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