MI author’s ‘Seattle Samurai’ receives Pacific Northwest book award

Published 11:30 am Wednesday, March 4, 2026

By Kirin Lancaster

Special to the Reporter

Kelly Goto, a Mercer Island author, received the 2026 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA) award for her book, “Seattle Samurai: A Cartoonist’s Perspective of the Japanese American Experience.”

“Seattle Samurai” began as a collection of her dad’s cartoon strips, “Seattle Tomodachi,” which ran in the local Japanese American newspaper, The North American Post, from 2012 to 2018. Goto proposed the collection of cartoons would be published in book format and would act as a fundraiser for the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington (JCCCW). So in 2019, she began the project.

When Goto started to put her father’s work into a book layout, it became more than just a collection of his art. Goto realized that her dad’s comic strips told an entire story of the Japanese-American experience in the Pacific Northwest. The collection of comics grew into a larger project, tackling immigration, family values, identity, Seattle history and general morals.

“What I had once thought of as clutter became a map of who my dad was and formed the basis for what the book would become,” Goto wrote.

Goto was shortlisted for the PNBA Award in the fall of 2025, and was announced as a winner in January of this year.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Goto said. “I knew this was an award my dad would have been proud of.”

The PNBA is an organization of bookstores across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska and British Columbia that works to promote authors nationwide. This year, “Seattle Samurai” along with five other books received the award out of several hundred nominated titles published between 2024 and 2025.

“Since 1965, our annual Book Awards have recognized such illuminati figures in Northwest literature as Ivan Doig, Ursula K. Le Guin, David James Duncan, Cheryl Strayed, Jonathan Evison, Molly Gloss, Chuck Palahniuk, and Brian Doyle,” it reads on their website. “Many of these authors were honored by PNBA before they received national attention.”

“Having something that you put this much time and effort into and having it resonate with independent booksellers and people outside of your own community is more than you could ever ask for as an author,” Goto said. “It’s huge and it feels great, not just for me but as an affirmation of all the work my mom and dad have done over the last 50 years.”

In an original essay following the award, Goto wrote, “My dad never thought of himself as a ‘real artist.’ His work reflected wabi-sabi, finding beauty in imperfection and the marks left by time. It was quick, personal and authentic – carrying humor, values and memory in simple drawings.”

Goto’s father did not have any idea that his work would become recognized beyond the local newspaper. But with “Seattle Samurai,” his art is leaving a legacy. “He didn’t live to see it, but he is seen now,” Goto wrote.

Goto’s next local event for “Seattle Samurai” is at 6 p.m. March 25 at Island Books on Mercer Island to celebrate the release of the softcover edition of the book.

Kirin Lancaster is a senior at Mercer Island High School and is recognized for her leadership in student wellness and journalism. She serves on the Youth Matters advisory group and is a reporter and design lead for The MIHS Islander. She is the daughter of author Kelly Goto.