Avia Belle Moon is the pen name of a writer who lived in Japan for sixteen years. She began writing professionally in 1995, and has written many articles on Japanese arts and culture. She has been published in various newspapers and magazines in Asia, including The Japan Times, The Daily Yomiuri, Kansai Time Out, and The South China Morning Post.

She is involved in nuclear abolition activities, and works with peace organizations worldwide. She has been interviewed by the BBC regarding nuclear abolition, and edited Volume 6 of the Japanese graphic novel, Barefoot Gen-Story of Hiroshima.

She went to the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she studied art history. Upon arriving in Japan in 1991 she continued her studies in Japanese art history and the Japanese language. She also spent one year studying Mandarin.

A Thousand Years of Love is her first novel, and was a Finalist for the 2006 Word/Work Self-Published Book Awards*(see below for more information on the awards.)

Her interview of Japanese manga pioneer Hagio Moto was part of the required course readings at the University of Wisconsin Student Seed seminar(Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) that examines the impact of race, class, age, gender, ability, sexual orientation and other defining aspects of our identities on our learning environments and the community.

A Thousand Years of Love isalso used as a reference for the Japanese Samurai Portfolio Project at Cal State Northridge:

http://www.csun.edu/~mdr52471/sed514/files/Japanese%20Samurai%20Portfolio%20Project%20-%204.doc

Her second novel “Temple of the Dueling Heart” is scheduled for release in summer 2010, and her third book, “Spiritland-The Ghosts of California’s Central Coast” is scheduled for international release in spring 2011.

The Pillow Blog is an online journal of her thoughts on writing:

http://wwwpillowblog.blogspot.com/

ABOUT THE AWARDS/MISSION STATEMENT:

The Word/Work Self-Published Book Awards are an annual literary competition to recognition the contribution of independently published work to the writing world. The competition is open to the public and awards prizes for both fiction and nonfiction books. Self-published, print-on-demand (POD), and independent publishers (small press) are all eligible to submit their work.  We look for work that is daring, inventive, and engaging-work that has critical appeal, and the potential to find a wider audience if given the right push.

The idea was to establish a prestigious award to recognize a growing subsect of the writing world that is often under-presented in mainstream literary circles. Self-published authors and small-press publishers take great risks- financially and artistically- to make their work available to the public and that maverick spirit should be rewarded. We firmly believe that writers should be able to make a living off their work and promote alternatives to the "traditional  publishing process.

Winners are by the staff of Media Darlings Literature, Art & Sound, as well as hired professors, writers and editors from in and around the San Francisco Bay Area.