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Suzanne Kamata
Children’s
Young Adult
Her 13-year-old protagonist, having relocated from Atlanta to rural Japan, has the chance to be a hero on his school’s new baseball team until he makes a major league error.
Suzanne Kamata was born in Michigan and later moved to South Carolina where she graduated from the University of South Carolina. She has an MFA from the University of British Columbia. She is the author of books for both young and adult readers, and currently teaches at a university in Japan. Suzanne raised two children, and lives with her husband who is a former Japanese high school baseball coach. They live on the island of Shikoku.
Read BookTrib’s review of Suzanne’s book, Screaming Divas.
Find out more about Suzanne on her website.
BOOKS:
Pop Flies, Robo-pets, and Other Disasters (2020)
Squeaky Wheels: Travels with My Daughter by Train, Plane, Metro, Tuk-tuk, and Wheelchair (2019)
The Mermaids of Lake Michigan (2017)
Gadget Girl: The Art of Being Invisible (2013)
Biggest literary influencers:
Marguerite Duras, Lorrie Moore, Allen Say
Last book read:
We are Lost and Found by Helene Dunbar
The book that changed your life:
My interest in visiting Japan was stoked by my reading Equal Distance by Brad Leithauser, a coming-of-age novel about a young American man who visits Kyoto. Shortly thereafter, I decided to spend a year in Japan teaching English, and I never left. Japan has become a major theme of my own writing, and it has become my home.
Your favorite literary character:
As a child, I loved Ludwig Bemelman’s Madeline books, and as an adult I have enjoyed revisiting this intrepid girl who is not afraid of tigers, and sometimes gets into trouble, but always prevails.
Currently working on:
A historical novel for adults and a few picture book manuscripts. I also have the beginnings of a romantic comedy for young adults. We’ll see how that goes…
Words to live by:
“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”
Advice to new and aspiring authors:
Persist, persist, persist! Also, read a lot.
Articles / Reviews:
Testimonials:
“[PopFlies is] A heart-warming story about a baseball player who learns that teamwork is much more important than being the star of the team. I loved the family dynamics and depiction of life, and especially baseball, in Japan.”
– Shauna Holyoak, Author of Kazu Jones and the Denver Dognappers
“Pop Flies really pops! It immerses the reader into a world both familiar and unfamiliar: a school in Japan, complete with a bully, a quiet girl, an unreliable friend, and a baseball-crazy main character who has to balance the tug of family with the demands of school and sports. A boy who has recently returned from America, Satoshi sees his home setting with fresh eyes and struggles to both fit in and stand out. A lively, fun, easy read that draws you in and keeps you guessing.”
–Dori Jones Yang, Author of The Forbidden Temptation of Baseball
“A story set in Japan rich in details only Kamata, an insider, could share. With ease and respect, she weaves the pressures, agonies and loyalties of Satoshi’s life at home, at school and on a junior high school baseball team. The practices and traditions of the game are as played in Japan. I am … a big fan of this middle-grade homerun!”
— Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu, award-winning author of Somewhere Among
