By Kirsten Johnson -

When Ken Mochizuki (BA, 1976) graduated from the University of Washington, he moved to Los Angeles with one goal in mind — a professional acting career.

But five years later, things changed. Mochizuki returned to Seattle and discovered an uncanny passion — children’s book writing.

“It just kind of happened to me,” he said.

Mochizuki’s first children’s book, “Baseball Saved Us,” was published in 1993. The novel tells the story of a Japanese American boy during World War II, living in an internment camp with his family, who creates a campwide baseball league for himself and other internees. The book sold well and pushed Mochizuki onto the map as a distinguished, local children’s book author. It was reviewed in the New York Times and was named one of 100 most important books for children of the 20^th century by Ruminator Review.

Mochizuki’s success continued when he went on to publish four more children’s books, including Beacon Hill Boys and Passage to Freedom.

As a college student, he never would have guessed he’d someday be an author. As a student in the Department of Communication, Mochizuki dreamed of a career as a filmmaker or an actor. He recalls faculty member Don Pember as being particularly influential in his introductory Communication course. He also remembers taking a TV/radio production class and using the TV studio at UW Medical facilities, which utilized a color TV, seen as state-of-the-art back then. Then in 1975, he developed an interest in acting and began performing around campus with the Ethnic Cultural Center.

He wishes he had taken advantage of more of the Communication Department’s offerings. At the time, he said, there was too much distracting him.

“I should have applied myself more, studied more, taken advantage of what the school had to offer,” he said. “Instead, I got involved in other pursuits. The Asian-American identity movement started happening on campus. I got involved in a lot of other things.”

Immediately following graduation, Mochizuki packed his bags and moved to California to give a silver screen career a shot. But once in L.A., he said, he felt like a little fish in a big pond, as it was his first time living outside his parent’s home. The reality of dealing with life’s challenges, including paying bills, rent, and getting scammed hit him hard.

“It was a big shock, I have to admit,” he said.

While in L.A., he worked for East West Players, the oldest Asian-American theater in the country. There, he got his first taste of the acting world. Long hours, low pay and superficial people became part of his day-to-day life.

“Weekends and five-day work weeks didn’t mean anything anymore,” he said. “And that whole world was really just a lot of big egos and walking resumes, for sure.”

As an actor, he held a few notable screen rolls including an appearance on an episode of M*A*S*H. It was also during this time that he began spending more time reading to research and prepare for auditions.

“I started reading all the great novels and classics I was supposed to read in high school and college but never did,” he said. “Hemingway, Steinbeck, Charles Dickens.”

A playwright friend of his lent him a typewriter and Mochizuki began writing down ideas, particularly stories of his high school days, which later became the novel Beacon Hill Days. Mochizuki used this new passion for writing as an excuse to move back to Seattle to pursue a new line of work.

“L.A. is very flat, brown, pretty drab and it takes forever to get to a body of water,” he said. “Plus, Seattle is home.”

After making the 23-hour drive back to Seattle, he began working at the International Examiner as a freelancer and later as a staff writer. He remembers an editor named Ron Chew who would help him edit stories and taught him the importance of concise vocabulary.

“It served me well to become a children’s writer later on,” he said. “You have to know that one word is equal to five or more ordinary words, in journalism.”

He worked at the International Examiner from 1985-1989 and later in 2006 and 2007. He also wrote for the North American Post from 1990-1997, a Japanese-American Seattle-area publication.

By 1997, Mochizuki was writing children’s novels full time and making appearances around the country at schools and educational conferences.

In recent years, Mochizuki says he’s felt the effects of the sluggish economy, which tightened budgets and has led to fewer school visits. To make ends meet, he’s now a non-fiction freelance writer. Recently, he’s been writing non-fiction stories about Japanese-American families who lived during World War II and their experiences in the Minidoka internment camp. In the next few years, he’d like to get back into children’s book writing.

When he recalls his days at UW, he’s thankful for the versatility and variety of the subject matter offered. He advises Communication students, particularly those set on journalism, to pursue internships and take advantage of resources within the department.

“Get out in the world,” he said. “See how it works, be around people who are really good at what they do. One common denominator is how smart all good journalists are. They’re always reading, they’re always curious. What you should have above your desk is a big question mark.”