Common Threads: Readings and Conversation

Join writers Suzanne Elki Yoko Hartmann, Keiko Honda and Raymond Nakamura for an evening of conversation and celebration of their shared Japanese heritage.

Toronto-based Hartmann will read from her hybrid memoir T The work of creative non-fiction is a next-generation account that explores an evolving community through memories of places, events and traditions. It tackles issues of identity, belonging and racism. Steeped in cultural arts, it includes portraits of family and community members.

The book was nominated for a Heritage Toronto Book Award and been featured on CBC radio, in print and online. Media coverage includes CBC’s 2024 “54 Works of Canadian nonfiction to check out this fall,” Vancouver’s The Bulletin, the Toronto Star, Open Book and Discover Nikkei.

Honda, a scientist and artist, will share readings from her two memoirs — Accidental Blooms (Caitlin Press, 2023) and Hidden Flowers (Heritage House, 2025) — to show how her voice as a writer and her relationship to her Japanese roots have evolved together.

Accidental Blooms was featured on CBC’s list of 46 works of Canadian nonfiction to read in fall 2023, and Hidden Flowers appeared on CBC’s list of 45 Canadian nonfiction books to read in fall 2025 and was awarded third prize in Prose Illustration at the 43rd Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada. Her other books include The Broken Map Home (Caitlin Press, 2025), a translation of her late grandfather's wartime memoir. Her fourth book, Words That Last (Caitlin Press), is forthcoming on Sept. 18, 2026.

Following the readings, Nakamura, a cartoonist and educator, will moderate the discussion and question-and-answer session. Meet the authors, enjoy light refreshments and join in the conversation. The event is free but space is limited, so please RSVP here. Books will be available for sale and signing. Thank you for supporting the authors and your local bookstore.

More about the authors:

is a Toronto-based editor and writer with an MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of King’s College. She is the author of a children’s book (My Father’s Nose, KDP, 2016) and the hybrid memoir The Nail That Sticks Out: Reflections on the Postwar Japanese Canadian Community (Dundurn Press, 2024). Her writing reflects her roots as a fourth-generation Japanese Canadian with German ancestry and explores meaningful coincidences, cultural memories and identity.

Keiko Honda is a scientist, writer, community organizer and painter. She holds a PhD in international community health from New York University and had a research career at Columbia University, which was interrupted when she suddenly contracted a rare autoimmune disease that confined her to a wheelchair for life. After moving to Vancouver in 2009, Honda began hosting artist salons, for which she was awarded the City of Vancouver’s Remarkable Women Award in 2014. She founded the Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society to bridge generations and cultures through the arts and to offer marginalized communities the opportunity for artistic self-discovery. She teaches at Simon Fraser University.

is a writer, cartoonist, and educator in Vancouver, on the unceded, traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. He is the author of the Pajama Press picture book Peach Girl and posts online comics as @raymondsbrain.

More about Upstart & Crow:

Upstart & Crow is a not-for-profit creative studio and literary incubator that champions writers, readers and stories, and the role they play in shaping our lives. We develop original programs, support artists and revel in creative projects focused on literature in translation, climate solutions, poetry, civic dialogue, community and skills building, all with the aim of elevating the role of literature and storytelling in our lives. Find us on Granville Island, Gibsons and online at upstartandcrow.com.

Accessibility:

The main studio of our shop is accessible for folks with mobility aids. There is a washroom on the main floor available for attendees. As part of disability justice and community care for the chronically ill, vulnerable and elderly, we ask that you refrain from attending if you feel sick.

Questions: hello[at]upstartandcrow.com.