JET alum James Kennedy turns “Odd-Fish” novel into school curriculum
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In a rather brilliantly creative move, James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06), author of the acclaimed young adult novel The Order of Odd-Fish, has developed a classroom guide for the novel which is intended to be used by school teachers in class with their students.
In James’ own words:
Some schools have put The Order of Odd-Fish on their reading lists. That’s great!
So I’ve put together a classroom guide for Odd-Fish. It’s 44 pages of discussion questions, lesson plans, and projects. It also features Odd-Fish fan art by enthusiastic readers—art that was featured in our Odd-Fish gallery show in Chicago in April 2010.
This curriculum does the strangeness of the book justice, I think. Aside from the chapter-by-chapter worksheets, there are also activities such as inventing your own Odd-Fish specialty, writing your own articles for the Eldritch Snitch, researching Japanese rituals that inspired the Odd-Fish festivals, baking avant-garde pies, creating urk-ack music, and inventing one’s own Eldritch City mythologies.
It’s also gateway to other fields of study. The knights of the Odd-Fish are, after all, scholars as well as warriors. This curriculum touches on topics as disparate as cockroach anatomy, Shinto and Hindu mythology, the KGB, Wikipedia, foppery, real-life historical eccentrics, and more.
Download the guide for free here. And of course, I always enjoy visiting schools, either in person or by Skype.
Go pester your teachers now! I’m doing this for you, people!
And in JetWit’s opinion, while the novel is in the young adult category, it’s also one of the funniest books you’ll ever read as an adult. To read more JetWit posts about James, click here. And watch the below video to see James doing an extremely dramatic reading from the book at last year’s JET Alumni Author Showcase in New York:
Books: Lars Martison’s “Tonoharu” gets favorable write-up on BoingBoing, makes Amazon’s Top Ten Bestselling Graphic Novels list
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There’s a nice review of JET alum Lars Martinson’s graphic novel Tonoharu: Part 1 on the BoingBoing site written by Mark Frauenfelder titled “Tonoharu: Excellent graphic novel about an English teacher in Japan.” And according to Lars’ blog,
“Thanks to Mark Frauenfelder’s writeup about Tonoharu: Part One on Boing Boing, the book has made it into Amazon.com’s Top Ten Bestselling Graphic Novels today!”
Here’s the link to the review: http://www.boingboing.net/2010/08/27/tonoharu-excellent-g.html
Here’s a quote from the review:
“Published in 2008, and a winner of the prestigious Xeric Award, Tonoharu is a story of isolation, frustration, and mystery, with just the right amount of black humor to keep it from being depressing.”
For fans awaiting the next installment, Tonoharu: Part 2 is due out in December.
Manga tells incredible tale of Hiroshima atomic bombing
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A quick book recommendation from current Hiroshima-ken JET Gail Cetnar Meadows…
Now and then I read a book that’s so good I want to tell everyone I meet about it, and I’ve recently finished one such book. For those interested in learning more about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, I highly recommend a graphic novel written by atomic bomb survivor Keiji Nakazawa. Barefoot Gen: A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima is a 10-volume graphic novel loosely based on Nakazawa’s experiences and those of other Hiroshima residents who survived the bomb. The book taught me a lot about what happened in Hiroshima in the year’s following World War II — things beyond what I learned visiting Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Museum or listening to the accounts of hibakusha. For those who are interested, I’ve written a piece on the Wide Island View talking a little more about it and encouraging others to check it out.
An International List of Writing Organizations and Opportunities
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Laura Popp (Mie-ken, 2009-Present) is a current JET who writes fantasy and science fiction for children and young adults, and is an occasional playwright/film maker. Her short work includes a short story titled “In theShadow Realm” and a documentary she made in Malawi. To read about her amazing adventures all over Japan, go to her blog at laurajanepopp.blogspot.com.
