We invite educators to join us for our annual Write About Asia: Freeman Award Winners Writer’s Workshop, an online professional development series centered on award-winning children’s and young adult literature from East and Southeast Asia. Facilitated by Lyn Jackson and Nora Douglass, the workshop gives participants the opportunity to read and write about selected 2025 Freeman Award titles for grades 2–12, share written responses with fellow educators, and engage in collaborative discussion. Participants receive free copies of the selected texts, as well as WA OSPI clock hours.
Program details
This online workshop consists of six sessions held on Zoom. The first session introduces the 2025 Freeman Award Winners and provides an overview of the workshop; attendance at this session is required for all participants. The remaining five sessions each focus on an individual title, and participants may choose which sessions to attend (at least one additional session is required). Once applications are complete and session selections have been submitted, the East Asia Resource Center will mail participants their books. Each session includes independent reading, one hour of writing, and ninety minutes of discussion on Zoom. Participants are expected to keep their cameras on during the online sessions.
All participants attend:
- Tuesday, June 23, 2026 (3:00 – 4:30 p.m. PDT): Introduction to the workshop and to the 2025 Freeman Award Winners
Participants choose one or more of the following sessions:
- Tuesday, June 30, 2026 (3:00 – 4:30 p.m. PDT): Writer’s Workshop Sharing based upon The Beasts Beneath the Winds by Hanna Alcaf editor.
- Tuesday, July 7, 2026 (3:00 – 4:30 p.m. PDT): Writer’s Workshop Sharing based upon My Mother, the Mermaid Chaser by Jamie Jo Hoang, Picking Tea With Baba by Bin Xu, and The Endless Sea by Chi Thai.
- Tuesday, July 14, 2026 (3:00 – 4:30 p.m. PDT): Writer’s Workshop Sharing based upon Songs for Ghosts by Clara Kumaga.
- Tuesday, July 21, 2026 (3:00 – 4:30 p.m. PDT): Writer’s Workshop Sharing based upon Wild Song by Candy Gourlay.
- Tuesday, July 28, 2026 (3:00 – 4:30 p.m. PDT): Writer’s Workshop Sharing based upon Spacewalking With You. 1 by Inuhiko Doronoda, and Big Enough by Regina Linke.
Information about the books
The National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA), the Committee on Teaching about Asia (CTA) of the Association for Asian Studies (AAS), and Asia for Educators (AFE) at Columbia University sponsor the annual Freeman Book Awards for new young adult and children’s literature. The awards recognize quality books for children and young adults that contribute meaningfully to an understanding of East and Southeast Asia.
For more information about the content of the books selected for the workshop, you can view this collection at King County Library.
Program benefits
Participants receive three clock hours for each session attended. In addition, the participants will receive free copies of the books selected.
Registration
This program is open to current, in-service K-12 teachers of all subjects. Please fill this Google Form in order to register for this program. Space is limited.
This program is sponsored by the East Asia Resource Center at the University of Washington, and funded by a Freeman Foundation grant in support of the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA).