Educators joined 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 gave 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 received free copies of the selected texts, as well as WA OSPI clock hours.
All participants attended:
- Tuesday, June 23, 2026 (3:00 – 4:30 p.m. PDT): Introduction to the workshop and to the 2025 Freeman Award Winners
Participants chose 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 Kumagai.
- 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 received three clock hours for each session attended. In addition, the participants received free copies of the books selected.
This program was 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).