11 to 27, they will converge across three Bookworm cities (Beijing, Chengdu,. Suzhou) plus Ningbo ..... The first two le
cultural sponsors
main sponsors
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Cultural partners
Owen Martell
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his year marks the 10th Bookworm Literary Festival (BLF), a full decade based in the heart of Beijing as an independent and privately funded festival. Our purpose, then and now, has been to provide a platform for the promotion of great literature and the free and positive exchange of ideas, and with that in mind we can’t be prouder to introduce our anniversary program.
index Events at a glance Events children’s events workshops authors Patrons and acknowledgments our team volunteers ticket info map
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By the numbers, this year’s BLF is our largest ever, featuring more than 180 writers, thinkers, and performers hailing from over 30 countries. From March 11 to 27, they will converge across three Bookworm cities (Beijing, Chengdu, Suzhou) plus Ningbo and Shanghai to participate in 300-some events, including book talks, panel discussions, performances, and workshops. As always, there will be children’s events, comedy, screenings, and a strong bilingual element. But dig in and you’ll find that the 10th Bookworm Literary Festival is distinguished by its depth and diversity. Our international lineup includes bestsellers and award-winners, novelists and poets (more poets than ever), historians and critics, journalists and musicians, and more. In addition, our substantial Chinese cast includes the likes of A Yi, Yi Sha, and Yang Li, whose influence in the local literary scene cannot be understated. Additionally – as a platform for constructive debate, discussion, and the exchange of ideas – we are proud to present our “China Future Perfect” series of panel discussions that hone in on a wide range of key topics and issues, including the environment, civil society, regional stability, economy, film, art, religion, etc. Literature is an ongoing, global discussion, and through our participation we are challenged to better understand ourselves and the world we occupy. Additionally, thought and dialogue are pillars for a healthy and progressive society. We are honored to be part of this discussion and trust the sessions will resonate long after the festival’s conclusion.
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The Bookworm Literary Festival is made possible through the generous support of sponsors, cultural partners, patrons, and friends. We would like to offer them our sincerest gratitude.
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We very much look forward to festivalling with you! The Bookworm Literary Festival Team
Events at a glance
Tickets can only be purchased at The Bookworm or online via bookwormfestival.com. Unless otherwise stated, we cannot take phone or email reservations.
ATTEND MORE EVENTS! Purchase 5 tickets to any event or events, get 1 free to any event (valued 60 RMB or less) Purchase 7 tickets, get 3 free (valued 60 RMB or less) Purchase 10 tickets, get 5 free (valued 60 RMB or less) To redeem free tickets from online orders, please email
[email protected] a list of the ticket(s) you’d like. Please include your purchase receipt in the email. With the exception of Children’s Events, Workshops, and comedy, all tickets come with a complimentary drink.
Friday, March 11 p.22
Sunday, March 13 p.24
6:00PM
Literary Portraits of Women
12:00PM
8:00PM
8:00PM
2:00PM
1:00PM
BW11B
A Celebration of Literature and Ideas: The 10th Bookworm Literary Festival Opening Ceremony BW11D
Saturday, March 12 p.22 10:00AM
Women’s Rights Around the World BW12A
12:00PM
The Future of Hong Kong BW12B
2:00PM
Disseminating the Magic: Children’s Writing in the Digital Age
CHINA FUTURE PERFECT
BW12C
The China Future Perfect series comprises thirteen panel discussions that take a deeper look at this country’s environment, civil society, economy, foreign policy, arts, religion, and more. Here’s a platform that promotes discourse and dialogue about contemporary Chinese society. They are marked in the program by
That Damned Thing She Said
Purchase 3 tickets to any China Future Perfect event or events, get 1 free to any China Future Perfect event. (This deal cannot be used in conjunction with our other promotions. Please follow the procedure outlined above for redeeming free tickets from online orders.)
