The SCBWI Tokyo Newsletter Spring/Summer 2010 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 included a broad range of events for SCBWI Tokyo. Patrick Gannon led the From the Editors ................................1 From cut-paper art to children’s book translation, the first half of 2010 by planning and preparations for the March Bologna Children’s Book Fair, SCBWI Tokyo Event Wrap-Ups ..........2 wherefirst workshop Yoko Yoshizawa, of the year our in Assistant cut-paper Regional illustration. Advisor February and Illustrator was consumed Moribito II Named Coordinator, represented SCBWI Tokyo. April brought a visit from author Jane Kurtz who gave a vivid presentation on the importance of using details Batchelder Honor Book .....................4 in writing. May brought a long-awaited visit from Simon & Schuster art Batchelder, Marsh Awards director Laurent Linn, for a full day devoted to children’s book illustration, including a morning master class for illustrators. Highlight Children’s Literature in English Translation ..........................5 In June we held the inaugural SCBWI Tokyo Translation Day, the culmination of many months of preparation by the coordinators of the chapter’s translation Baseball, History, and Japan: group. Speakers included translators Arthur Binard and Cathy Hirano; Cheryl A Chat with Alan Gratz ..................... 8 Klein, Senior Editor, Arthur A. Levine Books (Scholastic Inc.), appearing via Skype; Akiko Beppu, Editorial Director, Kaisei-sha; Rei Uemura, Editor-in-Chief 2010 Sakura Medal of Children’s Books, Tokuma Shoten; and Yurika Yoshida, President and CEO of Winners Announced ........................ 9 Japan Foreign-Rights Centre. Stone Sitting in Tokyo ........................10 SCBWI Tokyo volunteers are always hard at work organizing more upcoming events, so remember to check www.scbwi.jp for updates. Meanwhile, we wish SCBWI Bologna Symposium and everyone a creative and productive summer. Bologna Children’s Book Fair ............11 Holly Thompson, Carp Tales Editor, SCBWI Tokyo Regional Advisor SCBWI Tokyo Translation Listserv Avery Udagawa, Carp Tales Assistant Editor Gathering and ILCL Lecture...............12 Annie Donwerth Chikamatsu, Carp Tales Assistant Editor Asian Festival of Children’s Content .............................13 About the Newsletter Designer Member News ....................................14 Miki Bromhead is an aspiring fiction writer and cupcake enthusiast. She is currently accepting requests for Bulletin Board ....................................14 graphic, web, or wordpress design. Check out her blog for fictional and non-fictional pieces, as well as contact About SCBWI Tokyo ...........................15 information: www.mikibrom.com/blog Carp Tales Spring/Summer 2010 1 SCBWI Tokyo Event Wrap-Ups by the Editors Cut to the Chase with Patrick Details, Details: The Snap, The Big Picture: Exploring the Art Gannon: Discovering and Making Crackle, and Pop of Good Writing and Business of Children’s Book Cut Paper Art and Illustration with author Jane Kurtz Illustration with Laurent Linn, Art January 29, 2010 April 2, 2010 Director, Simon & Schuster Books SCBWI Tokyo published illustrator for Young Readers member Patrick Gannon provided a May 30, 2010 brief history of cut paper art across the After several years of planning, SCBWI globe starting in China, with motifs of Tokyo had the honor of featuring the twelve zodiac animals and good Laurent Linn in a full-day event devoted luck symbols. He also showed slides of to children’s book illustration. The examples including spectacular works morning session was a three-hour from artists Matisse and Lotte Reiniger master class, for which illustrators had of Europe, Jen Stark and Sally Vitssky completed an assignment in advance. of the United States, Tim Budden of The assignment was to create one new, Jane Kurtz with some of her books Taiwan, and several artists of Japan full-color illustration for a children’s including the father of Japanese paper story showing a key emotional moment cutting, Takehiro Jiro, and SCBWI Tokyo Author Jane Kurtz was in Japan in a two-page spread. Throughout the member Teri Suzanne. Gannon also visiting international schools and morning Linn reviewed each piece and mentioned cut paper art called papel spent an evening with SCBWI Tokyo offered comments on each submission picado, a craft in Mexico used especially members and friends, telling about both on its own, as a work of art, and for the Day of the Dead. her childhood in Ethiopia and the life as part of a story within a picture experiences that led her to a writing book. He stressed again and again that Next Gannon showed samples of his career. The focus of the presentation own spectacular art. Initially an artist picture book illustrations must reveal in pen and ink and charcoal, he then storytelling. He showed participants how critical it is for the reader to feel started building pieces of art with paper was on finding details and using the story experience. Kurtz stressed that an emotional connection and to be able and acrylic and oils. He now works writersfive senses should to draw never the give reader the reader into a exclusively with paper. He discussed to guage the emotions of characters what the reader already knows or through posture, pose, expressions, his choices in paper and the utensils expects. Through slide after slide, she he uses. Attendees were able to create light, shadow, color palette and gave numerous visual examples of the composition. He demonstrated how side their own cut paper pieces. Although art of showing in fresh new ways. the process was not as easy as it looked, characters can be used to reveal the Kurtz elaborated on the three basic emotions of the main characters. Linn works of art. Everyone enjoyed this ways for discovering details— said that he was impressed by the high funsome interactive participants workshop, finished and intricate all were memory, observation and research. quality of the illustrations from SCBWI enthusiastic about creating their own She discussed the need to recognize Tokyo, and he urged all illustrators to works of art with paper and a cutter. a critical plot point in a story where a make sure they have websites and to writer should slow down and actually “explode” the moment, maximizing with more detail. She also urged writers to keep idea books for scribbling ideas in rough form and to remember that the creative process is usually a big mess. Kurtz reminded participants of the need for perseverance, explaining that she sent manuscripts out for ten years before she was published. Above all she urged writers to read, read, read, Patrick Gannon showing participants a detail emphasizing that reading is the best Laurent Linn with illustrators and master in his cut paper work way to learn to be a writer. class works Carp Tales Spring/Summer 2010 2 send postcards of new artwork to U.S. SCBWI Tokyo Translation editors and art directors at least four Day 2010: Bringing Japanese times a year. Children’s Books to the World June 12, 2010 explained the role of an art director at a majorIn the firstU.S. publishing afternoon sessionhouse by Linn sharing focused event offered “a day of a behind-the-scenes PowerPoint look at presentations,SCBWI Tokyo’s critiques,first translation- and the process of planning and designing conversation for published and pre- published translators of Japanese elaborating on the collaborative process children’s literature (picture books forbooks the at recently Simon &published Schuster—first Christian, through young adult) into English.” Translation Day roundtable with editor the Hugging Lion and other picture This event was made possible in part Cheryl Klein via Skype books. He also showed the process for by a Regional Grant from SCBWI and designing novels, from selection of kind of advocate for the author, relaying with the coopoeration of Yokohama typeface and the search for appropriate comments to Uehashi and helping devise International School, where Translation cover photographs to the composing ways to retain critical passages. Hirano Day was held. responded that she had felt herself to be an advocate for both editor and and sometimes hilarious examples The day opened with a talk by translator author in this three-way collaboration, of redosfinal designs. and requests Through for multiplechanges, and author Arthur Binard on the subject working to convey both points of he demonstrated that designers, of picture book translation. Reading view so that editor and author could illustrators, editors and authors are all from his translations of Once upon a understand one another. She estimated part of a collaborative team, and that Home upon a Home (Hakusensha),