Gail Tsukiyama

"Ever since I was young I believed that reading a book was like holding an entire world in your hands.  Books are our teachers, our companions, our saviors.  We have so much to learn about ourselves and the world we live in, and how lucky we are that the simple act of reading has the power to educate and illuminate."

Gail Tsukiyama, Executive Director of WaterBridge Outreach: Books + Water, is the author of nine novels, including Women of the Silk, The Samurai's Garden, Night of Many Dreams, The Language of Threads, Dreaming Water and The Street of a Thousand Blossoms. Her newest book, The Brightest Star, was released in June 2023. She has been the recipient of the Academy of American Poets Award, and the PEN/Oakland Josephine Miles Award for Literary Excellence. A resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, she has taught at San Francisco State University, University of California, Berkeley, and Mills College.

 Gail conceived and heads up our Writers for WaterBridge Outreach program: a group of writers united in their belief that funding books, clean water, and sanitation projects in areas of need is a vital source in continuing efforts to promote literacy, education and development. In this interview Gail talks about the importance of books in her life and shares her thoughts about the inspiration behind the Writers for WaterBridge Outreach program as well as recent highlights and future goals.