Umbrellas in Bloom BW13B
Brevity is the Soul: Short Fiction BW13C
2:00PM
Dragons in Diamond Village
Poetry Around the World BW15C
9:30pm
IQ18
BW15D
Launch Party: MaLa Literary Journal, Issue 4 (Reconstruction)
BW13D
6:00PM
6:00PM
New Chinese Writing
Writing Place
BW13E
BW16C
6:00PM
8:00PM
8:00PM
Bad Feminist BW13F
Loreli China Presents: Songwriters of Beijing BW16D
Thursday, March 17 p.28
4:00PM
Monday, March 14 p.26
1:00PM
BW12D
1:00PM
BW17B
I Cycled Into the Arctic Circle
China’s Economy: Powerhouse, Menace, or the Next Japan?
IQ12A
BW14B
6:00PM
6:00PM
4:00PM
Writing With and Against History BW12E
Deep, Dark, and Human BW14C
7:30pm
6:00PM
South China Morning Blues
IQ12B
8:00PM
Your Face in Mine 8:00PM
One Today: Live Reading by Obama’s Inauguration Poet
IQ14
Do Not Marry Before Age 30: Empowering Women BW14D
Francophone Literature and Society 6:00PM
1:00PM
War on Pollution BW15B
8:00PM
Voices of Canada BW18D
Saturday, March 19 p.30 10:00AM
Buy Me the Sky: The Remarkable Truth of China’s One-Child Generations 1BW19A
12:00PM
Innovation and Imitation in China BW19B
2:00PM
Memory and Place BW19C
2:00pm
Travel Writing as Literature IQ19A
A Novel Approach: Experimenting with Language and Style
4:00pm
BW17C
BW19D
7:30pm
4:00pm
Spoken-Word Performance International School of Beijing
7:30pm
Japan’s Literary Talent IQ17
8:00PM
Literary Europe Live BW17D
BW12F
Tuesday, March 15 p.27
A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing
The Bookworm
Wednesday, March 16 p.28
IQ13
Cs18
7:30pm
Journalism with Chinese Characteristics
Knocked Up Abroad
Contemporary Spanish Poetry
Voices from the Margins: Gender, Politics, and Race
OH13
4:00PM
6:30pm
Friday, March 18 p.29 6:00PM
Loss, Longing, and the Bizarreries of Life The Miraculous History of China’s Two Palace Museums IQ19B
6:00pm
Shanghai Redemption: Investigating Murder, Sex, and Corruption BW19E
6:00PM
Atmen Einstellen, Bitte! Adjust Your Breathing, Please! IQ19C
Ken Hom, Master Chef BW18C
15
BW26C
7:00pm
Gala Dinner with Special Menu and Discussion with Celebrity Chef Ken Hom GT19
7:00PM
In Conversation with Xinran Dulwich
8:00pm
Stuff I Learnt from 90s Children’s Television: Spoken-Word Performance BW19F
Monday, March 21 p.36
Thursday, March 24 p.38
2:00pm
1:00pm
1:00pm
IQ26A
BW21B
BW24B
Territorial Disputes and Regional Stability
BW26D
BW21C
BW24C
Year of the Goose
Asylum and Exile 7:30pm
Ninety Seventy-Six: The End of the Cultural Revolution 8:00pm
10:00am
BW21D
BW20A
Tuesday, March 22 p.37
12:00PM
1:00pm
BW20B
2:00pm
Creating Worlds: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy
Trends in Spirituality in Modern China BW22B
Spotlight on Africa
6:00pm
2:00pm
BW22C
BW20C
The Witcher Saga
Confucius: And the World He Created
8:00pm
4:00PM
BW22D
IQ20A
The Meaning of Contemporary Poetry BW20D
4:00PM
The World of the End IQ20B
6:00pm
Love Enough Dionne Brand BW20E
6:00pm
Finding India in China IQ20C
8:00pm
Bookworm Comedy Night, headlined by Steve Simeone BW20F
Storytelling: “Far From Home”
Poetry in Translation 8:00pm
Sinica Live Recording: The Cultural Revolution BW24D
4:00pm
Friday, March 25 p.39 1:00pm
The Future for Civil Society and Philanthropy in China
4:00pm
El Impostor Cs26
The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story BW26E
8:00pm
In Conversation with a Literary Pioneer BW25C
7:30pm
The Violet Hour IQ25
8:00pm
Cartoons, Creativity, and Censorship
BW27A
12:00PM
China LGBT Panel: The Tumultuous Year That Was 同志故事——温故2015
1:00pm
10:00am
