu.edu.au.
California photographer and haiku poet Sean Lotman will give the lecture/workshop "Picturing Haiku: the Pairing of Images and Poems in Pursuit of a More Thorough Sensibility" on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. If you plan to take part, bring a photograph, preferably 5x7 or larger. You can see some of Sean’s work at www.idohaikuyou.com.
So please visit the website http://www.japanwritersconference.org/ again, scroll through the list of presentations and presenters, and plan on joining us November 2 and 3, 2013 at this year’s Japan Writers Conference.
See you in Okinawa.
John Gribble
Bern Mulvey
JWC
May 2013 announcement
This year, for the first time, the 7th Japan Writers Conference will be held on the beautiful island of Okinawa, in Nishihara City at Okinawa Christian University on November 2nd and 3rd. Please mark your calendar and plan to join us. Response to the Conference being held in Okinawa has been really positive, even excited. There is also a good chance of a airline/hotel package if there is enough interest. This is also a call for presentation proposals. All published writers, translators, editors, agents and publishers who would like to lead a session are invited to submit proposals. Those who have presented at past conferences are (of course) welcome to submit new proposals. But we especially encourage proposals from new submitters. One of the strengths of the past Conferences has been variety, and the best way to foster variety is to feature new presenters each year.
Detailed information is available on the conference website.
Conference organizers look to have one more face/voice/body involved with the organization and operation of the Conference on an on-going basis. You can get more involved with the group and receive their email updates on the conference if you contact them through their Meetup site.
As in the past, the Conference will be free and open to all who wish to attend. This is possible because all the presenters and organizing staff volunteer their time and talent, and the use of the site is donated by the hosting institution. As a result, the Conference cannot offer any payment, reimbursement, lodging, or help in securing visas or travel permits. So please don’t ask.
John Gribble and Bern Mulvey Co Co-ordinators, 2013 Japan Writers Conference