Lambda Literary Acceptance

Acceptance letter opening paragraph from Lambda Literary for the virtual writers retreat.

Lambda Literary is a polestar for queer writers, and I have been applying to their programs (unsuccessfully—the competition is always fierce) since 2021. I plan to work on my second memoir, tentatively titled The Twenty-Year Engagement, charting the journey Hiro and I shared to reach our marriage, alongside the history of the marriage equality movements in the United States and Japan.

The only downside to this acceptance is that I was not awarded a scholarship. Tuition is $1,100, and I have established a crowdfunding campaign to help me get there. I know how tight money is for everyone these days; I will be absolutely grateful to everyone who might be able to help out. Your generosity will not be forgotten.

Agented!

I am thrilled to announce that I have signed a contract to work with Corvisiero Literary’s associate agent, Alisha West. Both Alisha and I are looking forward to great things for my memoir, Crying in a Foreign Language, and beyond.

Housecleaning

All links to my published work are now found on my Published Work page.

Similarly, all earned awards are now listed on my Awards page.

a portrait of the author in purple
Brian in purple, their favorite color. Photo courtesy of Bienvenido Torres.

Brian Watson is an award-winning writer whose essays on queerness and Japan have been published in Stone Canoe, TriQuarterly, The Queer Love Project, and elsewhere.
They share Out of Japan, their weekly Substack, with more than 900 followers, and review non-fiction for Hippocampus Magazine.