Vertical Inc. News

The prestigious invitations for appearances keep on coming. Having spoken at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles and engaged in a riveting Q&A at the San Francisco Kinokuniya Bookstore, Vertical’s first-ever American novelist will now be heading to Texas.

On September 2, the National Museum of the Pacific War, also known as the Nimitz Museum and located in the legendary admiral’s hometown of Fredericksburg, will be celebrating the sixty-fifth anniversary of the signing of the instrument of surrender. Invited for a book signing—the museum’s first—on that historic date is Michael Dana Kennedy, author of The Flowers of Edo, an astounding debut novel featuring a Japanese-American lieutenant who volunteers to infiltrate militarist Japan.

The new Barnes & Noble establishment in La Cantera in nearby San Antonio will also be hosting the author, on September 1, in what’s to be his first appearance at America’s largest bookstore chain.

Stay tuned for further engagements including one at the Boston Japan Society.

September 1, 2010 (Wednesday) 7pm
Location:
The Shops at La Cantera
15900 La Cantera Parkway Bldg 27
San Antonio, TX 78256
[Near the University of Texas at San Antonio]
Phone: (210) 558-2078

September 2, 2010 (Thursday) 2pm
Location:
The National Museum of the Pacific War
340 East Main Street
Fredericksburg, TX 78624
Directions: http://www.nimitz-museum.org/PlanYourVisit.asp
Phone: (830) 997-8600

We pride ourselves on translating what we consider the best books from Japan. At the same time, since our inception, we’ve received numerous queries from American authors writing in English about subjects pertaining to Japan.

Given our primary mission, we’ve had to turn down most of them. But our veteran fans surely remember the two exceptions that we did make: the business primer Saying Yes to Japan by Tim Clark and Carl Kay and the indispensable guide to J-Horror by David Kalat, both of which enjoyed overwhelmingly positive receptions.

It was only when the World War II-thriller The Flowers of Edo hit our inbox, however, that we decided to go ahead and publish our first work of originally-in-English fiction. Yes, it’s just that good! Check out its webpage to see why.

In celebration of his literary debut, author Michael Dana Kennedy will be making appearances in major cities around the U.S. in the coming months.

First leg of the tour: California. Vertical’s Editorial Director Yani Mentzas will accompany in what’s to be a rare sighting of Yani outside the midtown NYC area.

August 19, 2010 (Thursday) 7:00pm-8:00pm
Location:
Japanese American National Museum
369 East First Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Map: http://www.janm.org/visit/map/
Phone: (213) 625-0414

August 20, 2010 (Friday) 6:30pm-8pm
Location:
Kinokuniya Bookstore
1581 Webster Street
San Francisco, CA 94115
Map: http://bookweb.kinokuniya.co.jp/ohb/02/contents/storeinfo-sf.html
Phone: (415) 567-7625