Ricepaper 15th Anniversary Celebration

Ricepaper, ACWW along with Friend's of Foo's Ho Ho, co-hosted the 15th anniversary celebration dinner at Foo's Ho Ho Restaurant at 102 East Pender Street in Vancouver. ACWW Board of directors emcee'd the event as Gung Haggis organizer and ACWW board member, Todd Wong, and actor, radio broadcaster, and comedian, Tetsuro Shigematsu maneuvered the evening beautifully as audiences were treated to an 8 course meal, special celebrity guests and a raffle draw.

In celebration of Ricepaper‘s milestone 15th anniversary at Foo’s Ho Ho Restaurant, the oldest surviving Chinese restaurant in historic Chinatown, audiences enjoyed a taste of pioneer-style Chinese food while serenaded with a poetry reading by renowned poet Evelyn Lau, who was also honoured with the ACWW Community Builder's Award.

Ricepaper is Canada’s only nationally-distributed literary magazine devoted to showcasing Asian Canadian artists, writers, performers and innovators. For 15 years, Ricepaper has published important work for and about Asian Canadian community luminaries such as David Suzuki, Fred Wah, Denise Chong, and Evelyn Lau while also providing opportunities for new and emerging talent to publish their work. This video, Ricepaper 15th Anniversary celebration on W2TV is courtesy of Sid Tan on Vimeo.

Ray's Launch

As Wikipedia says about the very lovely and talented board member and writer extraordinaire, Ray "grew up in Toronto, Ontario. Hsu received an Honours B.A. and an M.A. in English literature from the University of Toronto and a Ph.D. in English Literary Studies from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. While completing his Ph.D., he taught for over two years at Oakhill Correctional Institution, where he founded the Prison Writing Workshop. He is currently based in Vancouver, where he is a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia.

He has published over a hundred and twenty-five poems in over forty magazines internationally. His work has appeared in such anthologies as Breathing Fire 2: Canada's New Poets and The Echoing Years: An Anthology of Poetry from Canada & Ireland. In 2007, Hsu and his work were the subject of an episode of the television documentary series Heart of a Poet produced by Canadian filmmaker Maureen Judge." Watch here as Ray performs for the Issue 15.3 magazine launch of Ricepaper.

Books

Anthropy (2004)[4]
"Cold Sleep Permanent Afternoon" (2010)[5]

Awards

Gerald Lampert Award (2005)
Trillium Book Award (Poetry), finalist (2005)
Lyman S.V. Judson and Ellen Mackechnie Judson Award (2007)
E.J. Pratt Medal and Prize in Poetry (2000, 2001)

Want to Get Published? Lorimer is Looking, ACWW Wants to Help You

James Lorimer & Company Ltd., a Canadian publishing house in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is looking for writers. In particular, it is searching for submissions to its Children’s and Young Adult Series and has come to ACWW, looking for manuscripts for its "SideStreets Series" – an edgy, issues-based novels for ages 13 and up.

While first priority is good writing, with believable characters, situations, and dialogue, all settings must be Canadian, with storylines that take place in the child or teen world with minimal adult involvement. As publishers of novels and short stories based on the original Degrassi TV series, Lorimer shares the commitment evident in that pioneering series to serious engagement with themes and issues in a way that reaches a contemporary youth audience.

At this time we do not publish picture books, seasonal stories, cookbooks, board books, activity books, historical fiction, or fantasy. We are not interested in stories written to convey a lesson or moral.

Want to know more about SideStreets?

• Interest level: ages 13 and up (high school/YA)

• Reading level: grades 3-5 (hi-lo)

• Length: 30,000 words

• Genre: realistic, contemporary, issues-based fiction

SideStreets novels are fast-paced, high-interest stories with the ability to pull in even the most reluctant teen readers. They feature realistic characters, situations, and dialogue, and explore the often difficult feelings and situations faced by contemporary Canadian teens. We’re not interested in overdone story lines drawn from the world of movies and television rather than from real life. Past topics include: addiction, sexuality, bullying, gangs, mental disorders, and gambling. Characters must be aged 15 and up. Stories that feature male main characters are especially welcome. Settings must be Canadian and contemporary, and diversity of background in terms of race, class and ethnicity is particularly welcome.

