Greetings!

We hope all of you authors, illustrators and translators have been busy with your many intriguing creative endeavors. SCBWI Japan has certainly been busy at the start of 2013. Our winter/spring events have or will include Creative Exchanges, Digital Illustration Workshop with Paul Richardson, Meet the Illustrator Dinner with David Wiesner, Open Portfolio Critiques with Kerry Martin of Clarion Books, Distance Critiques with 2 U.S. Editors plus a follow-up event, and a Miura Sketch and Word Crawl. And lots is in the works for Fall 2013! 



The AFCC 2013 conference in Singapore is also upcoming at the end of May, so be sure to visit the AFCC website for details.



Have you seen the Winter 2013 SCBWI Tokyo Newsletter? Visit the SCBWI Tokyo website for the latest edition--with event wrap-ups, feature articles, member profiles, featured illustrators, book reviews and more. We hope many members will contribute articles and artwork for upcoming issues of the newsletter--which may morph into a blog. Stay tuned! 



We are an active region and with more and more of our members sharing good news of contracts, publications, exhibits and collaborations. Be sure to share your news relating to children's books and children's content on the SCBWI Tokyo listserv. 



Hope to see you soon at an upcoming event in SCBWI Japan!



All the best,

Holly Thompson, SCBWI Japan Regional Advisor

Jenny Walters, SCBWI Japan Assistant Regional Advisor

Yoko Yoshizawa, SCBWI Japan Illustrator Coordinator

Hello everyone,

SCBWI Tokyo volunteers have been busy planning events. Please mark these dates on your calendars and join us if you can. See the scbwi.org SCBWI Tokyo Regional Chapter Calendar for details, as well as www.scbwi.jp.

Hope to see you soon!

All the best,
Holly Thompson, SCBWI Tokyo Regional Advisor

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May 23 SCBWI Dinner with Children’s Literature Scholar Leonard Marcus  (reserve by emailing contact (at) scbwi.jp) 

May 24 SCBWI Tokyo Monthly Writers’ Critique Group Meeting (see info below)

May 26-29 Asian Festival of Children’s Content (AFCC) in Singapore; SCBWI Tokyo members receive a discount to this conference sponsored in part by SCBWI: www.afcc.com.sg

June 8-10 SCBWI Tokyo Intensive MG and YA Writing Retreat in Gotenba (closed to registration) 

June 16 SCBWI Tokyo Translation Day 2012: Bringing Japan Teen Literature to the World 

June 21 SCBWI Tokyo Monthly Writers’ Critique Group Meeting (see info below)

July 5-8 Tokyo International Book Fair—Any SCBWI Tokyo members attending as a group with free tickets; http://www.bookfair.jp/en/ If yes, email contact (at) scbwi.jp

July 26 SCBWI Tokyo Monthly Writers’ Critique Group Meeting (see info below)

August 19 Illustration Day with Illustrator John Shelley, details TBA 

August 23 SCBWI Tokyo Monthly Writers’ Critique Group Meeting

September  Illustration Workshop with Illustrator Philip Giordano, date and details TBA

September 20  SCBWI Tokyo Monthly Writers’ Critique Group Meeting (see info below)

October 25 SCBWI Tokyo Monthly Writers’ Critique Group Meeting (see info below)

November SCBWI Tokyo will be at the Japan Writers Conference November 10, 11. Submit a proposal by June 1. www.japanwritersconference.org

Hello everyone,
The dragon year is off to a good start, and we are happy to announce that Jenny Walters has joined the SCBWI volunteer team as Assistant Regional Advisor. Yoko Yoshizawa no longer has to wear two hats and will serve as Illustrator Coordinator from here on. Thank you, Yoko, for all that you have done as ARA and for continuing as IC. And welcome, Jenny! We are so pleased to have you on board!

SCBWI Tokyo started the new year with a Creative Exchange followed by a Shinnenkai (New Year's celebration) dinner. Our next event is February 18 is a Writers' Night led by writers Trevor Kew and Claire Dawn. March 10 will be a Tomo anthology launch with readings and discussions about this benefit project to which many SCBWI Tokyo members contributed. April 22 will be an Earth Day Sketch and Word Crawl at the National Museum of Science and Nature in Ueno, Tokyo--a reprise of our popular event held there in 2011.

