Spring/Summer 2011
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The SCBWI Tokyo Newsletter Spring/Summer 2011 Carp Tales is the bi-annual newsletter of the Tokyo chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). The newsletter includes SCBWI Tokyo chapter and member news, upcoming events, a bulletin board of announcements related to writing and illustrating for children in Japan, reports of past events, information on industry trends, interviews with authors and illustrators, and other articles related to children’s literature. To submit inquiries or learn how to contribute to Carp Tales, contact [email protected]. The submission deadline is May 1 for the spring issue and November 1 for the fall issue. All articles and illustrations in Carp Tales are © SCBWI Tokyo and the contributing writers and illustrators. For more information about SCBWI Tokyo, see www.scbwi.jp. The Carp Tales logo is © Naomi Kojima. From the Editors Contents SCBWI Tokyo wishes to express condolences to all those who have suffered From the Editors ......................................1 losses from the March 11, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. These have been trying times in Japan, but we are so encouraged by energetic efforts to help SCBWI Tokyo Event Wrap-Ups ................2 those in the affected regions. SCBWI is donating over $3,500 to the Books for 2011 Sakura Medal Tomorrow Project (Ashita no Hon), and SCBWI Tokyo has raised $500 for Ehon Winners AnnounCed ................................3 Project Iwate. Both projects are providing book-related relief and activities plus mobile libraries to the quake-affected areas. Kidlit for Japan, an auction J-Boys: The Story oF one MG Novel organized by Greg Fishbone who lived in Japan during the Great Hanshin in Translation ............................................4 earthquake, raised over $10,000 for Red Cross Japan. SCBWI Tokyo members have donated artwork, writing, and considerable time and money to various Books for Tomorrow ProjeCt and relief projects. While we mourn for the losses and devastation up north, we other Initiatives for Tohoku ..................... 7 are determined to move forward and help the country heal. More than ever, ϐ Ǥ Review oF Write Great Fiction: Plot and Structure ................................... 9 Although SCBWI Tokyo suspended activities in March and April, we returned to monthly scheduled events beginning in May. In this issue OF Magatama and Moribito: of Carp Tales we bring you our event wrap-ups, a book review, a feature An ExCerpt From the New SCBWI on the unusual collaborative journey to publication for one middle Tokyo Translation Group Blog ............... 10 grade book, a recap of the Asian Festival of Children’s Content, and 2011 Asian Festival of announcements of Sakura Medal winners and the new SCBWI Tokyo Children’s Content ...................................11 Translation Blog. We hope you enjoy this issue. Bulletin Board ..........................................14 Holly Thompson, Carp Tales Editor, SCBWI Tokyo Regional Advisor Annie Donwerth Chikamatsu, Carp Tales Assistant Editor About SCBWI Tokyo .................................15 Avery Udagawa, Carp Tales Assistant Editor Carp Tales Spring/Summer 2011 1 SCBWI Tokyo Event Wrap-Ups by the Editors Creating Global Children’s Books Next he guided participants through with Author/Illustrator Frané Lessac a series of exercises drawing a simple ϐǤ January 28, 2011 instructed on technique and offered Frané Lessac, a self taught artist of color suggestions. Dan Schallau (www. “naïve art,” discussed her journey of danielschallau.com) focused on winter becoming an author-illustrator as well scenes and explained the many shades as her journeys to do research with co- of colored pencils he uses to create author and husband, Mark Greenwood. snow scenes. He then gave participants Together, they have created many Sharing sketches and writing an outlined scene to color, offering books. To illustrate their research guidance on various effects that can be Everyone met up after about 75 techniques, she told the story behind ϐ ǡ minutes to share results. Participants the creation of Simpson’s Donkey. emphasize objects in the snow and had taken many different approaches-- Interviewing locals, visiting museums, reveal snow’s many textures. Both realist sketches of objects and animals; ǡ ϐ ϐ sketches of children looking at and associated with the story were among about paper, pencils, sharpeners, interacting with the exhibits; sketches the techniques. Lessac also mentioned erasers, pens and showed their original or plans of stories that were inspired by details from other books to illustrate and published illustrations. exhibits; full drafts of stories for teens; how accuracy is vital to adhere to the notes for developing story content protocols for producing indigenous Writers’ Night: Writing for later; research for works in progress; Australian literature. She and Mark and more. There was an impressive Young Adults with Suzanne Greenwood continue to travel and array of material on the table, and Kamata and Holly Thompson research art and book