ACWW will provide the rest of the details for submissions if you're interested. Please contact us at: info@asiancanadianwritersworkshop.ca. If you are interested in having your manuscript read, we would also be happy to do that, too. The ACWW is committed to helping emerging writers publish in the genre of Asian Canadian writing. When we helped create Henry Chow & Other Stories Anthology, we wanted a young adult fiction book that would appeal to readers who have grown up in Canada reading stories which oftentimes rarely had stories that they could personally relate in an ethnically diverse country such as ours. Here's our chance to make a difference, a change.

Larissa Lai's Automaton Biographies Reading

Long-time Ricepaper contributor, writer, and UBC English professor, Larissa Lai brings us Automaton Biographies. Larissa's new book of poetry consists of four long poems: “Rachel,” a meditation in the voice of the cyborg figure Rachel from Ridley Scott’s film Blade Runner and its source material, Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?; “nascent fashion,” which addresses contemporary war and its excesses; “Ham,” which circulates around the chimpanzee named Ham sent up into space as part of the Mercury Redstone missions by NASA in the 1960s and later donated to the Coulston Foundation for biomedical research; and “auto matter,” a kind of unfolding autobiography told in poems.

Judy Fong-Bates in Vancouver

On Friday May 29, 2010, Judy Fong-Bates gave a reading at UBC's Irving K. Barber Learning Centre. In partnership with Random House Canada, UBC Community Partners for Learning, the Chinese Canadian Historical Society (CCHSBC), the Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop (ACWW), Schema Magazine, the North American Association of Asian Professionals (NAAAP), and ExplorAsian, the IKBLC invited author Judy Fong-Bates' for a reading of her new book, Year of Finding Memory. An elegant and surprising book about a Chinese family's difficult arrival in Canada, and a daughter's search to understand remarkable and terrible truths about her parents' past lives. Growing up in her father's hand laundry in small town Ontario, Judy Fong Bates listened to stories of her parents' past lives in China, a place far removed from their every-day life of poverty and misery. But in spite of the allure of these stories, Fong Bates longed to be a Canadian girl. Fifty years later she finally followed her curiosity back to her ancestral home in China for a reunion that spiralled into a series of unanticipated discoveries. The Year of Finding Memory explores a particular, yet universal, world of family secrets, love, loss, courage and shame. This is a memoir of a daughter's emotional journey, and her painful acceptance of conflicting truths. In telling the story of her parents, Fong Bates is telling the story of how she came to know them, of finding memory. Watch as Larry Wong, Vancouver community historian, introduce Judy to the audience.

Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop & UBC Creative Writing 439/539 at Word on the Street

Ray Hsu of the Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop talks about "cultural writing" and confronts the challenges of theorizing Asian Canadian writing.

Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop at Word on the Street

On September 26, 2010, Ray Hsu of the The Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop and instructor at the UBC Creative Writing Program's first Asian Canadian creative writing course, will be offering a session called "Cultural Writing" at WOTS that will teach participants how to be meme-splicers: taking cultural materials and remixing it so that it catches in people's minds, sticks, and even go viral.

The Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop (ACWW) assists Asian Canadian writers in publishing and showcasing their work. ACWW has been in operation since 1969 and is also the publisher of Ricepaper Magazine, showcasing creative and inspirational Asian Canadians. Ray Hsu will also be reading in The Poetry Tent from his new book, Cold Sleep Permanent Afternoon. The workshop is limited to 30 people, so early queuing is recommended.

