The Little Tokyo Historical Society (LTHS) seeks fictional short stories for its seventh annual Imagine Little Tokyo short story contest in the categories of English language, Japanese language and youth (18 and younger).
The deadline is Jan. 31, 2020.
The contest is presented by LTHS in partnership with the Japanese American National Museum’s Discover Nikkei project.
The purpose of the contest is to raise awareness of Little Tokyo through a creative story that takes place there. The story has to be fictional and set in a current, past or future Little Tokyo in Los Angeles. The short story committee will be specifically looking for stories that capture the spirit and sense of Little Tokyo.
Each category winner will be awarded $500 in cash with their short story being published in The Rafu Shimpo and posted on the Discover Nikkei website. A public award ceremony and dramatic readings of the winning stories are also being planned for spring 2020 at the Japanese American National Museum.
“Finalists have gone on to adapt their short story entries into a play and children’s book,” said Miya Iwataki, committee co-chair with Naomi Hirahara. “We are thrilled that our contest has led to creative endeavors celebrating the Japanese American experience.”
For more information and guidelines, visit www.littletokyohs.org. If you would like to financially contribute to the contest, email imaginelittletokyo@gmail.com.