Tokyo Writers Workshop

The Tokyo Writers Workshop has been meeting regularly for over thirty years. We are an eclectic bunch of mostly native English speakers, ranging in age from 20s to 60s, teachers, journalists, translators, and people in business. Some of us publish regularly, some not, and some have aspirations in that direction. We meet on the third Sunday of most months to have constructive discussions about each other’s writing. Most of the work is fiction and poetry, but other genres are welcome. All of the work is in English.

Our format is as follows: We post our own work on a Google Drive folder, and read the other manuscripts submitted prior to the meeting.  At the meeting, we discuss the works piece by piece. Poets read their work aloud but not prosers. During the discussion the writer whose work is under discussion remains silent, but at the end can ask questions. This is not a forum for debate, but an opportunity for writers to hear readers respond to their work. We usually take a ten-minute break midway through the afternoon, but there isn't a lot of socializing. One is not obliged to bring work. People are welcome to come to listen and comment.

If you want your work discussed, please post to the announced Google Drive folder. Deadlines are previous Wednesday midnight (under 4,000 words) and second Saturday of the month (4,000 to 7,500 words, poetry, 60 lines max.). Because our group has grown lately, we can only read the first 12 manuscripts that are submitted each month, so if you really want feedback on your work, please post your file early. You can post after the first of the month.

We ask for a ¥100 donation to help pay for Meetup. After the workshop, members frequently drift up the street to a cafe to socialize.