Accès Asie! Asian Heritage National Symposium in Montreal September 2010

The Accès Asie Festival, which celebrates its 15 year of existence in 2010, organizes in collaboration with the MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels) an exclusive event for the first time in Canada. Thanks to the Symposium, Accès Asie brings together many professionals from Asian arts and culture who will propose debates, information sessions. Two years ago, the Symposium project was created by Accès Asie organisers. Indeed, this symposium will create a national exchange between the different Asian communities in Canada, to introduce the Asian Canadian wiki and work with a dynamic, passionate and engaged team.

On September 17-19, 2010, various organizations, including the Asian Heritage Month organizations across the provinces, and various artists from different horizons will come together. For the Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop, it will be a really rewarding experience be able to create and facilitate new networks between the pan-Canadian communities. The Symposium is a unique event in Canada as the three days of meeting will be under the sign of conviviality, friendship, sharing and respect among the organizations.

Eury Chang, Editor of Ricepaper Magazine and Artistic Director of Creative Dominion, will be presenting a session called, "Writing Diversity, Positioning yourself for success in today's global marketplace," while ACWW board of director and UBC Creative Writing instructor, and poet, Dr. Ray Hsu will be a convener for the panel called "Asian (Canadian) History & Culture in Education Systems & Integrations?" and Tetsuro Shigematsu, another ACWW board of director, will be emcee throughout the symposium. Needless to say, ACWW & Ricepaper will be well represented at this important symposium. For more information about this event, please see:

Press release

Program

Way of Ray on TV

ACWW board of director, Ray Hsu was interviewed on ThatChannel.com along with a.rawlings, Phoebe Tsang on July 16 2010!

Asian Etch Your Sketch Off

On May 10, 2010, SKETCHOFF!#$%!! drew a large audience. In fact, it has been a sold-out event every year and the annual show has provided a rare showcase for various Asian stand-up comedians and sketch teams from all over Canada and the U.S. Organized and managed by Asian Canadian theatre icon Joyce Lam, the Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre aims to produce quality plays in which Asian-Canadians take on culturally or artistically significant roles, dispelling Asian stereotypes and creating positive images. Not surprisingly, as a developer of talent, VACT has over the years helped launch such local Asian-Canadian sketch comedy troupes as Hot Sauce Posse and Assaulted Fish.

Hong Kong as Heritage Site

Hong Kong began as a coastal island geographically located in southern China. While small settlements had taken place in the Hong Kong region, with archaeological findings dating back thousands of years, regularly written records were not made until the engagement of Imperial China and the British colony in the territory. Starting out as a fishing village, salt production site and trading ground, it would evolve into a military port of strategic importance and eventually an international financial centre.

The World's First Asian Writing School in English

On January 15, 2010, City University of Hong Kong, an English-language school with seventeen thousand students and a campus notable for its urban, contemporary architecture, will begin accepting applications for a new low-residency MFA program in creative writing. Up to thirty students will be admitted and spend two summers and three long weekends on the Hong Kong campus studying poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction in English over the course of two to four years. While the program will have a focus on Asian writing, it is open to writers from anywhere in the world. This is a significant turning point in not only English creative writing, but global creative writing, where languages emerge from a creole English that is now spoken so predominantly in many postcolonial geographies such as Singapore and Vancouver. Leading the charge as part of this is author Xu Xi.

Vancouver Chinatown

Vancouver Chinatown is a haven for tourists each year. But what many do not realize is that Chinatown rivals other Chinese cities such as Hong Kong in terms of historical significance. As the Western Hemisphere's second largest Chinatown in area (after San Francisco), and third largest in population (after San Francisco, and New York), Vancouver's Chinatown continues to hold much mystique, for much of the 20th century, Chinatown was often an ethnic enclave which the majority of white residents had excluded and ostracized. Much of the stories of Asian Canadian literature – Sky Lee, Wayson Choy, and Madeleine Thien, to name a few – use Chinatown as the backdrop for their stories.

Henry Chow Book Launch Video

On May 29, 2010 at the University of British Columbia, the Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop (ACWW) held a Book Launch and Reading of Henry Chow and Other Stories.

