Literary Little Tokyo

The first Asian Pacific American Bookfest had been in planning for over a year. This past Saturday, it finally happened.

And what a marvelous success it was.

Booksellers, booklovers, and authors assembled in Little Tokyo for a day of literary panels and discussions.

I was happy that there were patrons who were familiar with my work and wanted me to sing their books. I was thrown when a teenage girl came up to me and said, "My mother LOVES your work!" I never thought of mothers liking anything I would do. But when the girl presented me copies of obviously well worn copies of "Letters to Montgomery Clift" and "Talking to the Moon," I was truly humbled.

The bookfest took a full year of planning. I was involved, but the two people who put their back into the event were Audrey Lee Sung from our sponsoring organization the Asian Pacific American Legal Center and mystery writer Naomi Hirahara.

The only place to go is up!