Holly Thompson's Blog, page 32

International Writers Workshop 2012 Wrap-up

Back in Japan now, I finally have a few moments to reflect on my International Writers Workshop experience in Hong Kong (see my previous posts here, here and here).

After the IWW five-day trip to China, I had a single busy week remaining in Hong Kong. Other IWW writers were able to stay on longer, but I departed earlier in order to return to my university teaching duties here in Japan.

On Friday I gave a joint HKBU and SCBWI workshop on Narrative Poetry and Novels in Verse then joined members of SCBWI Hong Kong for dinner and children's literature writing conversation.

Saturday was a day off which I spent with another IWW writer on mountainous Lantau Island visiting the Po Lin Monastery and Tai O fishing village.
Po Lin Monastery Po Lin Monastery
Po Lin Monastery from Po Lin Monastery Tai O Tai O Tai O Tai O Tai O Tai OSunday was spent on or by the water with all the IWW writers and administrators--a boat trip in the stunning northeast Sai Kung area.
Sai Kung Sai Kung Sai Kung Sai Kung Sai Kung IWW writers and organizersOn Monday, IWW writers enjoyed lunch with the university president, after which we received our IWW Honorary Fellow in Writing certificates.
With President Albert Chan of Hong Kong Baptist University (photo by Nguyen Phan Que Mai)Also on Monday I delivered a speech and gave a reading for the awards ceremony of the HKBU Short Story Competition.

Tuesday I had a At the offices of Radio Television Hong KongAfter that there was time for some wandering in Mong Kok
Mong Kokand a bit more dim sum.
On Wednesday I visited the IB school Renaissance College and met with year 7, 8 and 10 students to talk about crafting stories and writing in verse. In the afternoon I then spoke to university science students at HKBU and used a science metaphor to lead into discussions on writing.
HKBU classWednesday evening was the finale event with the IWW writers joining the Poetry OutLoud readings at the Hong Kong Fringe Club. I loved the building.
Hong Kong Fringe Club Nguyen Phan Que Mai readingIt was an evening of poetry and fiction readings and good-byes followed by a quick bite to eat at the Foreign Correspondents' Club next door before returning to my room to pack for an early morning trip to the airport.

Already I miss my international writer friends, and I look forward to returning to Hong Kong one day for further explorations of the city and the more remote areas in the New Territories. But I have come home to Japan renewed and motivated as a writer, with fresh story and poem ideas percolating. Thank you to HKBU and the various wonderful individuals responsible for the International Writers Workshop! 