Here is a practical list of organizations, market guides, and networking opportunities for jump starting your writing career. My apologies that it is heavy on the America and Speculative Fiction side, but that is who I am and what I write, so that is what I know best. But hopefully everyone can find something useful from this list:
How to Present Yourself to a Publisher or Agent at a writers conference
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Laura Popp (Mie-ken, 2009-Present) is a current JET who writes fantasy and science fiction for children and young adults, and is an occasional playwright/film maker. Her short work includes a short story titled “In theShadow Realm” and a documentary she made in Malawi. To read about her amazing adventures all over Japan, go to her blog at laurajanepopp.blogspot.com. (And check out the Authors/Books section of the JetWit Library for a list of more writers in the JET-o-sphere.)
Tired of submitting queries to agents and editors and simply getting form rejection letters or worse, NO RESPONSE? Wondering if they`re even bothering to read your stuff? Frustrated by wanting to submit to publishing houses that only receive submissions from agents and “referred” writers? Consider meeting publishers and agents at a conference!
Recently I returned from a writers` conference in my home in Oklahoma and came back with some great success stories to tell. Even better than the wonderful presentations on writing, polishing and marketing were the opportunities for networking and industry contacts. One literary agent asked me for the first fifty pages of my middle grade novel Dargon, another agent requested a proposal for my young adult novel Treasure Traitor, and a publisher from Simon and Shuster asked to see the full manuscripts of BOTH. A travel publisher also requested a proposal for a non-fiction travel-essay book on Japan, and best of all, a Christian magazine publisher accepted one of my stories on the spot! Of course, most of these are just birds in the bush, if you will, but they are certainly a good start.
So how did you do it? you may be wondering. Well, let me tell you…
Do your homework
Many conferences post information about editors and agents who will be attending in advance. Research them and pick the ones that look like they may be interested in your completed fiction projects or non-fiction ideas. Note that most agents and publishers will ONLY consider finished fiction works and proposals for non-fiction articles and books.
Try to make an appointment
If you have the option to make an appointment, Read More
Tom Baker interviews 2 movie directors, pans one manga
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Tom Baker (Chiba-ken, 1989-91) is a staff writer for The Daily Yomiuri. He usually writes for DYWeekend, the paper’s arts and leisure section. You can follow Tom’s blog at tokyotombaker.wordpress.com.
He recently interviewed Shane Acker, director of the animated film “9” and Richard Kelly, who most recently directed “The Box,” a thriller starring Cameron Diaz. He also reviewed the manga “Hot Gimmick.” Here are some excerpts:
Shane Acker
[The characters in the movie are all animated dolls with numbers instead of names.] A different personality aspect is dominant in each one. Rigid orthodoxy is represented by leader 1 (voiced by Christopher Plummer), creativity by inventor 2 (Martin Landau), bravery by warrior 7 (Jennifer Connelly) and so on. Elijah Wood does the voice of 9, the truth-seeker of the group, and John C. Reilly voices his timid friend, 5…
The most amusing character is 8 (Fred Tatasciore), who embodies sheer physicality. In one scene, he achieves a moment of strange bliss by stroking his head with a large magnet, an activity that Acker called “degaussing himself.”
“In film school, especially in the days of video, if you had a videotape and you wanted to just wipe it clean, there’s a degaussing machine, which is basically like a supermagnet, and you would wave the videotape over the degausser and it would just take off all the footage that’s on there,” Acker explained. “So that’s the kind of idea, he’s sort of wiping his memory banks. You realize why he’s so dumb.”
Richard Kelly
Imagine that a mysterious stranger has just handed you a wooden box with a red button on top. He explains, rather convincingly, that if you push the button two things will happen: Someone whom you don’t know will die, and you will receive a payment of 1 million dollars…
In writer-director Richard Kelly’s movie The Box, based on a short story by Richard Matheson, the stranger’s name is Arlington Steward (Frank Langella), and he is conducting a high-stakes social experiment by visiting the homes of middle-class American couples and offering them the choice of pushing the button or not.
