Writers in Kyoto is a group of published and self-published English-language authors working or living in the city. It is run on a membership basis and its purpose is for writers to help each other by creating opportunities for promotion, book launches, readings, the exchange of information, and social events. We work in an informal way and are open to new ideas for projects, such as the ongoing ‘Books set in Kyoto’ feature. We are an independent group, but collaborate with Kyoto Journal and SWET (Society of Writers, Editors and Translators).
Subjects of particular interest to the membership include the current state of the market; self-publishing; e-books; marketing and promotion; amazon; local printers and publishers; speaking venues; opportunities for placing articles in newspapers, magazines and blogs, etc. In order to facilitate the exchange of information, members are eligible to join a closed Facebook group which allows access to an archive of relevant material as well as providing a space for interchange and discussion.
As an educational seat of learning with a long and proud history, Kyoto has proved attractive to many foreign writers over the years — Gary Snyder, Donald Keene, Alex Kerr and, in nearby Nara, Pico Iyer. This is not to mention the long line of illustrious Japanese poets and novelists who have found the city conducive to writing. One thinks for example of the world’s oldest novel, The Tale of Genji, the ‘follow-your-pen’ brilliance of Sei Shonagon’s Pillow Book as well as collections of poetry such as Kokinshu (Collection of Old and New) and Ogura Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets). It is a tradition that Writers in Kyoto treasures and seeks to uphold.