International Writers Workshop...goes to China

I'm currently enjoying my third week of the the International Writers Workshop (IWW) in Hong Kong, and we recently returned from a trip to China. Seven of the eight IWW writers were able to make the 5-day trip, with two interpreters. We traveled via Shanghai to the city of Chanshu and stayed at Changshu Institute of Technology. The visit included opportunities to meet with writers from China, as well as an editor of a major literary magazine, meals with university and regional officials, and sightseeing. 
The university campus was located alongside a lake, and we made full use of the teahouse overlooking the water from the first afternoon we arrived, and most evenings thereafter.
At the teahouse at Changshu Institute of Technology  IWW writer Ouyang JiangheThe welcome dinner and themed session to exchange ideas on writing and metropolis included writers such as Su Tong, author of the novel Raise the Red Lantern and others. with author Su Tong writers gathered for the Writing the Metropolis sessionSightseeing included an ancient library in Changshu where author Ouyang Jianghe took up the calligraphy brush and the writers all followed, creating a message to leave behind. IWW writer and calligrapher Ouyang Jianghe IWW writer Bina Shah our message of greetings and well wishes to the city of Changshu in our various languagesWe also visited Xingfu Temple.
some of the IWW writers plus translator Jeremy Tiang Xingfu Temple
Xingfu TempleWe met with students from the university, some of whom gave recitations of our work and asked astute questions about writing fiction and poetry.
IWW writers with students at Changshu Institute of TechnologyOn our fourth day we visited Suzhou where I was especially thrilled to visit Pan Men gate and surrounding gardens, site of the near drowning I witnessed years ago that became the inspiration for the opening of my novel Ash. I had goosebumps as I stepped inside the tea pavilion where my husband and I had sat so many years ago helplessly watching the harrowing incident across the pond that gave rise to the story of Caitlin and Mie.
Pan Men scenery area tea pavilion at Pan Men scenery areaWe also visited Suzhou's Humble Administrator's Garden, one of my favorites.
Humble Administrator's Garden Humble Administrator's Garden Humble Administrator's GardenWe enjoyed a lovely feast followed by an afternoon boating in the maze of wetlands and strolling about Shajiabang, a recreated culture village.
the wonderful editor Lin Jianfa at Shajiabang IWW writers Ouyang Jianghe and Egoyan Zheng
at Shajiabang IWW writer Ajit Baral IWW writers and interpreters plus editor Lin JianfaOn the university campus, I discovered on morning walks that students rise early, and some days it was like walking into a poem, finding students at dawn, lakeside, reciting from their books. campus of Changshu Institute of Technology university students lining up for 7:00 a.m. attendance  from Changshu Institute of Technology campusOn our last day the university was holding a sports festival, with dragon boats on the lake and dragons on the sports ground.
Changshu Institute of Technology sports festival dragon boat Changshu Institute of Technology sports festivalWe left Changshu early for Shanghai and made a dash from Hongqiao Airport on the metro to E. Nanjing Road, then out to the Bund and moments later back on the metro to the airport. It was a wonderful close to the China portion of our IWW experience. IWW writers (L to R) Meena Kandasamy, Pilar Quintana, Holly Thompson, Bina Shah, Ouyang Jianghe, Egoyan Zheng and Ajit Baral
IWW writers
IWW HKBU interpreters Wayne Wen-Chun Liang and Diana AuThank you to Changshu Institute of Technology for hosting us and special thanks to our patient interpreters from Hong Kong Baptist Univerisity!

Launch of HKBU International Writers Workshop 2012

Friday was the launch of the HKBU International Writers Workshop 2012 (see my previous post) held at Nan Lian Garden. The 8 visiting writers were first taken on a tour of the garden and nunnery, all recently renovated in Tang dynasty style.

Visiting Writers (L to R): Meena Kandasamy (India), Ouyang Janghe (China), Egoyan Zheng (Taiwan), Bina Shah (Pakistan), me, Nguyen Phan Que Mai (Vietnam), Pilar Quintana (Columbia), Ajit Baral (Nepal)
A welcome reception and readings by the 8 IWW visiting writers followed the tour, held in a hall within the garden.

We were then taken to a restaurant high above the harbor for an amazing meal (and view) with the HKBU president, various faculty of the university, editors from the Asia Literary Review, fiction writers, poets and others . . . and featuring this amazing dessert.
Saturday I discovered nearby Kowloon Tsai Park where I'm now running every day--I love the dance, tai chi, sword play, calisthenics, and you name it taking place all around me. And in the afternoon I worked in the library. What a joy to have access to a library with a large English-language literature collection. Saturday evening the writers were invited to join the MFA programs of City University of Hong Kong for some faculty readings followed by dinner with all the residency faculty and program director Xu Xi.

And Sunday was a free day, so Vietnam poet Nguyen Phan Que Mai and I did some exploring.

First to the Peak . . .
And then down the Old Peak Road through the Botanic Gardens, onto Hollywood Road through an indoor market and up and down lanes until we found a dim sum restaurant.





And then onto a double-decker tram and off again at Central, through the throngs of Filipinas relaxing on their day off work, to the Classic Car Show where we caught up with poet and car man David McKirdy...who made our day.



From there were took the Star Ferry across the harbor.
And made our way through the crowds
and caught the trains back to Kowloon Tong and to our rooms at the university--and a dinner of leftover dim sum. What a long, fulfilling day!
Today I met up with with a Japanese poet in the City U of Hong Kong MFA program, and in the afternoon 6 of us visiting IWW writers gave talks on "Life in the Metropolis" and how it shapes our writing for HKBU students. Tomorrow is a national holiday--and I'm looking foward to more exploring followed by writing. And of course, reading from the nice stack of poetry books I've borrowed from the library.

Day 1, International Writers Workshop in Hong Kong

Hong Kong--I made it! Hong Kong will be my base for the next few weeks. I'm briefly stepping away from Kamakura to immerse myself in the heart of this major Asian metropolis--with other writers from around the world.