4:00pm
6:00PM
From Alice in Wonderland to Present: The Evolution of Children’s Lit
12:00PM
7:30PM
Chinese Rules: Mao’s Dog, Deng’s Cat, and Five Timeless Lessons from the Front Lines in China
IQ23
2:00PM
BW23C
Hero’s Prairie 8:00pm BW23D
BW26B
“The Story of My Teeth” and Other Stories from Mexico’s Rising Literary Star
10:30AM
[Ages 9-12] Reading Lewis Carroll is Prohibited
Writing Life: The Art Memoir BW27C
China’s Future Perfect BW27D
6:00PM
Ibero-American Literature BW27E
8:00pm
Literary Quiz Show BW27F
Sunday, March 20 12:00
WORKSHOP: The Writer Within OH20
Thursday, March 24 7:30pm
WORKSHOP: Nonfiction Writing IQ24
BW14A
BW15A
2:00pm
BW26A
Monday, March 14
10:00am
Chinese Filmmaking: From the Indies to Hollywood
Workshops p.46
BW13A
10:30am
Saturday, March 26 p.40
BW23B
[Ages 7-12] This Writer’s Life
Sunday, March 27 p.42
BW26F
Wednesday, March 23 p.37
The Arts Alive: Identity and New Media in Contemporary Chinese Art
10:30am
Tuesday, March 15
BW27B
spiritual economics; a way to save the world
Sunday, March 13
Whisky and Writers
BW25B
6:00pm
Children’s Events p.44
IQ26B
6:00pm
BW25D
Covering Conflict 16
The Hazards and Thrills of Literary Translation
6:00pm
Sunday, March 20 p.34
Crime and Vice
4:00pm
6:00pm
IQ21
Minority Matters: Focus on Ethnicity in Chinese Culture
The Future of the Chinese Economy
The Mercenary Mandarin: A Biography of William Mesny
[Ages 9-14] Maori Legends of New Zealand
Saturday, March 26 2:00pm
WORKSHOP: Cartoon Creation from Concept to Finish OH26
Monday, March 21 10:30am
[Ages 8+] Around the World in 70 Minutes BW21A
Tuesday, March 22 10:30am
[Ages 6-12] Writing Workshop: Strange Objects BW22A
Thursday, March 24 10:30am
[Ages 6-10] Dinosaurs, Meerkats, and Other Talking Animals BW24A
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New Masters programmes for 2016 Our Masters are normally offered as one-year programmes. Many of our Masters degrees can also be studied on a part-time basis. • • • • • • • •
MA China in International Relations and World History MA International Relations and International Business MA Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) MSc Electronic Communications and Computer Engineering MSc Finance and Investment in China MSc International Management in China MSc International Business in China MSc Geospatial Engineering with Building Information Modelling (BIM)
www.nottingham.edu.cn/en/admissions
Events
Each event has a unique code that tells you the location and date. The first two letters — BW, IQ, OH, CS, GT — refer to The Bookworm, iQiyi, The Opposite House, Cervantes Institute, and Green T House. The next two numbers refer to the date. The final letter denotes the order of the events on that day.
For the most updated events information, please see bookwormfestival.com
Friday, March 11
Saturday, March 12
Literary Portraits of Women
Women’s Rights Around the World
Agnès Desarthe, moderated by Becky Davis 1:00PM | The Bookworm | BW11B | 60 RMB
Agnès Desarthe, a prolific French author and translator, will discuss the female characters who appear through her novels. Desarthe won the Livre Inter Prize in 1996 for her novel Un secret sans importance, the Marcel Pagnol and Virgin/version Femina prizes for Le remplaçant, and the Renaudot Prize for High-schoolers for The Foundling (available in English at The Bookworm). Her latest book, Ce Coeur changeant, received the 2015 Le Monde Literary Prize. This event will be in French with English interpretation.