“Tonally this movie crosses a lot of genres,” Kelly, who previously wrote and directed Donnie Darko (2001) and Southland Tales (2006), told The Daily Yomiuri in a recent phone interview. “It’s a science fiction film, it’s a domestic melodrama, it’s a suspense film, there’s elements of horror in it, and there’s also some black comedy inherent…The conceit of pushing this button on this contraption and someone you don’t know dying is very mischievous. Anyone who would build this contraption and make this offer is smirking when they do it. And Matheson was smirking, I’m sure, when he wrote this short story.”
…[The story is set in the 1970s because] the mysterious stranger is a character type whose day has passed, according to Kelly. “When I set out to write this screenplay, I initially was trying to figure out how to make it work present-day, but when you introduce modern technology and the Internet, social networking sites, Google maps, satellite maps, reality TV, just our media-saturated world that we live in…there is no such thing as a real stranger anymore. Everyone can be found on the Internet. You can find anyone’s house, you can go onto a satellite map with a 360-degree view.”
“Hot Gimmick”
[In this manga, a high school girl’s seriously unhealthy relationships with her would-be boyfriends is presented as perfectly normal.]
For example, the day after one of her suitors is unable to reach her by phone (for reasons that are no one’s fault), he slaps her across the face so hard that bystanders rush to offer first aid. But Hatsumi chases after him to make the following speech, which he receives in stony silence: “I’m sorry. For being so clueless. For…never being able to get your calls…I’m so sorry. I’m really sorry. For not understanding how you feel about me. I’m sorry.”
Later, when one of the boys proposes to her, she thinks, “Maybe if we got married, he’d finally be nice to me.”
She seems unaware of some basic principles of healthy human interaction, such as this simple standard: If a friend arranges for you to be gang-raped, that person is not really your friend.
Roland Kelts to speak at “Anime Boston” – Sat., April 3
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Hey JETAA New England! Join Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, at Anime Boston this coming weekend for a Japanamerica talk and book-signing session Saturday, April 3, @ 1:30 p.m. in the Hynes Convention Center in downtown Boston.
JET Author: “Rock & Roll Jihad” co-written by Robert Schroeder
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Rock & Roll Jihad
Robert Schroeder (Shizuoka, ’92-’93), a JET alum and journalist based in Maryland, has released a book he co-wrote called Rock & Roll Jihad: A Muslim Rock Star’s Revolution (Free Press/Simon & Schuster). After Schroeder wrote a piece in The Wall Street Journal profiling the Pakistani musician in 2007, the star asked him to be his writing assistant on his memoir. And now, just a few months after publication, the book has already garnered high praise, both from celebrities like physician Deepak Chopra and Amazon readers.
The memoir follows the life of Salman Ahmad — founder of the “U2 of Asia” Sufi-rock band Junoon, a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, and teacher of South Asian poetry — who is now credited as the first musician to bridge the gap between the West and the Muslim world. He brought chart-topping rock & roll riffs to new ears in his home country of Pakistan, but also reined in listeners from around the world, including those at the UN General Assembly and the Nobel Peace Prize concert.
Ahmad, with the writing assistance of Schroeder, chronicle the cultural and political intricacies of navigating the politically tense Middle East, along with the post-9/11 world as a whole, as he continues to educate through music the true diversity of the Islamic faith and its art to the rest of the globe.
Schroder himself is not new to crossing national borders. A former NHK producer and now reporter at Marketwatch, he has contributed pieces about Japan in numerous American periodicals, including a review in The Washington Post of a Virginia inn with Japanese style ofuro baths and traditional breakfasts. Another first-person piece in The New York Times Magazine recounts the shock of eating whale sashimi in Ayukawa. To read more of his pieces, click here.
To preview the first few pages of the book, read here.
