Saturday, October 18, 2008

SCBWI Tokyo Writer's Day

After a busy week, I thought I'd want to stay home and relax for the whole weekend. Yet I found myself oddly looking forward to heading to Tokyo (yet again), this time for a writer's workshop with a friend, Van.

She'd seen an advertisement for the SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) Writer's Day being held in Shinjuku. The agenda sounded like the topics would appeal to writers and aspiring writers of all genres, and since we both enjoy thinking about eventually writing, we figured we'd join the fun.

And fun it was - interactive, informative, and inspiring. Excellent presentations/lectures by authors Linda Gerber, Irene Smalls and Holly Thomson, as well as a practical lecture by literary agent Linda Rennart with tips on how to find an agent and get published.

This was a full-day event (9:15 a.m. to to 6:15 p.m.), in Shinjuku - a long way from home. But we made the most of our day - I swung by the Kinokuniya bookstore to pick up a couple more paperbacks, went by Oshman's to look at shoes, before heading to Shinagawa where we had an over-sized meal and drinks at The Outback restaurant before catching the shinkansen (bullet train) back home.

Tomorrow, thankfully, is Sunday - a day for a long bike ride with Brian, and perhaps a few beers in the sunshine.

(If you're interested in seeing the outline of today's SCBWI event, check out there website here - http://www.scbwi.jp/ )

1 comment:

bernicky said...

Sounds like a full and satisfying day. How did the Sunday ride go?