Kanako Nishi is one of Japan’s most acclaimed authors. Two decades after her debut novel was published in Japan, Kanako Nishi’s bestseller Sakura has at last reached English-language readers through a translation by Allison Markin Powell. Join us in the UBC Asian Centre Auditorium for a bilingual reading from Sakura and a conversation in English on writing and translation hosted by Christina Laffin.
This is a free public event taking place on Friday, April 24, from 2:30pm-4:00pm, with doors opening at 2:00pm. Books will be available for purchase from Upstart & Crow, with an author book signing immediately following the event.
Please register via the link below.
Event Details
Date: Friday, April 24, 2026
Time: 2:30-4:00PM | Doors open at 2:00 PM; Book sale from 2:00 PM; Book signing to follow
Location: UBC Asian Centre Auditorium, 1871 West Mall
Admission: Free; registration required.
Accessibility: The Asian Centre main entrance and washrooms are wheelchair accessible. For accessibility requests, please contact asian.library@ubc.ca.
Wayfinding/Parking: For a map and directions to the UBC Asian Centre, please click here. Paid guest parking is available at the Fraser River Parkade directly across from the Asian Centre, at 6440 Memorial Rd.
Kanako Nishi 西加奈子 is a a writer and artist. She has authored more than thirty books, including multiple film adaptations. Awarded the Naoki Prize for her 2014 novel Saraba!, the just-released Sakura is the first of her books to be translated into English. She was named Vogue Japan’s Woman of the Year in 2015 and among Granta’s Best of Young Japanese Novelists 2016. Born in Tehran in 1977, Nishi grew up in Cairo and Osaka and lives in Tokyo.
Allison Markin Powell is an acclaimed translator and editor and recipient of the 2020 PEN Translation Prize. Her other translations and co-translations include works by Hiromi Kawakami, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Shiori Ito, Osamu Dazai, and Kaoru Takamura.
Christina Laffin teaches Japanese literature at the University of British Columbia and researches premodern women writers, travel writing, and autobiography.
This event is co-presented by UBC Library, the Department of Asian Studies and the Japan Foundation.