But first to back up . . . The last month has been a blur of projects and teaching. Writing included one novel completed and revised, and another smaller manuscript revised and checked and revised and checked. Teaching has included a one-week intensive course at the university, skype and face-to-face middle school visits, and my six regular university classes now back in session. I've been working nonstop, taking breaks for running and walking in Kamakura neighborhoods. My world has been narrow, and my usual surroundings in my brief hikes and walks involve views like this:
But I here I am in Hong Kong. I was so pleased to be invited to the International Writers Workshop at Hong Kong Baptist University along with writers Ajit Baral of Nepal, Meena Kandasamy of India, Nguyen Phan Que Mai of Vietnam, Pilar Quintana of Columbia, Bina Shah of Pakistan, Egoyan Zheng of Taiwan, Ouyang Jianghe of China, and myself of USA/Japan. I'm grateful to Professor Kathleen Ahrens, Director of the Workshop, for the invitation, and I look forward to spending the next few weeks with this fascinating crowd. Thanks to my university in Japan, Yokohama City University, for allowing me to take a three-week leave from teaching my classes in order to take full advantage of this opportunity.

My walks and runs will be different for the next few weeks. Here are some views from my window:
Already I've been guided around the university campus and oriented to the MRT stops nearby, the university library and coffee shops, met a few of the writers, and enjoyed lunch with Professor Ahrens. On my tour I spotted some of the posters for Writing the Metropolis, the theme for this year's International Writers Workshop.
And in a brief visit to the wonderful Page One bookstore, I was pleased to see several copies of Orchards on the shelf--even plastic wrapped.
I look forward to discovering Hong Kong over the next few weeks, and to discovering new poems and stories that result from this immersion into metropolis on so many levels. This evening to start--a power walk with two of the writers then a casual dinner. The conversations begin!

Out of the Kiln

My husband started studying pottery years ago when we first moved to Japan, and he's been going to the same Kamakura pottery studio every weekend now for about twelve years. Moyurugama is on a little lane in a sweet old two-story house not far from Hachimangu Shrine.

This weekend many new works of his came out of the kiln. It's always a pleasure to see the results.

Pottery is a bit like writing a story. You have a vague idea how the piece is going to turn out. But until it's fired and out of the kiln, there are always surprises.

Nearly all of our dishes are hand-made. There is something so appealing about eating a home-cooked meal from cups and bowls and plates and platters that were hand-thrown.

Especially when combined with the serving spoons hand-carved by my father.


So now I return to my own craft of building stories, word by word, page by slow page, following the plot, hearing my characters.

Like responding to the clay. Like listening to the wood.

SCBWI Summer Conference 2012--Inspiration and Tips, Laughs and Tears

Back home in Japan, I can now process my six days in Los Angeles for the SCBWI annual summer conference.
Site of the conference--the Hyatt Regency Century PlazaThis was the forty-first SCBWI summer conference, sold out with over 1,200 attendees, and with good reason--my head was completely full afterward. And now that I'm home I'm revved and ready to get back to the work of writing.

For me the week included meetings, dinners, gatherings, even running with regional advisors (RAs) from the many SCBWI chapters in North America and around the world. First was the RA garden party on Wednesday. Just before traveling to LA I learned that I was the recipient of a Regional Advisor Marketing (RAM) grant to be used for marketing my novel The Language Inside, and I was thrilled to celebrate this with RAs who'd received Work of Outstanding Promise (WOOP) grants at the garden party.
with WOOP grant winners Quinette Cook and Genetta Adair; RAM grant winner Kristi Valiant was missingOn Friday the conference opened. Moving and inspiring keynotes were delivered all three days of the conference--by Arthur Levine, Tony Diterlizzi, Sara Shepard, Patricia MacLachlan, Dan Gutman, Karen Cushman, Brian Collier, Claire Vanderpool, Deborah Underwood, Ruta Sepetys, Karen Cushman and Gary Schmidt.
Authors Gary Schmidt and Karen CushmanFriday evening there was a pizza party and book sale, and following that a chance to meet attendees from countries around the globe.
A gathering of international attendees In addition to keynotes each day, there were editor and agent panels, and so many breakout sessions it was difficult to decide which to attend. Sessions I attended included editor Jordan Brown on Writing for Boys, editor Laura Godwin on What I Publish and Why, author Karen Cushman on the Case for Strong Girl Characters, agent Linda Pratt on Staying Competitive in the Changing Market, and editor Elise Howard on Realistic Fiction in a Genre-Driven Market. In an especially informative keynote, Deborah Halverson gave us a detailed report on the state of the children's book industry (upbeat even for picture books!) and identified current trends.

