Event: Children’s book illustrators gather for Bologna Children’s Book Fair (Tokyo)
Books, Career, Cartoon/Illustration, Networking, Writers 
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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
Creative Exchange: The Bologna Experience with Ayano Imai, Kiyo Tanaka and Shimako Okamura
Come join illustrators Ayano Imai and Kiyo Tanaka plus designer/illustrator Shimako Okamura as they share their experiences at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the most important global event in the children’s publishing industry. Included in the topics shared at this exchange of ideas and information will be first-hand experiences of being selected for the Illustrators Exhibition, opportunities that resulted from attending the fair, and more. Visit the Bologna Book Fair site (www.bookfair.bolognafiere.it) before this event, and bring along all your questions and ideas about submitting to the exhibition and promoting your work at the book fair.
Time: Saturday, July 11, 9:30 – 11:30 a.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: SCBWI members 1,000 yen; non-members 1,500 yen
This event will be in English and Japanese.
Hello! I’m Kelly – RSS feed fiend and fellow former Iwate ALT (indeed, just like the Blog Beat’s own Crystal Wong!). Fret not, Crystal has not forsaken the JET blogosphere. There are just so many blogs to keep up with that I have offered to lend her a hand on occasion.
Now to get on to the goods – more new blogs than you can shake a stick at!
* A favorite blog of mine and one that I personally recommended for the blog roll is Japandra. This little treasure-trove of a blog is brought to you by Sandra, a NY expat and JET alum currently living in Tokyo, who has keen eye for those little irregular hilarities which sneak into the Japanese landscape. What are you waiting for? That fuzzy natsukashii “Haha, only in Japan!” feeling is just a click away…
* Sean Sakamoto of I’d Rather Be in Japan lives it up in the wild and wondrous beauty of Gifu. In one of his most recent posts he brings the forest to us in an excellent home-made video series on how to harvest, prepare, and enjoy eating…bamboo!
* Next up is Jason’s Adventures in Rural Japan (aka Shimane). Although Jason is currently packing up to return to the U.S., his blog is a great place to peruse his selection of the past year’s omoshiroi Japanese YouTube videos.
* Are you a prospective JET itching to find more information about the JET teaching experience in rural areas? If so (or even if not!), check out Mel’s Adventures in Japan.
* Take some time to enjoy the comedic writing style of Steve Rogers, a lover of all things list-worthy (he even writes lists… about lists!), who does very well keeping his sense of humor while enduring Northern Tohoku Exposure.
* D. Freeman – photographer, web guru, and writer – takes his readers on a myriad of viral-worthy adventures. Check his site to find out what is the What-What on the interweb today.
* Finally, we would like to introduce another successful JET writer Christy Burne (Hyogo-ken) who has just been given the first Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices book award, an award that aims to celebrate cultural diversity in children’s literature. Her book, Takeshita Demons, will be published next year and is based on the adventures of a Japanese schoolgirl named Miku. Be sure to keep up with all the exciting developments for Christy!
Is there anyone out there in the JETAA-sphere facing financial difficulties, considering bankruptcy, worrying about foreclosure?
If so, feel free to e-mail your questions to me at jetwit [at] jetwit [dot] com.
I’m no longer a practicing bankruptcy lawyer, but I work in the bankruptcy world (see, e.g., the Bankruptcy Bill cartoon) and figured I could at least try to help out and get answers to any questions JET alums and Friends of JET out there might have. I might even be able to recommend a good lawyer for you, depending where you live.
I’ll keep all of your information confidential. However, if you give me permission, I would like to anonymously post your question and the eventual response on JetWit for the benefit of other readers.
Lastly, for your entertainment, here’s a post about an engaging blog titled “Love in the Time of Foreclosure” by a writer who is going through foreclosure with her husband. In a lot of ways, it’s more about love than about foreclosure, and kind of captures the zeitgeist of the times in which we’re living.
Japan Fix: South Carolina
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Note: This is the second in what JetWit hopes will grow into a series of “Japan Fix” articles. How do you get your Japan fix wherever you live? Write it down and send it to JetWit for the entertainment and benefit of the JET alum community.
Japan Fix: South Carolina
By Daniel J. Stone (Saitama-ken, 2004-07), JETAA South Carolina Subchapter Rep
After spending seven years In San Diego and Los Angeles followed by three years in the metro Tokyo area, the decision to return to my hometown of Greenville, South Carolina with my wife who hails from Tokyo was a bit naïve when I look back to when we first returned to “America’s Bible Belt” in 2007.
Despite the geographic location, demographics and the overall facts that South Carolina is a small and rural state, one can get their “Japan Fix”, if they know where to look.
CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS
The International Center of the Upstate (ICU), located at the Greenville City Hall building, is a non-profit organization devoted to promoting cross-cultural understanding among local and international residents of Upstate South Carolina. It was here where my wife and I went to learn of where to go and what to do in the area’s international community. One of the first things I did was volunteer at ICU’s English conversation group where a group of Japanese spouses attended the weekly session.
Another group which was helpful was the Japan America Association of South Carolina based in Greenville. Through this group I was able to network with Japanese expatriates working at various companies in the area and like-minded Americans.