A Celebration of Literature and Ideas: The 10th Bookworm Literary Festival Opening Ceremony 文学与思想的庆典: 第10届老书虫文学节开幕会
Bidisha, Robert Drewe, Xiao Meili, A Yi, Richard Blanco
8:00PM | The Bookworm | BW11D | 100 RMB
Clare Wright, Ying Xin (Xiao Tie), Lijia Zhang; moderated by Bidisha
10:00AM | The Bookworm | BW12A | 60 RMB In honor of International Women’s Day (March 8), this event will examine some of the most vital issues of the international women’s movement, including sexual violence, sexual harassment, work discrimination, and inequality in terms of law. We’ll also ask whether women’s rights around the world, in this age of Boko Haram and ISIS, are actually being rolled back, and what positive steps are being taken? Moderated by Bidisha, a British writer and BBC broadcaster who specializes in human rights, international affairs, and the arts and culture, with director of the Beijing LGBT Center Ying Xin (known around the community as Xiaotie – Iron) and authors Lijia Zhang and Clare Wright.
The Future of Hong Kong Jason Y. Ng, Didi Kirsten Tatlow; moderated by Tom Phillips
12:00PM | The Bookworm | BW12B | 60 RMB For a decade, the Bookworm Literary Festival has existed as a platform for the exchange of literature and ideas, hosting hundreds of authors, thinkers, and artists. We proudly open the 10th edition of the Bookworm Literary Festival with five keynote addresses from: a human rights journalist, an Australian literary titan, one of China’s most visible women’s activists, an ascendant Chinese author, and President Barack Obama’s Second Inauguration poet. Live music will follow. 22
Ever since the handover in 1997 – and actually long before that – questions have swirled about the future of Hong Kong. But after the events of the past year and a half, these questions have taken on an urgent tone. At the heart of the matter: how much longer can Deng Xiaoping’s One Country, Two Systems principle survive? Jason Y. Ng, bestselling author of HONG KONG State of Mind and Umbrellas in Bloom, and Beijing-based
New York Times writer Didi Kirsten Tatlow, who was born and raised in Hong Kong, will discuss the future of this former British colony. Moderated by Guardian reporter Tom Phillips.
Disseminating the Magic: Children’s Writing in the Digital Age Bao Dongni, Graeme Base, Jane Godwin; moderated by Sandra Greenwell 2:00PM | The Bookworm | BW12C | 60 RMB There’s a digital revolution in children’s publishing, with stories being produced with interactive activities previously impossible. But developments in the digital sphere have caused far fewer disruptions in the children’s book market than their adult counterpart. What have children’s authors learned, and can they save the publishing industry? Bao Dongni has published more than 200 children’s and picture books, Graeme Base is one of the world’s leading creators of picture books, whose Animalia has sold three million copies worldwide, and Jane Godwin is the former Publisher for Young Readers at Penguin Books Australia in addition to being an acclaimed author of many children’s books. Moderated by Sandra Greenwell, Dulwich College Beijing Head of Libraries.
That Damned Thing She Said Eric Abrahamsen, Dave Haysom, Nick Stember
4:00PM | The Bookworm | BW12D | 60 RMB For more than six months, Paper Republic has been publishing free-to-read stories each week on the Web. With International Women’s Day in mind, Read Paper Republic has selected four short stories from China that focus on highly charged issues such as sexual freedom, political disappearances, “leftover” women, and compromising situations. These will be used as the basis for “speed bookclubbing”: audience members will be divided into four groups that will cycle between simultaneous small-scale moderated discussions. You can download and read the pieces beforehand from paper-republic.org/pubs/read.
I Cycled Into the Arctic Circle Matt Hulse, moderated by Vicky Mohieddeen
4:00PM | iQiyi | IQ12A | 50 RMB In 1951, a deaf-mute Scotsman named James Duthie cycled from his small village – where he was known as Dummy Jim – to the Arctic Circle and back, a 3,000-mile trip that took three months and cost just £12. Several decades later, a filmmaker from the UK decided to recreate that journey, so to speak – except it took him 13 years. Matt Hulse, that filmmaker, will give an audio-visual presentation about how he retraced Duthie’s epic journey, why he did it, how it took so long to complete the movie, a part-fiction, part-documentary film called Dummy Jim that won Best of the Fest at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2013. Hulse will also read from the book I Cycled Into the Arctic Circle, a revised edition of Duthie’s original journal by the same name, published by The Saltire Society. This event will be held at iQiyi, an official festival venue located next to The Bookworm.
