Special promotion of Red Circle Minis at Kinokuniya’s flagship bookstore in Singapore. Photo: KinokuniyaKinokuniya is supporting Red Circle’s international rollout and promotion of its newly launched publishing programme, which was initiated in November last year with the publication of the first three titles in the Red Circle Minis series: Stand-in Companion by Kazufumi Shiraishi; Backlight by Kanji Hanawa; and Tokyo Performance by Roger Pulvers.
All three titles are already on sale at Kinokuniya’s stores in Tokyo, Sydney and Singapore as well as on its online bookshop; and more stores are expected to follow this lead as publicity and interest in the series increases.
The series, which the London-based publisher, Red Circle Authors, describes as ‘original, short and compelling reads’, have been well received in Japan and further afield.
Kinokuniya is the largest bookstore chain in Japan with over 80 stores worldwide. It opened its first bookstore outside Japan in San Francisco in 1969, and its first ‘mega-size’ bookshop in Singapore in 1999.
Special promotion of Red Circle Minis at Kinokuniya’s flagship bookstore in Singapore, profiling the first three Red Circle authors with published Minis, and their titles . Photo: KinokuniyaJapan’s leading and most influential book retailer is still increasing the number of its physical stores outside Japan.
In fact, Kinokuniya recently announced that its next store will be in a converted theatre in downtown Portland, Oregon. This being its 13th store in the United States.
It now has a presence in many locations and countries including Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Taiwan – to name but a few.
Red Circle Minis is a series of short captivating books by Japan’s finest contemporary writers that brings the narratives and voices of Japan together as never before. Each book is a first edition written specifically for the series and is being published in English first.
About Red Circle:Red Circle Authors Limited is a specialist publishing and communications company that conducts bespoke projects on behalf of a carefully selected and curated group of leading Japanese authors. Red Circle showcases Japan’s best creative writing. For more information on Red Circle, Japanese literature, and Red Circle authors please visit: www.redcircleauthors.com.-
About Kanji Hanawa:Kanji Hanawa, a former professor of French literature is a master of the shorty story. He wrote hundreds and dedicated his life to writing short stories and novella about life in ancient, modern and contemporary Japan. Two of his short stories have been shortlisted for the prestigious Akutagawa Literary Prize. Hanawa’s tales reflect a deep interest in human psychology and complex relationships – whose narratives expose the pressures and challenges of life in Japan.- About Kazufumi Shiraishi:Kazufumi Shiraishi had a successful career, spanning two decades, as a journalists working for one of Japan's highest profile monthly magazines, Bungeishinju, before following in the steps of his father and twin brother becoming a full time author. He is a deeply thoughtful author who writes about love, life and the human condition and is unique in being the only Japanese author to follow in his father’s footsteps by winning the same major Japanese literary prize.
- About Roger Pulvers:Roger Pulvers is an author, playwright, theatre director, and translator. He has published more than 50 books in Japanese and English, including novels, essays, plays, and poetry. Helping make Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, and befriending David Bowie brought him back to Japan and inspired him to become the award-winning and prolific author, playwright, film director he is today. His recent novel, Hoshizuna Monogatari (Star Sand), which he wrote in Japanese, was published by Kodansha, Japan’s largest publisher, in 2015 and subsequently in English and French in 2016 and 2017 respectively. It was released as a film, directed by him, in 2017.
