The Heron Catchers
The second in a series of novels set in and around the Japanese city of Kanazawa and the winner of the 2024 International Rubery Book Award.
Kanazawa
“Atmospheric...and shibui. A quietly captivating tale of life and art in Kanazawa. Slowly sinks its hooks in and doesn't let go.”
- Robert Whiting, author of Tokyo Junkie
Lotusland
Lotusland, David Joiner’s debut novel, will be re-issued by Painted Veil Press in early 2025. This re-issue will feature a revised version of the original novel, with a new cover, a foreword, two interviews I did about the novel (one old and one new), and an essay I wrote that explains how I became a writer and what led me to write Lotusland.
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Novels by David Joiner
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The Heron Catchers
Set in Kanazawa and Yamanaka Onsen near the Sea of Japan, The Heron Catchers explores the importance of recognizing suffering both in others and in oneself, of being compassionate, and of trusting those who offer love in the shattering wake of loss.
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Kanazawa
In Kanazawa, the first literary novel in English to be set in this storied Japanese city, Emmitt’s future plans collapse when his wife, Mirai, suddenly backs out of negotiations to purchase their dream home.
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Lotusland
Lotusland is the debut novel by David Joiner and one of the only works of fiction by a US author to bridge the literary gap between the Vietnam War and contemporary Vietnam.
About David Joiner
David Joiner made his first trip to Japan in 1991 – a five-month study program in Hokkaido – and in 1994 moved for the first of seven times to Vietnam. In Vietnam he has made his home in such places as Hanoi, Bien Hoa, Saigon, and Mui Ne. In Japan, where he has also moved numerous times, he has called Sapporo, Akita, Fukui, Tokyo, and most recently the western Japanese city of Kanazawa home.
In addition to his novels, David's short fiction, nonfiction, and poetry have appeared in The Brooklyn Rail, diaCritics, Phoebe Journal, The Madison Review, Ontario Review, Presence, Whiskey Blot, and Echoes: Writers in Kyoto 2017, among other publications, and his dabbling in playwriting has resulted in a professional production of his full-length play Man, Woman, Dog.