Writing With and Against History Ragnar Baldursson, Clare Wright; moderated by Stephen McDonell
6:00PM | The Bookworm | BW12E | 60 RMB Ragnar Baldursson and Clare Wright are both nonfiction writers with a keen sense of history. Baldursson’s book, Nineteen Seventy-Six, recounts the first days, weeks, and months after the Cultural Revolution, a period he experienced firsthand. Wright is a historian and former political speechwriter whose works have looked at Australia’s politicians, female publicans, and the brave women of Ballarat (in the award-winning The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka, which took her ten years to research and write). This talk will be moderated by BBC reporter Stephen McDonell, formerly the China correspondent for Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
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Your Face in Mine Jess Row, moderated by Jack Smith 6:00PM | iQiyi | IQ12B | 50 RMB
Jess Row’s debut novel tackles issues of race and alienation with the most inventive of premises: a white Jewish man undergoes “racial reassignment surgery” to become a black man. Praised as “a refreshing plunge into the deep end of the race conversation” (AV Club), Your Face in Mine – and this discussion with Jack Smith, LGBT editor at Time Out Beijing – seeks to provoke thinking about identity politics and what it means to choose a particular culture. This event will be held at iQiyi, an official festival venue located next to The Bookworm.
One Today: Live Reading by Obama’s Inauguration Poet Richard Blanco with introduction by Bradford Philen
8:00PM | The Bookworm | BW12F | 80 RMB President Barack Obama selected Richard Blanco in 2012 to serve as the fifth inaugural poet in U.S. history, putting him in the elite company of Robert Frost, Maya Angelou, Miller Williams, and Elizabeth Alexander. Born in Madrid to Cuban parents, Blanco grew up in Miami and has used his work to probe questions of identity and place. He is the youngest, first Latino, immigrant, and gay person to read at a presidential inauguration. Come listen to one of the finest poets in the U.S. share his journey of discovery and belonging. This event is brought to you with the kind support of International School of Beijing.
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Sunday, March 13
Dragons in Diamond Village
New Chinese Writing
David Bandurski, moderated by Josh Chin
A Yi, Shuang Xuetao; moderated by Eric Abrahamsen
Dragons in Diamond Village: And Other Tales from the Back Alleys of Urbanising China takes a look at the grassroots social activism emerging in China’s cities as local villagers seek a greater voice in their country’s breakneck drive for a new urban future. The book, which took David Bandurski nearly ten years to research and write, tells the stories of a band of unlikely activists, including Huang Minpeng, a semi-literate farmer turned self-taught rights defender, and Li Qizhong, a Guangzhou urban villager who refuses to relinquish his ancestral home to a powerful property developer. These tales take us into the heart of new China. Moderated by Wall Street Journal reporter Josh Chin. This event will be held at The Opposite House. See Page 93 for an address and map.
A Yi and Shuang Xuetao are two accomplished authors who belong to an emerging generation of Chinese writers who have taken non-mainstream routes to success. A Yi, formerly the editor-in-chief of the edgy literary magazine Chutzpah, has been published in Granta and The Guardian, and has been called “one of the most gifted Chinese authors in recent times” (by Nobel-nominated poet Bei Dao). Shuang Xuetao’s fiction has yet to be translated, but it’s only a matter of time; he’s won prizes at multiple competitions, including first prize at the 14th Taipei Literature Awards. This talk will be moderated by Eric Abrahamsen, editor at Pathlight, China’s premier English-language literary journal of translated Chinese works of short fiction and poetry. This event will be in Chinese with English interpretation.
