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Dear Subscriber,

Welcome to newsletter #7, the Spring 2024 Edition! 

Spring in Kanazawa has been wonderfully mild this year, and if the weather forecast is accurate (it’s often completely wrong) we may make it to June without the temperatures exceeding 30C / 86F. Once it does, though, there will probably be no dipping below it during the daytime until mid-October.

As I mentioned in my last newsletter, The Heron Catchers was named a finalist for the 2023 American Writing Awards in the category of multicultural novels. It didn’t win, but that’s okay since I wasn’t expecting the nomination anyway. This March the novel became a finalist for the 2023 Foreword Reviews Indie Book of the Year (winner announced in June) and a few days ago it also was named a finalist for the 2024 Next Generation Indie Book Awards (but again, didn’t win). It’s nice to see my novel get these nominations, but I’m not sure how much it matters in the end.

One more nice bit of news regarding my novel Kanazawa is that it recently reached #1 on Amazon Japan as the Most Gifted Book in Contemporary Literature & Fiction. Over two years have passed since the novel came out, so I was surprised to get this notification.

Yesterday morning I woke up two hours earlier than usual to prepare for an online book club talk with the Japan Culture Center of Western New York, which is located in Buffalo – Kanazawa’s oldest sister-city relationship. I was told that the book club chose my novel Kanazawa as its first book to read and discuss. The hope is that they’ll now read The Heron Catchers, and if that goes well the organization may try to involve the city of Kanazawa to read and discuss these novels. The ultimate goal is to organize a literary festival spearheaded by Kanazawa’s sister-city relationships, which I’d love to help bring to life, but that’s on the table for a few years hence.

If a literary festival ever does take place in Kanazawa, by that time I might have a Japanese translation of Kanazawa available. The translator working on this has just completed the first three chapters of the novel, and we’re both seeking feedback on her work. She’s heading to a translation conference in Toronto as I write this, and we’re both hoping that she’ll make good connections while she’s there. I’m really pleased with this development.

In November, I’m hoping to give a presentation with the author Karen Hill Anton at the Japan Writers Conference, which will be held this year in Fukushima. If our proposal is accepted, we’ll present on the importance of literary correspondence, something I’ve never seen presented before, but which we hope will be of interest to attendees.

My first novel, Lotusland, is still on track for re-release in early March 2025. Two more blurbs have come in, and I’m hoping for three more by the end of June. The writers and translators Dana Sachs and John Balaban were both kind enough to write the following about it:

“Many novels explore the experience of travel, but few capture the complex mingling of wonder and loneliness that comes with living far from home. David Joiner has done that beautifully in Lotusland, a moving story of a difficult friendship between two Americans in Vietnam. Through the lens of that friendship, he’s given us a dynamic, deeply nuanced portrait of a nation in the midst of profound change.”

-Dana Sachs, author of The House on Dream Street: Memoir of an American Woman in Vietnam

"An engaging, accomplished novel about contemporary Vietnam as seen through the eyes of an American who lived there."

-John Balaban, author of Remembering Heaven's Face, a memoir, and Spring Essence: The Poetry of Hồ Xuân Hương

I’ve also received word that Phan Le Ha and Liam Kelley, co-founders of the annual Engaging with Vietnam conference, will write a foreword to Lotusland. With other back matter I plan to include, it should make for a particularly interesting publication. 

With all of this happening around Lotusland’s re-issue, I’ve been provisionally invited by Jason Picard, co-translator of Nguyen Ngoc Tu’s Endless Field and professor at VinUniversity in Hanoi, to give a presentation on Lotusland and my writing about Vietnam. I’m not sure when this will happen, if it happens at all, but it’s likely going to be late this year or early next year. I feel very lucky for this interest in my work, and since it's been six years since my last trip to Vietnam – easily the longest I’ve been away from Vietnam since 1994 – I’m eager to go back.

I’d like to take a moment here to share some reading recommendations! I’ve recently been asked to blurb several books, and in one case something that I wrote in an email to a fellow author in Japan has been used to promote that author’s writing, which I’m always happy to help with. These books and the blurbs I wrote for them include: 

Takeout Sushi, by Christopher Green

"Smart, witty, delightful stories by a keen-eyed observer not only of contemporary Japanese life, but of life in general. Christopher Green is a talented writer we should all be reading – and hoping for more wonderful stories from in the future."

Countdown to Encryption, by DC Palter

“Countdown to Decryption is a deep-dive into the world of computer hacking, an intelligent portrayal of Japanese culture imported into Silicon Valley, and a compelling love story between a reckless computer geek and a by-the-rules, beautiful, brave young lawyer, all in service to a murder they're desperate to solve. Palter’s hacker-geek protagonist narrates with a strong and often hilarious voice that readers will root for and remember long after finishing the novel. Countdown to Decryption is an exciting addition to the cyberthriller genre and a highly entertaining page-turner.”

Finding Naomi, by Diane Nagatomo

"From Tokyo to the American Midwest, Nagatomo leads readers on a journey full of twists and turns through loss, betrayal, forgiveness, and love. Along the way she elucidates the sometimes-surprising, often-hilarious cultural differences between Japan and America, especially when it comes to romance and the unpredictable complications that result. Finding Naomi is a smart, entertaining novel that highlights Nagatomo’s many talents as a storyteller.”

A Thousand Graces, by Karen Hill Anton 

“I can't think of any other fiction written by a non-Japanese to capture Japan so perfectly. And to do everything else so perfectly, too. I was particularly impressed by the sense of control the novel exhibited in regard to language, which was beautiful to read; the characters, who felt absolutely real and whose conflicts were portrayed with great love, consistency, and care; and with the emotional tone of the story from beginning to end. It's been a long time since I felt so involved and invested in a story. A Thousand Graces is nothing less than a masterpiece." 

That’s all for now! Until my next newsletter, all the best and happy reading.

-David

Don’t hesitate to get in touch, either, with book recommendations, news of cultural interest related to Japan, or just to say hello.

(Various photos and captions not included, unfortunately, due to technical issues…)