Saturday I received a critique of one of my picture book manuscripts by an editor. Waiting to be called up, another attendee took note of me and said, "You mean even published writers do this?" "Definitely!" I said--I love opportunities for one-to-one feedback on my stories. I also had a chance to meet with my agent Jamie Weiss Chilton, based in LA and on the faculty at the conference.

Saturday evening featured the portfolio showcase, with over 160 submitted portfolios set out for viewing.
One of many rows of illustrator portfolios on displaySaturday evening was also the huge themed pool party--this year a hippy hop. Here are the attending international regional advisors and international regional advisor chairperson (IRAC) all tie-dyed and hippyish...
 
and here we are trying to have a serious breakfast meeting the following morning at 7:30 a.m.
Frances Plumpton--New Zealand; Christopher Cheng--Australia; Kirsten Carlson--Germany and Austria; me--Japan; Judy Goldman--Mexico; and Kathleen Ahrens--IRAC based in Hong KongSunday featured more keynotes, more breakouts, and the Golden Kite luncheon with speeches from the winners of the nonfiction, picture book, picture book text, fiction and humor awards. The portfolio display and illustrator mentor program winners were also announced. And of course the finale was the autograph party.

But there's more. On Monday I attended optional writers intensives. In the morning I was a lucky participant in Sonya Sones' intensive on writing novels in verse and in the afternoon Gary Schmidt's intensive on narrators and point of view. And gracious Sonya even suggested we trade books : )

Trading books with Sonya SonesWhat I love about this LA conference is the chance to immerse myself in the children's book writing world for several days straight and meet authors, editors, agents and illustrators from all over. I love sharing info and tips with other regional advisors, soaking up all the inspiration and information, and meeting faces new to me, faces familiar only from social media, and friends from previous conferences. It is the chance to eat cookies baked by Hope Anita Smith while E.B. Lewis talks to me about working with the amazing Jacqueline Woodson. It is the chance to dance in a crazy group including verse novelist Ellen Hopkins, author/illustrator Jim Averbeck and blogger/writer Nathalie Mvondo. It's a chance to see Linda Sue Park again, to meet Greg Pincus at last, and to laugh with Lisa Yee. It's a chance to catch a moment with Tomo anthology contributor Debbie Ridpath Ohi. It's a chance to hear Patricia MacLachlan sing from the podium. It's a chance to be moved to tears by Bryan Collier's words. It's a chance to meet again our fearless leaders Stephen Mooser and Lin Oliver. It's a chance to laugh and weep with other like-minded souls who know just how important writing for children is. SCBWI is an incredible family.
with Tomo contributor Debbie Ridpath Ohi with Lisa Yee and the infamous BatPeepVisit the Official SCBWI Conference Blog for a taste of various breakout sessions and keynote speeches. And Publishers Weekly has a write-up of two days of the conference that captures well the mood and reach of the event: A Gathering of Kindred Spirits.

Dear Teen Me--You're Not Listening

I took on the challenge of writing a Dear Teen Me blog post. Sounds easy, but it's really complicated talking to yourself as a teen when you're now an adult. And I discovered that my teen self had no interest in listening to my adult self. Which was surprising. I expected a little respect from myself.

Not many photos exist of me as a teen, and I had none scanned into my computer or with me in Japan. So I had to time my participation in Dear Teen Me carefully to allow for traveling to my Massachusetts hometown to find my boxes located deep in storage and to allow for hours of digging through those boxes to unearth the few photo records of my teen years.

If only I could also rediscover the poems I wrote as a teen. Read my Dear Teen Me guest post to see what happened to them.

This was the photo I was happiest to rediscover--me, at 17, exploring tide pools along the Massachusetts Cape Ann coast--proof of my early interest in seaweeds and anything else to be found in intertidal zones.