2:00PM | The Opposite House | OH13 | Free
Umbrellas in Bloom Jason Y. Ng, moderated by Julie Makinen 12:00PM | The Bookworm | BW13B | 60 RMB
In late September 2014, a group of students initiated a civil disobedience campaign that swelled into a massive pro-democracy movement that saw more than 100,000 people, at its various peaks, occupy the streets of downtown Hong Kong. Jason Y. Ng, a bestselling local author, was there to capture many of the stories, both big and small. His book, Umbrellas in Bloom, is the first English-language chronicle of those turbulent days, weeks, and months. “The umbrella flowers blossomed and withered,” says Benny Tai, co-founder of Occupy Central with Love and Peace. “Ng captures the lifecycle of the occupy movement with compassion and wit.” Ng will share his experiences with Los Angeles Times Beijing Bureau Chief Julie Makinen.
Brevity is the Soul: Short Fiction Jon Bilbao, Robert Drewe, Jess Row; moderated by Bradford Philen
2:00PM | The Bookworm | BW13C | 60 RMB The best short stories are condensed and compelling pieces of storytelling that linger with the reader long after they have finished. The form is also universal, as these masters of the short story – hailing from three different countries – can attest. Jon Bilbao, from Spain, has published three short story collections; Robert Drewe, from Australia, is an author and editor of two international short story anthologies; and Jess Row, from the U.S., is the author of two short story collections whose work has been anthologized three times in The Best American Short Stories and have won two Pushcart Prizes and a PEN/O. Henry Award. The session will be moderated by International School of Beijing’s Brad Philen, author of the short story collection Everything is Insha’Allah.
Journalism with Chinese Characteristics David Bandurski, Raymond Zhou; moderated by Marcus Ryder
4:00PM | The Bookworm | BW13D | 60 RMB Finding sources, verifying facts, sifting truth from hearsay: journalism is hard enough, but doing it in China – for Chinese publications – presents a whole new set of challenges. It’s worth asking: what exactly is journalism in China, especially with so many voices competing for attention and credibility in the digital sphere? Our panelists include David Bandurski, researcher at China Media Project and co-author of Investigative Journalism in China, a book of eight cases on Chinese watchdog journalism; and Raymond Zhou, senior writer for China Daily and longtime film, theater, and culture critic. Moderated by veteran BBC news executive Marcus Ryder, currently Chief International Digital Media Editor for CCTV.
6:00PM | The Bookworm | BW13E | 60 RMB
Knocked Up Abroad Charlotte Edwards-Zhang, Vanessa Jencks, Ruth Silbermayr-Song, Ember Swift; moderated by Theresa Ahdieh 6:00PM | iQiyi | IQ13 | 50 RMB
Pregnancy and childbirth are exciting and life-changing events. When experienced in a foreign country, the adventure takes countless unexpected twists and turns as mothers must navigate foreign languages, customs, and healthcare practices. Knocked Up Abroad: Stories of Pregnancy, Birth, and Raising a Family in a Foreign Country takes readers on an exciting journey through 24 different countries. In each of the unique stories in Knocked Up Abroad, the concepts of family and love translate into every language and are uniquely celebrated. Ember Swift, a contributing writer in the anthology, will present an excerpt alongside three other expat writing moms (Vanessa Jencks, Charlotte Edwards-Zhang, and Ruth Silbermayr-Song). This event will be held at iQiyi, an official festival venue located next to The Bookworm. 25
Bad Feminist
Deep, Dark, and Human
Roxane Gay, moderated by Bidisha
Jon Bilbao, Michela Murgia, Scot Slaby; moderated by Carly Hallman
8:00PM | The Bookworm | BW13F | 100 RMB In the opening pages of her bestselling book Bad Feminist, Roxane Gay writes, “I disavowed feminism because I had no rational understanding of the movement. I was called a feminist, and what I heard was, ‘You are an angry, sex-hating, man-hating victim lady person.’” In the essays that follow, Gay uses razor-sharp insight to slice apart our misconceptions of feminism, and in the process announce herself as one of America’s foremost voices on issues ranging from gender to identity, pop culture, politics, and more. Gay will also discuss her debut novel An Untamed State, which begins with the kidnapping of the narrator in Portau-Prince. The New York Times called the book a fairytale in the vein of Brother Grimm, “its complex and fragile moral arrived at through great pain and high cost.”