These stories, by emerging and established writers such as Evelyn Lau and Governor General's Award winner Paul Yee, will captivate and entertain teens of all ages. The book launch will feature readings by writers Marty Chan, Kagan Goh, Fiona Tinwei Lam, Linda Mah and Kellee Ngan and was followed by a reception hosted by UBC Alumni Weekend. Here is a short video of Kagan Goh's reading and performance.

Date: Saturday, May 29, 2010
Time: 2pm - 4pm

Rabble.ca's Review of Henry Chow & Other Stories

Henry Chow and Other Stories has been receiving strong reviews from a number of book reviews. The most recent is from Rabble.ca.

Henry Chow is an unlikeable character. He is the embodiment of the clichéd high-school student: A class clown with a crush on Charlene, a "close-lip smiler, always trying to conceal her lavender braces," who Henry doesn't even think is "hot" because she's flat chested. He's that guy -- the one who concludes a love interest is a "bitch" when he realizes his affection is unrequited. Yet, Henry Chow is the perfect introduction to the Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop (ACWW) anthology, Henry Chow and Other Stories. The collection of 13 short stories introduces readers to young Asian characters from around the world, from downtown Vancouver, to Calcutta's Chinatown, to Montego Bay, Jamaica, exposing their similarities and differences. Henry represents a stereotype many hold about youth -- immature, superficial, one-dimensional -- acting as a contrast to the many thoughtful and thought-provoking characters that readers meet after him.

Each piece was selected by Ricepaper magazine and the ACWW, including established writers, such as Governor General Award winner Paul Yee, and emerging writers such as Toronto's Annie Zhu who is currently working on her first novel.

Henry Chow and Other Stories explores many universal themes, including love, friendship and loneliness, riddled with stories you would expect to read in an anthology for young adults -- first crushes, driving lessons, meddling parents. Yet these are tales are refreshing, often funny, and strangely reminiscent, likely to trigger readers' own memories of youth, that reflects the high quality writing published by the ACWW and Ricepaper.

Among the anthology's most likeable characters is Eriko, one of two love-struck teenagers in Hanako Masutani's "Beached," an ode to a first crush shared by two close friends. "Under my feet the sand -- powdery at first, then cool and wet -- felt firm and reassuring. With my best -- and as yet unused -- boy-propositioning cool, I stopped a few steps away from Rob Rondow and waited for him to toss the Frisbee. When he did, I tapped him on a bare bicep. ‘Hey,' I said." Readers can't help but hope that Eriko, whose "face was plump like a baby's" wins the affection of Rob Rondow over her friend Amy, with the "white-blonde hair."

Many of the collection's most memorable stories show a dark side to young adulthood, embodied perfectly in the anthology's stand-out story, "Working the Corner," by Vancouver's Evelyn Lau.
"Hoots of laughter and the clatter of heels filled the night, while the air, weighted with marijuana and perfume until it thickened, stirred lazily," writes Lau in her signature lyrical prose, reminiscent of her own collection of short stories, Fresh Girls and Other Stories. "On the corner across from [Shelley], a hooker danced for the passing cars, tottering on the edge of the curb, her head jerking back and forth like a puppet's controlled by invisible strings. A street lamp illuminated a face caked with makeup," she continues, luring readers in to the underbelly of sex work.

Henry Chow Book Launch at UBC - May 29th, 2010

Vancouver, BC - May 29th - In association with UBC, Explorasian, Tradewind Books, Ricepaper Magazine and the Asian Canadian Writer's Workshop (ACWW) are launching an anthology for young adults, Henry Chow and Other Stories .The launch is part of UBC's Alumni weekend and will be held from 2pm-4pm on May 29th at the Institute for Asian Studies in the CK Choi Building, Rm 120. The event will feature readings from authors Marty Chan, Kagan Go, Fiona Lam, Linda Mah, Hanaka Masutani, Kellee Ngan and will be followed by a reception.