SCBWI Event – Writer Jane Kurtz in Tokyo
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Author Suzanne Kamata (Tokushima-ken, 1988-90) who also serves as the Publicity Assistant for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, shared the following:
The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators presents
Friday, April 2, 2010
Details, Details: The Snap, Crackle, and Pop of Good Writing with author Jane Kurtz
Time: Friday, April 2, 2010, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Place: Tokyo Women’s Plaza, Conference Room 1 (5-53-67 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo;
by the Children’s Castle and United Nations University. For a map see www.scbwi.jp/map.htm
Fee: 1,000 yen SCBWI members; 1,500 yen nonmembers
Reservations: Contact info@scbwi.jp by Thursday, April 1, 2010
This event will be in English.
American novelist John Gardner called details the lifeblood of fiction. Many an editor has said the absolute key to a piece of writing she fell in love with was its voice…but what creates the “voice” of a piece other than its distinct details? Award-winning author Jane Kurtz will give ten keys for coaxing vivid, shimmering, gripping details into our drafts and will show why certain mistakes around details are the kiss of death for any piece of writing. Q&A will follow the talk.
Jane Kurtz spent most of her childhood in Ethiopia—and now travels the world talking about writing, reading, and the magic of books. Her recent speaking has taken her to all but eleven of the U.S. states, Europe, the Persian Gulf, Indonesia, Cambodia, India, Romania, and East and West Africa. School Library Journal called Jane Kurtz a “superb storyteller.” Her books have gathered accolades, starred reviews, and awards. Since 1994, she has published twenty-nine books: nonfiction books, professional books for teachers, picture books, and novels for young readers that draw on her own childhood memories of growing up in Ethiopia as well as surviving the Red River flood of 1997. Jane has taught writing at the elementary, secondary, and university levels and is currently on the faculty of the MFA in children’s and young adult literature out of Vermont College. Her passion for books and reading and her love of Ethiopia came together in Ethiopia Reads, an organization that is establishing the free libraries for children in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with Yohannes Gebregeorgis, one of CNN’s Top Ten Heroes (www.ethiopiareads.org). For more on Jane Kurtz visit www.janekurtz.com.
Roland Kelts to speak at Kinokuniya (NY) on March 6 as part of “Ponyo Day”
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Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, will be speaking at Kinokuniya in NYC as part of “Ponyo Day.” The event is this Saturday from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, and Roland will be speaking at 4:00 pm. (This appearance hot on the heels of his Atlanta book signing on March 4!)
All the JETAA Southeast alums will have a chance to meet and hear Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, speak at Keenesaw State University in Atlanta, GA on Thursday, March 4 from 6:30-8:00 pm. If you happen to go and say hi, let him know you heard about the event on JetWit. Also, email JetWit (jetwit [at] jetwit.com) to let us know how the event was so we can share it with the rest of the JET alum community.
Here’s the flyer with all the relevant info for the event:
Roland Kelts sought as commentator on Toyota by major media outlets
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If you’ve been following Toyota’s problems of late, then you may have also noticed JET alum Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, popping up a lot as a commentator.
He recently appeared on ABC’s World News Tonight. And even more recently he was commissioned to write an op-ed for the Christian Science Monitor to clarify some of the vast cultural misreadings evident in the Congressional Toyota/Toyoda hearings.
- Toyota and trust: Was the Akio Toyoda apology lost in translation? Stung by Toyota recalls, Toyoda had to convey sincerity – and bridge the gulf in communication styles between Japan and America. http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2010/0225/Toyota-and-trust-Was-the-Akio-Toyoda-apology-lost-in-translation
- Roland is also quoted in this AP article on Toyota: “Toyota President Battles Crisis in Family Company“ http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2010/02/19/toyota_president_battles_crisis_in_family_company/?page=full
And addressed the topic of Toyota in an interesting way in his recent Daily Yomiuri column on The Super Bowl, Toyota, Anime and Hollywood:
- SOFT POWER, HARD TRUTHS / Anime must eventually transcend Japan ‘national’ brand http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/20100219TDY11003.htm
And if you’re looking for commentary on non-Toyota topics, then you can listen to Roland’s recent appearance on NPR discussing a wild relic of Japanese popular culture, a viral video of Japanese ‘Jazz Opera,’ produced in 1986 by Tamori, the great comedian:
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Chin Music Press, the Seattle-based publisher owned and run by Bruce Rutledge (MEF Program Chiba-ken, 1985-87) is thrilled to host several reading events this week in Seattle and Vancouver for their newest release, Big in Japan: A Ghost Story.