6:00PM | The Bookworm | BW14C | 60 RMB The human condition is as recognizable as it is elusive. Is writing merely a vehicle toward the understanding of the human condition, or is it an outcrop from the human condition itself ? To discuss are Spanish author Jon Bilbao, whose novel Still the Same Man explores man’s deepest and darkest instincts; Italian writer Michela Murgia, who attended theological studies and worked as a religion teacher before making her literary debut with Il mondo deve sapere, which inspired the film Tutta la vita davanti by Paolo Virzi; and Scot Slaby, a poet whose first chapbook, The Cards We’ve Drawn, won the 2013 Bright Hill Press National At Hand Chapbook Competition. Moderated by Carly Hallman, author of the novel Year of the Goose.
China’s Economy: Powerhouse, Menace, or the Next Japan? Arthur Kroeber, moderated by Lucy Hornby
1:00PM | The Bookworm | BW14B | 60 RMB As the recent tumult on global markets shows, China risks destabilizing the world as it makes the hard shift from an investment-driven to a consumer-oriented economy. The headwinds of an aging population and a battle against corruption are also slowing the country’s growth. Will China mature as a global economic leader, trigger a crisis, or stagnate like Japan? Arthur Kroeber, editor of China Economic Quarterly and author of the forthcoming China’s Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford, April 2016) will tackle these tough questions. Book website: www.china-economy-book.com 26
Tuesday, March 15 War on Pollution Anders Hove, Li Yan, Ma Tianjie; moderated by Edward Wong
1:00PM | The Bookworm | BW15B | 60 RMB
South China Morning Blues
Monday, March 14
by their late 20s, and helps them unlock their potential and realize their dreams. The book is a bestseller in China, where it has won Chen a massive following. In 2012 the All-China Women’s Federation named Chen “Woman of the Year.” She currently has a movie in development with Wanda Media, and one with Alibaba Pictures. Moderated by Wall Street Journal reporter Felicia Sonmez. This event is brought to you with the kind support of Yew Chung International School of Beijing.
Ray Hecht, moderated by Adam Robbins 7:30PM | iQiyi | IQ14 | 50 RMB
Just what kinds of people find themselves in 21st-century China? Crooked businessmen, travelers, drug-fueled models, alcoholic journalists, failing artists… their lives intertwine in Ray Hecht’s debut novel South China Morning Blues – set in the Pearl River Delta – and as they delve deeper into their surroundings, they learn more about themselves than they could have imagined. Moderated by City Weekend editor Adam Robbins. This event will be held at iQiyi, an official festival venue located next to The Bookworm.
Do Not Marry Before Age 30: Empowering Women Joy Chen, moderated by Felicia Sonmez
8:00PM | The Bookworm | BW14D | 80 RMB Joy Chen, the former deputy mayor of Los Angeles, is the author of Do Not Marry Before Age 30 – part memoir and part self-help guide – which debunks conventional wisdom that single women are “leftover”
China’s rapid industrialization has caused tremendous environmental damage, which in turn has stagnated growth – a 2007 World Bank study concluded that air and water pollution costs China about 4.3 percent annual GDP. Fearing this could lead to social unrest, Premier Li Keqiang declared “war on pollution” in 2013. Two years later, do we see progress, or is this “war” mostly being waged for public perception? Here’s a China environment panel that digs beyond cliché to unveil the problems and challenges at the center of China’s environmental quandary. Featuring Anders Hove, Associate Director for China Research at the Paulson Institute; Li Yan, Deputy Program Director of Greenpeace East Asia; and Ma Tianjie, managing editor in the Beijing office of China Dialogue, a organization specializing in reporting on China’s environment; moderated by New York Times Beijing Bureau Chief Edward Wong.
