Writers Iris Yamashita and Gary Phillips will be leading a free virtual editing workshop on Thursday, Jan. 19, from 6 to 7 p.m. (PST) to help individuals edit entries for the 10th Anniversary Imagine Little Tokyo Short Story Contest.
Committee co-chair Miya Iwataki will be moderating the workshop.
A Japanese American National Museum project presented by the Little Tokyo Historical Society (LTHS) in partnership with Discover Nikkei, the Imagine Little Tokyo short story contest seeks to raise awareness of Little Tokyo through creative stories that take place in the historic neighborhood. Each submission must be fictional and set in a current, past, or future Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. The short story committee will be specifically looking for stories that capture the spirit and sense of Little Tokyo.
Deadline for this year’s contest is Jan. 31. In honor of the 10-year anniversary, the winners of the three categories – adult, youth and Japanese language – will each win a cash prize of $1,000 as well as publication in The Rafu Shimpo, Discover Nikkei and the LTHS website. Noted actors will read the short stories as part of a special virtual awards ceremony.
Yamashita is the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of the feature film “Letters from Iwo Jima.” Her debut novel, “City Under One Roof,” was released this month. Phillips has written numerous mystery novels and short stories, worked in television on “Snowfall,” and edited various anthologies, including the recent “South Central Noir.”
RSVPs to the free workshop are required; go to http://www.janm.org/events/ and click
the event link to register. Registrants will be emailed links and instructions to join the conversation on Zoom. Contact publicprograms@janm.org for additional questions or specific access concerns. For the guidelines for the short story contest, go to https://www.littletokyohs.org.