Who was the first U.S. president to visit Japan?
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Posted by Tom Baker (Chiba, 1989-91) U.S. President Joe Biden is set to visit Hiroshima next spring, when Japan hosts the Group of Seven summit. All of Biden’s recent predecessors have also visited Japan at some point. Amazingly, the first presidential visit happened way back in 1879, when Ulysses Grant spent the summer in Japan shortly after […]
Gunma Prefecture Pub Quiz
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Posted by Tom Baker (Chiba, 1989-91) As many in the JET community know, there is a thriving English-language pub quiz scene in Tokyo. Now a couple of my friends are trying to spread the excitement to Gunma Prefecture, too. The first of what will hopefully be series of Takasaki Pub Quizzes will kick off at […]
JET alum writers: Tom Baker on crafting a pub quiz
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Posted by Tom Baker JET alum Tom Baker, a “Jeopardy!” champion and regular participant in the Tokyo pub quiz scene, gave a talk at the most recent Japan Writers Conference about “How to Write Pub Quiz.” You can watch his presentation below, and find more JWC presentations — including several by former JETs — at […]
Japan Writers Conference: Karen Hill Anton on memoir
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Posted by Tom Baker Longtime Japan resident Karen Hill Anton talked about how to turn an interesting life into a readable book in ” It’s all in the writing – you get no credit for living,” a presentation that she gave at the most recent Japan Writers Conference.If you have a Japan memoir inside you, […]
Japan Writers Conference: Melinda Taliancich Falgoust on self-publishing
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Posted by Tom Baker International award-winning author Melinda Taliancich Falgoust gave a presentation titled “Self-Publishing on a Shoestring: Quality Independent Publishing on a Zero or Low Budget” at the most recent Japan Writers Conference.You can watch her presentation below, and find more JWC presentations at the Japan Writers Conference YouTube Channel.Also, if you would like […]
Japan Writers Conference: Iain Maloney on “autocomposting”
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Posted by Tom Baker Gifu-based Scottish author Iain Maloney says, “My latest book, a novella, was written in two days, but was the result of nearly ten years of thinking and planning.” He describes how he did it in a presentation titled “The Writing Process, Autocomposting and Writer’s Block,” which he gave at the Japan […]
JET alum writers: Joyce Jarman Walsh on interviewing
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Posted by Tom Baker JET alum Joyce Jarman Walsh, who runs a livestream talkshow called #SeekingSustainability, gave a presentation titled “Live + Engaging Networking via Interviews with Japan Insiders” at the most recent Japan Writers Conference.You can watch a video of her talk below, and find more JWC presentations — including several by former JETs […]
JET alum writers: Joanne Anderton on speculative fiction autobiography
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Posted by Tom Baker JET alum and novelist Joanne Anderton gave a presentation titled “Speculative Fiction Autobiography” at the most recent Japan Writers Conference. You can watch her presentation below, and find more JWC presentations — including several by former JETs — at the Japan Writers Conference YouTube Channel. Also, if you would like to […]
JET alum writers: Suzanne Kamata on “Writing Identity”
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Posted by Tom Baker Novelist and JET alum Suzanne Kamata hosted a panel discussion on “Writing Identity” at the most recent Japan Writers Conference. Joining her were Tokyo-based writer Clara Kiyoko Kumagai; Kyoto-based fantasy writer and translator Kristin Osani; Indonesian-born Singaporean writer Clarissa Goenawan; and award-winning young adult author Sara Fujimura. You can watch their […]
Japan Writers Conference: Hans Brinckmann on memoirs
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Posted by Tom Baker Longtime Japan resident Hans Brinckmann talked about turning his life into a book in “Making a Memoir from a Journal,” a talk that he gave at the most recent Japan Writers Conference. If you have a Japan memoir inside you, watch his presentation below for inspiration and ideas. You can find […]
Japan Writers Conference: Melinda Joe on food writing
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Posted by Tom Baker Japan Times columnist Melinda Joe gave a presentation titled “So You Want to be a Food Writer” at the most recent Japan Writers Conference. You can watch her presentation below, and find more JWC presentations at the Japan Writers Conference YouTube Channel. Also, if you would like to give your own […]
JET alum writers: Michael Frazier on lyric poetry
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Posted by Tom Baker (Chiba-ken, 1989-91) Poet and JET alum Michael Frazier gave a presentation titled “A Poem is a Thing that Moves: Contemporary Lyric Poems” at the most recent Japan Writers Conference.You can watch his presentation below, and find more JWC presentations — including several by former JETs — at the Japan Writers Conference […]
Japan Writers Conference: Michael Dylan Welch on haiku
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Posted by Tom Baker Michael Dylan Welch, a leading figure in the English-language haiku world, gave a talk titled “Even in Kyoto: Place Names in Haiku” at the Japan Writers Conference.You can watch his presentation below, and find more JWC presentations — including several by former JETs — at the Japan Writers Conference YouTube Channel.Also, […]
JET alum writers: Percival Constantine on self-publishing
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Posted by Tom Baker Novelist and JET alum Percival Constantine gave a talk at the most recent Japan Writers Conference about “Successful Self-Publishing.” You can watch his presentation below, and find more JWC presentations — including several by former JETs — at the Japan Writers Conference YouTube Channel.Also, if you would like to give your […]
Japan Writers Conference: Steven Wolfson on “Cinematic Storytelling”
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Posted by Tom Baker Hollywood screenwriter Steven Wolfson gave a talk on “Cinematic Storytelling” at the Japan Writers Conference.You can watch his presentation below, and find more JWC presentations — including several by former JETs — at the Japan Writers Conference YouTube Channel.Also, if you are a writer who would like to give a presentation […]
