Sylvia Watanabe

Sylvia Watanabe is an American writer of Japanese origin. She obtained a BA from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and an MA from Binghamton University. Her short story collection Talking to the Dead was nominated for the 1993 PEN Faulkner Award. She has also received an NEA fellowship, a Josephine Miles Pen Oakland award, and an Ohio Arts Council grant. Watanabe's writings have also appeared in numerous anthologies, including those for the O'Henry Prize and the Pushcart Prize.

Watanabe is also noted for her work on Asian American fiction. Along with Carol Bruchac, she co-edited two volumes of Asian American fiction titled Home to Stay and Into the Fire. She currently teaches at Oberlin College.