Lastly, there is the good ‘ol JETAA group based in Atlanta. It was through here that I met other JET alums in the area.
GROCERY & FOOD SHOPPING
The Tanpopo, aka “Dandelion”, located at the corner of Pelham Road and Highway 14 is a Read More
Another good post from Greg at TheDigitalists.com, this one on why Twitter and Facebook are effective for small businesses, but not yet for large companies. And what they might want to do about it.
http://thedigitalists.com/2009/06/12/social-networks-missed-opportunity/#comment-205
(Also references the really yummy Salted Caramel Pretzel ice cream at General Greene’s in Ft. Greene, Brooklyn.)
Wide Island View: The latest from Hiroshima JET-land
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Gail Cetnar Meadows says there are some great new stories now posted on the Wide Island View… Takarazuka theater, Traveling to South Korea, Nikujaga recipe. Check it out!
The Wide Island View is the kakkouii online newsletter for AJET Hiroshima-ken, started by current JETs Gail Cetnar Meadows and Joshua Zimmerman.
Roland Kelts column on conversation with Haruki Murakami
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Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, has a short “JapanamericanEyes” column posted on Trannet.co.jp titled “Surfacing with Strength: Haruki Murakami at 60.”
JET-linked book event in Seattle
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Via JETAA Pacific Northwest:
“The book itself is a fine work of art, with a gorgeous, embossed cover, rice paper-thin pages, and textured paper inserts with illustrations that offer clues to Zack’s fate — a triumphant kick in the pants for anyone who doubts the future of paper-and-ink books.” — NPR
Japan-U.S. business consultant and blogger Yvonne Burton (also a good friend of JetWit) has a good recent post on the likely new U.S. ambassador to Japan–John V. Roos:
There is to be a new kind of ambassador in Tokyo! I just read in the Japan Times that John V. Roos, a Silicon Valley attorney, has been designated as ambassador by President Obama and in my opinion, he is just what Japan-US business needs. But many seem to disagree. Why?
The nay-sayers say he isn’t the usual politico. I say that is a good thing. They say that his appointment means the new presidency is treating Japan as less than important. I say not so.
New conditions call for new solutions
In times like these when the old standards are not working (and that is putting it mildly), it is time to create something new.
How can a successful lawyer who (CLICK HERE to read the rest of the article.)
Roland Kelts update
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Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99), author of Japanamerica, has been keeping busy. JetWit just hasn’t been able to keep up. So here are some recent highlights:
- A recent Daily Yomiuri SOFT POWER/HARD TRUTHS column about a symposium on the state of the anime/manga industry and some of the challenges it faces, which you can see on 3:00 A.M. Magazine. The column touches on the shifting market as well as the unsustainable nature of the way anime/manga workers are compensated.
- Giving a speech at book-signing event in Kyoto next weekend as part of a Creative Writing Lecture Series. (A good event for any JETs or JET alums in the area! If you go, say hi to Roland and feel free to report back to JetWit on the event.)
- Japanamerica is now available on Kindle!
Bankruptcy Bill #16 – GM First Day Hearings
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Bankruptcy Bill is a cartoon created by Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94) and Gideon Kendall. To see more strips as well as original bankruptcy haiku, go to bankruptcybill.us.
This just off the Facebook status update wire:
Robert P. Weston (Nara-ken, 2002-04), the Toronto-based author of the rhyming children’s novel Zorgamazoo, has confessed to caving in to Twitter. To follow him, go to: http://twitter.com/rpweston
Hikaru Utada: The Complete JQ Interview
By Justin Tedaldi, Editor (Kobe-shi CIR, 2001-02)
(Originally Published May 2009 in JQ (JETAA NY Quarterly) magazine, the official quarterly publication of JETAA NY (http://jetaany.org/magazine)
It was perfect timing. Back in January, Hikaru Utada, the New York-born recording phenomenon who before she was out of her teens notched three of Japan’s top ten bestselling albums (including number one), was back in town working on a new album for the U.S., and JQ spent a full hour with Hikki to talk of many things, including her new disc This is the One, which hit stores in May.
I know you want to talk about the new album and the single.
The song…
I heard it about two and half weeks ago, as I think I was already on the e-mail list from when your last English album came out.
Oh, right, right, right.
So we go way back. Ten years ago I found out about First Love when I studying Japanese as an undergraduate…
Oh, wow.
It’s amazing to be here now talking about it.
I’m humbled [laughs]. Read More
JET alum blog featured in Japanese online news
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JET alum and SC Subchapter Rep Daniel Stone’s blog The Divine Wind Vault has been featured in an article on the Japanese website Searchina. It profiled his recent post about the excellence of Japanese convenience stores and fast food restaurants, especially in comparison to the poor level of service and goods offered at the same places here in the States. Omedetou for this Japanese media coverage!
The June 2009 issue of the Sake World E-mail Newsletter by JET alum and leading sake expert John Gauntner (aka “The Sake Guy”) is now available online. In this issue:
- The Kome Khronicles
- moto-i in Minneapolis
- Did you Know?
- Sake Professional Course
- Sake Events
- Learn More About Sake eBooks
- Odds-n-Ends
For more information about John and about sake, go to his website at: http://www.sake-world.com
