YOMU: Literary Exchange and Dialogue

Launched in 2021 as the Asian Literature Project "YOMU" (meaning “read” in Japanese), the project has showcased short stories and essays written by young authors from seven Asian countries. Along with the 27 works on the global pandemic and the post-COVID-19 era, it also introduced today's literary arts scene in Asia by featuring various reports and interviews. All the works have been published in English, Japanese, and source languages. To find out more, please see below.

Asian Literature Project "YOMU" | Projects | Japan Foundation - WA Project (jpf.go.jp)

Given the results so far, the project will continue to create a platform for literary dialogue among those in Japan and around the world, with the aim of promoting understanding of diverse cultures and values, together with the forming and expanding of networks.

• JF × Kyoto Writers Residency 2025
  JF and the Kyoto Writers Residency will jointly invite Thai writer Jirat Chalermsanyakorn (née Samut Theetas), Thai translator Muthita Panich, and Malaysian fiction writer Karina Robles Bahrin to participate in the Kyoto Writers Residency 2025 as Japan Foundation ASEAN Fellows from October 18 to November 17, 2025.
  For more details, please visit the website of Kyoto Writers Rsidency.
  2025 Kyoto Writers Residency 04 - Kyoto Writers Residency

• Talk Session “In a Voice Playful, In a Voice Introspective: A Conversation with Norman Erikson Pasaribu and Paolo Tiausas” (2024)
  This event has now concluded.  Event report is available here.
• JF × Kyoto Writers Residency 2024
  JF and Kyoto Writers Residency will jointly invite Filipino poet Paolo Tiausas to the Kyoto Writers Residency 2024. Kyoto Writers Residency is dedicated to providing a place for writers and translators around the world to focus on their writing. Paolo Tiausas, along with other successful writers and translators, will appear in public forums to communicate with readers in the Japanese audience. For more details, please visit the following link. He will also speak at the YOMU Talk session in Tokyo on 31 October, 2024.
  Kyoto Writers Residency - 京都文学レジデンシー

• Talk Session “Wandering in-between: Gender, Culture, and Politics” (2023)
  This event now concluded. Event transcript available here.