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      • Australia
      • Azerbaijan
      • Bahrain
      • Bangladesh

      • Bhutan

      • Brunei

      • Cambodia

      • Central Asia
      • China
      • Cook Islands

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      • East Asia
      • East Timor
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      • Guam
    • Column Two
      • Hong Kong
      • India
      • Indonesia
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Israel
      • Japan
      • Jordan
      • Kazakhstan
      • Kiribati
      • Kuwait

      • Kyrgyzstan
      • Laos
      • Lebanon
      • Macau
      • Malaysia
      • Maldives
      • Marshall Islands
      • Micronesia

      • Mongolia

    • Column Three
      • Myanmar

      • Nauru

      • Nepal

      • New Caledonia

      • New Zealand

      • Niue
      • North Korea

      • Northern Marianas
      • Oceania
      • Oman

      • Pakistan

      • Palau
      • Palestine

      • Papua New Guinea
      • Philippines
      • Qatar

      • Samoa
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Singapore

      • Solomon Islands

    • Column Four
      • South Asia
      • Southeast Asia
      • South Korea
      • Sri Lanka
      • Syria
      • Taiwan
      • Tajikistan
      • Thailand
      • Tibet
      • Tokelau
      • Tonga
      • Turkey

      • Turkmenistan

      • Tuvalu
      • United Arab Emirates
      • Uzbekistan
      • Vanuatu
      • Vietnam
      • Wallis and Futuna
      • West Asia
      • Yemen
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Monkey Business

a cross-cultural writers’ dialogue

Asia Society hosts an annual collaboration with Pen World Voices, the Japan Foundation, and A Public Space, to present a cross-cultural writers’ dialogue which brings together American and Japanese writers. The program is curated and moderated by the co-founders of the international literary journal Monkey Business Motoyuki Shibata and Ted Goossen, together with contributing editor Roland Kelts.

Monkey Business is a unique, cutting-edge annual literary journal that showcases newly translated Japanese writing as well as contributions from contemporary American, Canadian and British writers. A genre-defying publication, Monkey Business has introduced manga renditions by top Japanese artists of Kafka, Lafcadio Hearn, and Bruno Schulz, as well as short stories, poetry, and essays by such noted writers as Paul Auster, Hideo Furukawa, Haruki Murakami, and Richard Powers.
 

Upcoming Events

Past Events

  • Cover of Monkey Business #7; (top l-r) Jamaica Kinkaid, Hiroko Oyamada, (bottom
    Discussion
     /  New York

    Japan-America Writers’ Dialogue

    Wednesday 3 May 2017
    6:30 - 8 p.m.
    May 3: A conversation with Japanese & American writers, part of the PEN World Voices Festival.
  • Cover of Monkey Business 6
    Meet the Author
     /  New York

    Monkey Business: Japan/America Writers' Dialogue

    Saturday 30 Apr 2016
    2 - 4 p.m.
    Join a lively conversation between contemporary Japanese and American authors featured in the international literary journal, "Monkey Business." In conjunction with the PEN World Voices Festival 2016.
  • cover of Monkey Business 5 and contributers
    Meet the Author
     /  New York

    Monkey Business: Japan/America

    Monday 4 May 2015
    6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
    May 4: Writers, cartoonists, and graphic novelists on creativity, writing, and translation.
  • Cover of Monkey Business 4
    Meet the Author
     /  New York

    Monkey Business

    Saturday 3 May 2014
    2 - 4 p.m.
    May 3: Japanese and American writers in conversation, and their latest work in translation.
  • Cover of Monkey Business
    Discussion
     /  New York

    Monkey Business Writers' Dialogue

    Saturday 4 May 2013
    2 - 3:30 p.m.
    May 4: Talk features Paul Auster and other American and Japanese writers.
  • Cover of the literary journal "Monkey Business." (Courtesy Motoyuki Shibata)
    Panel Discussion
     /  New York

    World Voices: Japan in Translation

    Sunday 6 May 2012
    2 - 4 p.m.
    May 6: Authors and translators on latest Japanese literature.
  • Motoyuki Shibata. (Satomi Shimabukuro)
    Panel Discussion
     /  New York

    WORD FROM ASIA: Contemporary Writing from Japan

    Saturday 30 Apr 2011
    10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.
    Contemporary Writing from Japan

Related Content

New York

Video: Japan-America Writers' Dialogue

A conversation between Japanese and American writers as part of the annual PEN World Voices Festival.
(Monkey Business/Asia Society)
New York

Video: Monkey Business, Japan/America Writers' Dialogue

Check out the lively conversation between contemporary Japanese and American authors.
Writer Hideo Furukawa, one of the contributors to the fourth edition (2014) of the literary journal "Monkey Business." (Furukawa photo courtesy Monkey Business)

Interview: Genre-Bending Japanese Novelist on 'Political' Writing, Post-Fukushima

One of Japan's most lauded authors explains why genre distinctions don't concern him and how he responded to the Fukushima disaster.
Panelists at Asia Society/'Monkey Business' panel discussion in New York on May 4, 2013.
New York

Japanese and American Writers: Literature Inside and Outside 'the Box'

Japanese and American poets, novelists, and essayists explore the challenges and rewards of contemporary literature in translation.
Detail of cover art from "Monkey Business" Volume Three (2013).

Interview: Cross-Cultural Dialogue 'Translates' in Latest 'Monkey Business'

The third issue of the acclaimed Japanese/American literary journal is the most cosmopolitan yet.
Participants at Asia Society's U.S.-Japan Writers Dialogue in New York on May 6, 2012.
New York

US-Japan Literary Forum

Writers' dialogue bridges literary canons.
Motoyuki Shibata at Asia Society New York in December 2010.
New York

From Manga to Murakami

Japan's master translator: 'Style is like fate.'

Word From Asia: Contemporary Writing from Japan, Korea, and Pakistan

In collaboration with PEN: An all-day exploration of the challenges and pleasures inherent in writing across borders.
Paul Auster and Motoyuki Shibata assess which kinds of writers survive translation and which don't, in New York on December 7, 2010. (1 min., 28 sec.)

Paul Auster: Lost (and Found) in Translation

The American novelist and his Japanese translator discuss the intricacies of cross-cultural communication.

Related Video

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    Monkey Business: Japan/America Writers' Dialogue (Complete)

    An international writers’ dialogue curated and moderated by the co-founders and editors of the literary journal "Monkey Business."
    Watch Now
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    Monkey Business: Japan/America Writers' Dialogue (Complete)

    Asia Society presents two separate panel discussions, featuring prominent Japanese and foreign literary figures, in a celebration of the literary journal Monkey Business.
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    During Asia Society's annual "Monkey Business" conversation, panelists discuss the concept of the "collective unconscious" and the experience of nostalgia that transcends borders.
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     /  New York

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    American and Japanese novelists join the editors of "Monkey Business" for a provocative a cross-cultural encounter exploring the writer's voice in Japanese and English.
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    Paul Auster expresses his admiration for Gen'ichiro Takahashi's range, and other highlights from a cross-cultural dialogue between American and Japanese writers.
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