We are currently in the planning stages for the second SCBWI Tokyo Translation Day as well as the first SCBWI Tokyo Writers' Intensive Retreat. If you have ideas for SCBWI Tokyo events, please share them with us! And please become involved in our chapter and better help us all grow as creators of children's content.

SCBWI Tokyo members, please take a moment to update your SCBWI profiles on SCBWI.org and your PAL status if applicable. Also please cast your vote for the Crystal Kite Award, which is a regional SCBWI award for books published in the last year. And if you haven't done so already, have a look at the winter edition of our newsletter, Carp Tales.

We look forward to seeing you at our 2012 events.
All the best,
Holly Thompson
SCBWI Tokyo Regional Advisor
www.scbwi.jp

SCBWI Tokyo kicked off the fall season with a Creative Exchange for Writers and the 2011 Illustrators Exhibition at Galerie Malle in Ebisu, Tokyo. Below are a few photos.

Next up is the Agent Day with Literary Agent Mary Kole on October 29 (with additional critiques on October 30). And in early December we are teaming up with the Society of Writers, Editors and Translators to offer J-Boys: From Inspiration to Translation. We hope you'll join us for these events and share your ideas for upcoming spring 2012 events. And be sure to check out the Spring/Summer edition of the SCBWI Tokyo newsletter Carp Tales for our event wrap-ups, articles, member news and more.

All the best,
Holly Thompson
SCBWI Tokyo Regional Advisor

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SCBWI Tokyo 2011 Illustrators Exhibition at Galerie Malle, Tokyo

SCBWI Tokyo is extremely grateful to be the recipient of the first SCBWI Relief Grant of $1,000. The money will be donated to the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) for their Japan Appeal for Children in Crisis. IBBY, together with the Japanese IBBY section (JBBY) will be initiating a bibliotherapy project for children in the areas affected by the massive earthquake of March 11, 2011.

 

The following from the IBBY website explains IBBY’s Children in Crisis program:

 

“The two main activities that will be supported by the Fund are the therapeutic use of books and storytelling in the form of bibliotherapy, and the creation or replacement of collections of selected books that are appropriate to the situation. We hope the program will not only provide immediate support and help, but that it will also make a long term impact in the communities, thus supporting IBBY’s goal of giving every child the Right to Become a Reader.”

 

 JBBY is also supporting the Ehon (picture book) Project, an initiative to distribute picture books to children in the disaster-stricken areas, and other local organizations in the earthquake and tsunami-affected regions.

 

SCBWI Tokyo is also grateful to the Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter of SCBWI; their weekend retreat April fundraiser raised an additional $1,500 on behalf of Japan and we have asked that this money be donated to IBBY specifically for the Japan Appeal.

 

SCBWI Tokyo encourages individuals to donate to these organizations.

 

IBBY www.ibby.org

JBBY www.jbby.org (donations from within Japan only)

Ehon Project (donations from within Japan only)            www.ehonproject.org/iwate/e/index.html

 

Thank you to everyone for helping to improve the lives of children affected by the devastating Tohoku-Kanto March 11 earthquake.

 

Holly Thompson

SCBWI Tokyo Regional Advisor

Yoko Yoshizawa

SCBWI Tokyo Assistant Regional Advisor and Illustrator Coordinator

www.scbwi.jp

 

Hello everyone,
We at SCBWI Tokyo would like to express our deep concern for all those affected by the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011. It is with great sadness that we have watched the events unfold. For me personally, I have had the difficulty of watching from afar, having arrived in the U.S. for book readings and research the day before the quake hit. SCBWI Tokyo members live in many prefectures throughout Japan, including the quake affected areas--where they are struggling to cope with the isolation, the cold and and the lack of food and services as well as the extreme devastation and loss of lives. We want you to know that you have our support and are here to help if we can.

People have asked how they can help Japan. For now please direct your donations to the humanitarian organizations that can best provide the people of Tohoku with the basic daily needs.

In the near future, SCBWI Tokyo hopes to announce an initiative to help provide children in the affected areas with the comfort of books.

SCBWI Tokyo wishes you all the best at this very difficult time.

Holly Thompson
SCBWI Tokyo Regional Advisor

Happy Year of the Rabbit! The Year of the Tiger was a busy one with major events such as our Illustrators Day with Laurent Linn and our first ever Translation Day, and the year closed with our Illustrators Exhibit at Galerie Malle in Ebisu, Tokyo. 