projects. Details participants agreed that museums are can be found on Lessac’s blog, www. June 11, 2011 great resources for inspiring story. franelessac.com/blog. Suzanne Kamata’s short stories ϐ for young adults and adults have and Word Crawl. At the next Crawl, we been widely published. She started plan to spend more time sketching and the evening with two key points to writing before coming together to share remember when writing for young results, and we hope to introduce a adults and then read from samples collaborative element. of YA short stories from different Two Artists Two Expressions publications. After summarizing some Colored Pencil Workshop YA plot lines to give attendees an idea with Katsuya Takahashi and of the range that is accepted, Kamata handed out a list of publications that Daniel Schallau accept YA short stories and answered May 21, 2011 questions about her writing and Frané Lessac and her books Katsuya Takahashi (http://homepage3. publishing experience. SCBWI Regional nifty.com/katz-t/) gave us a hands-on Advisor and author Holly Thompson Sketch and Word Crawl workshop in several key colored pencil started her power point presentation at the National Museum of Ǥ ϐ by saying that voice is integral to the Science and Nature, Ueno, Tokyo of hatching, impressing and burnishing plot of a verse novel. She pointed out and shared examples of his own work. verse novel types and formats and February 27, 2011 gave examples of their characteristics. On a Sunday afternoon, writers and She showed the structure and the illustrators gathered at the Museum internal systems that add to or aid the ǡϐ storytelling then mentioned poetic then spread throughout the museum. elements that some verse novelists Some headed for particular exhibits employ. She read excerpts from many like those on the Japanese archipelago, novels including her own, Orchards, peoples of Japan, dinosaurs, forests, and shared titles of numerous verse and biodiversity. Others roamed about novels to illustrate the points she L to R: Artwork by Katsuya Takahashi; presented. Discussion and questions sketching the visitors to the museum. artwork by Dan Schallau Carp Tales Spring/Summer 2011 2 followed. Links to their work and blogs site’s history, its current presence on for those wanting to learn about the can be found at their websites: Suzanne the web, and its outreach projects. world of English-language books Kamata, www.suzannekamata.com; PaperTigers was initially a part of written about or translated from the Holly Thompson, www.hatbooks.com. Pacific Rim Voices website which Pacific Rim region. had once been associated with the Kiriyama Prize. The focus of PaperTigers has recently become more centered on the PaperTigers blog and its outreach programs. Bloggers focus on books and materials written about or from Pacific Rim cultures, making Writers’ Night after party recommendations, giving reviews as well as interviews with authors and illustrators. Recent outreach Discovering PaperTigers, programs include donations of the Online Forum for signed books to the auction Kidlit Multicultural Children’s Literature Japan for the East Japan earthquake and tsunami victims, donations of with Sally Ito book sets to Pacific Rim schools, and July 8, 2011 donations of funds to water projects Sally Ito, one of the bloggers for in Haiti and India. PaperTigers, www. PaperTigers, gave an overview of the papertigers.org, is a rich resource Sally Ito of PaperTigers 2011 Sakura Medal Winners Announced by Annie Donwerth Chikamatsu English and Japanese books in four categories were read, High School: The Nest by Paul Jennings reviewed, voted for and awarded the 2011 Sakura Medal by Japanese Picture Books (Tie!): 100 kaidate no ie (The the students of 19 international schools across Japan. Each House with 100 Floors) by Toshio Iwai May, librarians from participating schools select 25 to 30 books for the award process. Schools hold a variety of activities Japanese Intermediate: Bebeben bentou (All About throughout the year to promote this reading program, and Bento) by Shinobu Saito and Mushiba ikka no ohikkoshi ϐȋ Ȍ (Cavity Family on the Move) by Yasuko Hashimoto any category are eligible to vote for their favorite. Japanese Chapter Books: Chiisana ryu (Little Dragon) Authors or publishers interested in sending books for the by Ruriko Nagai, illustrated by Masami Ogura nominating committee should contact Wouter Laleman wlaleman (at) asij.ac.jp. Books should be published within Japanese Middle School: Shofukudo no manekineko two years of the award selection. (The Welcome Cat from Lucky House, Matatabi Travel Series) by Kumiko Moichi, illustrated by Ken Kuroi 2011 Sakura Medal Winners Japanese High School: Kamisama no karute (God’s Picture Books: The Book That Eats People by John Perry Medical Files) by Sosuke Natsukawa Chapter Books: Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Annie Donwerth Chikamatsu is revising a middle grade by Grace Lin novel set in Texas and maintains a photoblog for children, Here and There Japan, www.hereandtherejapan. Middle School: Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce blogspot.com.