In partnership with The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival, the Japan Foundation invites author KIKUKO TSUMURA for a live conversation with translator Polly Barton.

A 36-year-old, formerly burnt-out female office worker is the protagonist of Kikuko Tsumura’s There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job (2020). With well-established acclaim in her native Japan, Tsumura vividly captures the lives within Japanese society, especially of its young people. Though their comedic tone may make her works accessible and fun to read, you will soon detect the delicate trace of serious issues existing in Japan lying beneath the surface.

In this online live session, Tsumura will discuss her creative world as well as take questions from audiences. Joining also is Polly Barton, an award-winning modern Japanese literature translator who has worked with a number of Japanese authors and who rendered There’s No Such Thing as an Easy Job into English. She will explain how she reads this book while elucidating her translation process.

Kate Griffin, Associate Programme Director at the National Centre for Writing will moderate the session.

This is a follow up session to the recorded conversation with Kikuko Tsumura and Victoria Young as part of The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival and it is recommended to watch the recorded session as well. To watch the session, please click here.

This online event is free to attend but registration is essential.