SCBWI Tokyo will start the Year of the Rabbit with the January 28 event featuring author/illustrator Frane Lessac on Creating Global Children's Books. Other events are in the works. Please share your ideas for upcoming events; we welcome your involvement.  



Japan-based SCBWI Tokyo members and friends, be sure to contact info@scbwi.jp to request an invitation to join the listserv which is our main method of communication and discussion between events.



Looking forward to seeing you in the coming year.

All the best,

Holly Thompson

SCBWI Tokyo Regional Advisor





 

The spring/summer edition of the SCBWI Tokyo newsletter, Carp Tales, is now on the website http://scbwi.jp/newsletter.htm Please have a look! Print a copy to save, and share the link with others.

Huge thanks to everyone who contributed articles and artwork and behind-the-scenes work for this issue. We are especially grateful to Avery Udagawa for her many, many hours of editing and to Miki Bromhead for her excellent work as our new designer. Thank you!

Included in this issue of the newsletter are Event Wrap-Ups; Avery Udagawa’s article about the Batchelder and Marsh Awards for children’s literature in translation; Suzanne Kamata’s conversation with author Alan Gratz; Teri Suzanne’s piece about a collaborative book project; Yoko Yoshizawa’s description of her Bologna experience; write-ups of the International Library of Children's Literature presentation by author Nahoko Uehashi and translator Cathy Hirano and of the Asian Festival of Children's Content in Singapore; member news; featured illustrators; and more.

We hope more SCBWI Tokyo member writers will consider contributing an article or interview. And we hope more member illustrators will contribute illustrations for future issues. Deadline for submissions for the fall/winter edition is November 1. Please send your ideas to holly@scbwi.jp.  

All the best and have a creative summer,

Holly Thompson, SCBWI Tokyo Regional Advisor

www.scbwi.jp

 

Hello everyone,

It has been a busy spring. Our Assistant Regional Advisor and Illustrator Coordinator Yoko Yoshizawa represented SCBWI Tokyo at the Bologna Children's Book Fair, and I just returned from the inaugural Asian Festival of Children's Content in Singapore (www.afcc.com.sg), a conference that is set to become a major annual event. SCBWI Regional Advisors and members from all around Asia attended and presented. 

Here in Tokyo we have lots going on. In April author Jane Kurtz gave us a great presentation on details in our writing, and several of us enjoyed a Meet the Author Lunch with Alan Gratz.



Below are our upcoming SCBWI Tokyo events. Please note: Advance registration for the May 30 and June 12 events has been extended to Monday, May 17.

May 30 THE BIG PICTURE: Exploring the Art and Business of Children's Book Illustration with Laurent Linn, Art Director Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. Morning master class (now closed to submissions) and afternoon talks including A Delicate Artistic Balance: The Role of an Art Director at a Major U.S. Publisher(lecture plus Q&A) and Art for Books, Not Frames (lecture and hands-on, plus Q&A)



June 12 SCBWI Tokyo Translation Day 2010: Bringing Japanese Children's Books to the World. A day of presentations, critiques, and conversation for published and pre-published translators of Japanese children's literature (picture books through young adult) into English 



July 11 Hey, Your Pixels are Showing! A Photoshop Workshop and Creative Exchange with Illustrator Jed Henry. A talk and workshop on combining traditional illustration methods with Adobe Photoshop, followed by a creative exchange.

Details for all of these events are on  our SCBWI Tokyo website www.scbwi.jp and on the SCBWI Tokyo Regional Chapter Home page of the main SCBWI website www.scbwi.org 

Hope to see you at these events. Please help spread the word about SCBWI Tokyo events if you can.

All the best,

Holly Thompson

SCBWI Tokyo Regional Advisor

www.scbwi.jp 

SCBWI Tokyo is looking forward to the Alvina Ling event on November 14. All of the manuscript critiques have been booked and the manuscripts are now with Alvina. The deadline for paying the cheaper Advance Registration fee is November 6, so reserve now by sending an e-mail to info@scbwi.jp



We hope to see you there! Please help us publicize this event by posting on your blog, Facebook or Twitter and including a link to details at www.scbwi.jp. 



Thank you!

Holly Thompson, SCBWI Tokyo Regional Advisor