My Dear Teen Me guest blog post is now up on the Dear Teen Me, Letters To Ourselves website. Please enjoy and feel free to comment. And have a look at some of the other Dear Teen Me posts from other authors while you're at it.

And since you're stopping by on this HATBOOKS blog, too, here's a bonus photo. My high school yearbook photo. The stubborn me who wasn't listening to me.

A Bit of Wellfleet

Though I've been based in Boston while in the U.S. for the last few weeks, I had the chance to visit Wellfleet, Massachusetts, over the weekend. As a teen I'd spent a fair amount of time on Cape Cod, but since then I've only managed a few trips back. This time I stayed in a cottage on Lieutenant Island at the edge of vast salt marsh.

The light during the day was brilliant, and at night the stars stretching over the salt marsh were breathtaking.

This road, submerged at high tide, was part of my morning run.

We weren't far from Turtle Point with nesting Diamondback Terrapins.

There were horseshoe crabs, fiddler crabs and osprey.

And we caught up with my college writing teacher--author Corinne Demas and donkey friends.

The Cape Cod National Seashore was as perfect as ever...

and we swam close to a pair of seals (minus the sharks).

The whole weekend was so perfectly perfect that some in our party were actually leaping for joy.

Early Morning Kayaking

Back in the U.S., if I'm lucky I get to spend time on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. One habit handed down to me from my father (enhanced by jetlag) is getting out on the water soon after dawn. There is nothing quite like that stillness as the sun climbs over trees and light slants into the water illuminating the rocks and fish slipping by beneath you.

My father would go out in a canoe rigged for rowing. In his healthier years he'd skim across the skin of the lake and be out of sight in moments. In his later years it was possible to keep up or catch up as he tired, and sometimes it became necessary to actually pull up alongside the canoe and prop him up. But he loved begin on that water, whatever his condition.

Over the weekend the weather was perfect for early morning kayaking. Out there with the loons, I thought of my father. He'd have savored every moment. 

Besides early morning, I savored sunset at 9 p.m. (Kamakura's latest sunset is at 7 p.m).

The moonrise was also perfect.

And out on the water another morning...well, you never know what's going to ride by.

ALA Anaheim--Books, Authors and Mouse Ears

On Friday, I flew from Tokyo to Los Angeles for the ALA annual conference held this year in Anaheim. Palm trees, great Mexican food, books, librarians and scads of authors made for a perfect weekend.

librarians everywhere! Anaheim Convention CenterAt the Random House booth, Orchards, sporting the APALA award sticker, was displayed among the award-winning titles.

Random House booth I checked out the many publisher booths, including that of Lee & Low Books
Lee & Low Boothand Consortium, which was carrying Tomo: Friendship Through Fiction.
Consortium boothThere were long snaking lines for author signings...and I was so glad to catch Cynthia Kadohata with whom I'd corresponded regarding Tomo...
Cynthia KadohataDavid Levithan... David Levithan signing The Letter Q

and Spider-Man. Spiderman and fanI caught a few author talks, including one with John Irving John Irving reading from In One Person

another with Glee celebrity turned middle-grade author Chris Colfer Chris Colfer on The Land of Storiesand the panel of Teens Making a Difference with William Kamkwamba and Talia Leman. William Kamkwamba, author of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wine and Talia Leman, author of A Random Book about the Power of Anyone
I signed copies of Orchards signing copies of Orchardsand on Saturday evening enjoyed the Random House party in Downtown Disney where Orchards was celebrated
Orchards poster Random House ALA Award Winnersand where Random House president Chip Gibson bestowed upon the award winners Mickey Mouse ears.


L to R: Random House president Chip Gibson, Wendelin Van Draanen, Holly Thompson, Craig Silvey, Chris Raschka and Jenny Hubbard

The APALA Literature Awards ceremony was held on Sunday morning with speeches by winning authors in different categories: Ken Min, illustrator of Hot Hot Roti for Dada-ji Wendy Shang, author of The Great Wall of Lucy Wu Sheela Chari, author of Vanished with Gene Luen Yang and Thien Pham, author and illustrator of the graphic novel Level UpUnfortunately I had to depart to catch a plane for the East Coast so couldn't stick around to chat more with these fun APALA winners. Hope to see more of them in the future! 
Thank you to Random House for a great time at ALA Anaheim.