Henry Chow and Other Stories was chosen by Ricepaper Magazine and the Asian Canadian Writer's workshop and includes work by emerging writers such as UBC graduates Fiona Lam and Linda Mah and award winning authors Evelyn Lau and Paul Yee. The stories depict teen's experiences with immigration,romance,family struggles and offer a captivating insight into the world of young adults.

ACWW's Bedtime Stories Project Publishes 'Henry Chow'

Chosen by Ricepaper magazine and the Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop (ACWW) Henry Chow and Other Stories are children's short stories selected by the ACWW Bedtime Stories Committed. Written by emerging and established writers, such as Evelyn Lau and Governor General's Award winner Paul Yee, these stories not only captivate and entertain teens of all ages, but define Asian Canadian writing at its best. Established authors include:

Paul Yee
Governor General’s Award-winning author Paul Yee writes for children and young adults. His book, The Bone Collector’s Son, was shortlisted for the Vancouver Book Award. He was raised in Vancouver but now lives in Toronto.

Evelyn Lau - Lau lives Vancouver. Her first book, Runaway: Diary of a Street Kid, was a memoir. She is widely published and some of her books of poetry and short stories include: You Are Not Who You Claim, The Monk’s Song, Solipsism, Choose Me and the novel, Other Women.

Introducing Henry Cho

Henry Cho (not Henry Chow) is an Asian American comedian. Raised in Knoxville and going into stand-up comedy in 1986, Henry Cho eventually made way into the American mainstream, winning a Comedy Central special entitled 'Henry Cho: What's That Clickin' Noise?' in 2006.
In 2007, it was announced that he signed a deal with Touchstone Pictures and American Broadcasting Company to write, produce, and star in a television situation comedy series centered around Korean Americans living in the South.

Cho's an interesting phenomenon. He's what we call a cognitive dissonance,an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously. The "ideas" or "cognitions" in question may include attitudes and beliefs, the awareness of one's behavior, and facts. We see one thing; but we hear another. What to make? Henry's an important cultural symbol for North Americans.

New Voices Project

A project started by University of British Columbia students in Vancouver, the New Voices Project is a student-initiated, non-profit community project that is aimed to publish an anthology of literary and artistic works by self-identified Chinese-Canadians. The purpose of this project is to give voice to new Chinese-Canadians currently living in the Lower Mainland. The idea for this project grew out of a discussion between several Chinese-Canadian university students from UBC on the politics behind the representation of Asians in mainstream North American culture. Realizing that the so-called “Chinese-Canadian community” is actually a very limited representation, the project is about challenges the “railway narrative”, originating from previous generations of Chinese who came to Canada up to 150 years ago to escape poverty and political plights, and continuing on Chinese who descended from these pioneers.

ACWW Neighbours Go Down In Flames

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The Mount Pleasant Area has been home to ACWW's Ricepaper Magazine for many years now. It's been the heart of the artist community in Vancouver, the hub of magazine production in Vancouver, the soul of one of trendiest community in North America. But alas, two recent fires have destroyed the homes of our two closest neighbours in the area of Main and Broadway. A three-alarm fire on Christmas Day engulfed several stores, restaurants and artist spaces at the Kingsway-and-Broadway hipster hub of Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood.

Among the East Broadway businesses destroyed were two Chinese restaurants — the New Maple Wonton House and the King and I Restaurant — plus a new Mexican restaurant, a health-food store, a pizza outlet, a martial-arts operation and a medicinal cannabis storefront. Disturbingly, the fire came just six weeks after another fire one block away destroyed several cafés and restaurants, including the popular Slickety Jim’s Chat ’N’ Chew. Artist studios such as Carrie Walker's have been destroyed as a result of the fire. The Main and Broadway intersection is one of the hottest neighbourhood in the city now, demanding inordinate amount of real estate speculation.

The two recent fires leaves us in an uneasy about the fate of the gentrifications of the neighbourhood. The fate of Vancouver's arts community is at a crossroads. Let's hope and wait that better news is to come our way.