The debut novel from Hawaii-based author M. Thomas Gammarino is a deadly funny story of haunted progressive rock composer Brain Tedesco. The book has already received rave reviews; PF Kluge says it’s “seductive and devastating” and Ron Currie Jr. calls Brain “the perfect hero for the Age of Anxiety.”
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If you’re near Seattle or Vancouver, catch Tom and the Chin Music Press team at one of these events:
1/6 Third Place Books Ravenna, 6504 20th Ave NE, Seattle, WA, 7pm
1/7 Sophia Books, 450 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC, 6:30pm
1/8 Big in Japan: Bold In Seattle. Little Red Bistro, 400 Dexter Ave. N, Seattle, WA, 6pm
Big in Japan: A Ghost Story is designed by JET alum Joshua Powell (Saitama-ken 2005-07) and marketed by fellow alum Jessica Sattell (Fukuoka-ken 2007-2008). The book is available through the Chin Music Press website with promotional free shipping to the U.S. and Canada or at major booksellers.
For book reviews and more information, visit Big in Japan’s website. Check out previous JetWit posts about Bruce Rutledge and Chin Music Press here.
JET Alum Liz Sheffield interviews “Love In Translation” author Wendy Nelson Tokunaga
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Author, manuscript consultant and blogger Liz Sheffield (Hokkaio-ken, Sapporo-shi, 1993-95) has a great post on her blog Motherlogue about a new book out titled Midori by Moonlight by Wendy Nelson Tokunaga. Here’s Liz’s explanation of the background:
About a year ago I read Wendy Nelson Tokunaga’s debut novel, Midori by Moonlight. I was thrilled to see that she had a new release out in November — Love In Translation. Both of her books cover topics near and dear to my heart: Japanese culture, the expatriate experience and cross-cultural romance.
Love In Translation intrigued me because the story is told from the perspective of a foreign woman living in Japan, something with which I have personal experience! As I read the book, I had a wonderful sense of being reconnected to my own experiences in Japan — from the visits to a ryokan (Japanese hotel) to eating delicious shu-cream to blunders in communication through a foreign language. I was also reminded of what I learned about myself thanks to the joy and hardship of navigating a culture so different from my own.
In my interview with her at Motherlogue, Wendy offers insight about her experiences in Japan, about publishing two novels and combining her vocal talents with her husband’s musical talents to create an enka song (“Nozomi No Hoshi“) as the soundtrack for Love In Translation. Details about how to request a copy of “Nozomi No Hoshi” on CD, are included in the interview.
- Read the interview with Wendy Nelson Tokunaga, author of “Love in Translation.”
- Read an interview with fellow JET alum Suzanne Kamata about Suzanne’s book Call Me Okaasan: Adventures in Multicultural Mothering.
- Follow Motherlogue here: http://motherlogue.wordpress.com
Roland Kelts’ Japanamerica reviewed by Fan-to-Pro blog
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Here’s a nice review of Japanamerica (by Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99) on the blog Fan-to-Pro: The Blog of Professional Geekery, which describes itself as “a blog about jobs, career and economics for ambitious fans, progeeks, Otariimen and other members of the Modern Literati.”
http://www.fantopro.com/blog/2009/12/book-review-japanamerica.html
Just in time for the holidays, in case you’re looking for that special gift for that special JET friend or Friend of JET!
