The Little Tokyo Historical Society, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2026, seeks fictional short stories for its 13th annual Imagine Little Tokyo short story contest in the categories of English language, Japanese language and youth (18 and younger). The deadline to enter is Feb. 28, midnight Pacific Time.
The contest, which is presented by LTHS in partnership with the Japanese American National Museum’s Discover Nikkei project, seeks to raise awareness of Little Tokyo through a creative story that takes place in Little Tokyo.
The story has to be fictional and set in a current, past or future Little Tokyo in the City of Los Angeles. The short story committee will be looking specifically for stories that capture the spirit and sense of Little Tokyo.
Both generative AI and plagiarism are strictly prohibited. Each category winner will be awarded $500 in cash with their short story being published in Discover Nikkei and the Little Tokyo Historical Society website.
A special anniversary hybrid (in-person and virtual) award ceremony and dramatic readings of the winning stories are also being planned for 2026 at the Japanese American National Museum.
For information and guidelines, refer to the LTHS’s website at https://www.littletokyohs.org/.