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Japanese fiction, especially Contemporary Japanese Women’s writing, is experiencing a “boom” in translation. Books such as Convenience Store Woman (2018), Diary of a Void (2023), Butter (2024) and others have become international bestsellers, and a survey by the Booker Prize Foundation states that the sale of Translated Fiction, particularly Japanese fiction, has been on the rise, with an especially great interest from younger generations. How has this “boom” happened, and who created this landscape? Building on successful events with Yuzuki Asako, author of Butter (Off the Shelf), and Eimi Yagi, author of Diary of a Void in 91ֱ��, this public event sheds light on the work of the literary translators, publishers and their partners in creating and supporting this literary landscape. They will share their insights into the provision and sales of Japanese women’s writing in translation.

Symposium speakers include:

• Ginny Tapley Takemori Translator of Sayaka Murata’s Convenience Store Woman, which won the 2020-21 Lindsey and Masao Miyoshi Prize. She has translated dozens of Japanese novels including Kyoko Nakajima’s The Little House and Mayumi Inaba’s Mornings Without Mii. She is a co-founder of Strong Women, Soft Power, a collective of freelance women literary translators.
• Allison Markin Powell The PEN Translation Prize winner for her translation of Hiromi Kawakami’s The Ten Loves of Nishino. She also translated Kawakami’s Strange Weather in Tokyo and The Nakano Thrift Shop as well as Black Box by Shiori Ito, among others. She is also a co-founder of Strong Women Soft Power.
• Kristen Vida Alfaro  Director of Tilted Axis, an award winning independent publisher
• Other publishing partners, book sellers.