Poetry Around the World Tammy Ho Lai-Ming, Mindaugas Nastaravicius, Kabu Okai-Davies, Scot Slaby; moderated by Edward Ragg
6:00PM | The Bookworm | BW15C | 60 RMB Four poets from diverse backgrounds – spanning five continents – come together for readings and discussion. Tammy Ho Lai-Ming is the poetry editor of the literary journal Asian Cha in Hong Kong, and whose poetry has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize three times; Mindaugas Nastaravicius is one of Lithuania’s best poets, whose poetry collection Stained Eyes received the Zigmas Gele prize for best literary debut, and whose second poetry collection, Mo, was selected one of the “top five poetry books of the year”; Kabu Okai-Davies is a Ghanaian-Australian poet whose work focuses on culture and identity; and Scot Slaby is an American poet whose first chapbook, The Cards We’ve Drawn, won the 2013 Bright Hill Press National At Hand Chapbook Competition. Moderated by local poet Edward Ragg, winner of the Cinnamon Press Poetry Award for his debut collection A Force That Takes.
Voices from the Margins: Gender, Politics, and Race Roxane Gay, He Xiaopei, Xiao Meili; moderated by Emily Rauhala
8:00PM | The Bookworm | BW15D | 80 RMB How universal are issues of gender, politics, race, sexuality, privilege, class, and identity? Roxane Gay, the bestselling author of Bad Feminist, will engage in a cross-cultural dialogue with Xiao Meili, one of China’s most prominent women’s rights activists, and He Xiaopei, executive director of Pink Space Sexuality Research Center, an NGO that provides a platform for minority groups to tell their stories. This event will be moderated by Washington Post correspondent Emily Rauhala. This event will be conducted in English and Chinese.
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Launch Party: MaLa Literary Journal, Issue 4 (Reconstruction)
Loreli China Presents: Songwriters of Beijing
Featuring Sheng Keyi, Su Cici, Tammy Ho Lai-Ming
Jordan Darling, Xuefeng Ji, Su Zixu, Dan Taylor; moderated by Daniel Lenk, with introduction by Kerryn Leitch
9:30PM | The Bookworm | Free
MaLa began as the Chengdu Bookworm Literary Journal, but it has become much more: a publication where East and West collide and collude, featuring English-language poetry, fiction, and nonfiction from and about China. This issue features works from Hong Kong writer Tammy Ho Lai-Ming, much-anthologized poet and short story writer Su Cici, and artwork from award-winning novelist and painter Sheng Keyi, all of whom will be in attendance at this Issue 4 launch party. For more info about MaLa, please see mala-literary-journal.com
Wednesday, March 16 Writing Place Keiichiro Hirano, Tammy Ho Lai-Ming, Owen Martell; moderated by Jesse Field
6:00PM | The Bookworm | BW16C | 60 RMB This discussion seeks to answer what it means to write about a particular place, whatever or wherever that place may be. Owen Martell, from Wales, is an Arts Council of Wales’ Welsh Book of the Year award recipient, whose work is mostly written in the Welsh language. Keiichiro Hirano is a Japanese novelist whose book The Eclipse won the Akutagawa Prize in 1999, making him the youngest writer ever to take this award. And Tammy Ho Lai-Ming is a poet and short story writer from Hong Kong, as well as the founding editor of Asian Cha, Hong Kong’s first online literary journal.
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8:00PM | The Bookworm | BW16D | 60 RMB Beijing’s best songwriters discuss lyrics, licks, and taking it to the bridge. Featuring acoustic performances and a lively debate about collaboration, compulsion, and the vibrant and diverse Beijing music scene – plus what the future might hold after the loss of several live venues over the last few years. Featuring singer-songwriter Jordan Darling, Dan Taylor of The Harridans and Luv Plastik, Su Zixiu (苏紫旭) of The Paramecia (Su was a contestant on the TV show Sing My Song), and Xuefeng Ji of the psychedelic band The Peppercorns.
Thursday, March 17 Francophone Literature and Society Frédéric Ciriez, Nico Helminger, Lambert Schlechter; moderated by Julien Girault
1:00PM | The Bookworm | BW17B | 60 RMB Three prominent authors talk about the trends and developments in French-language literature, including how it addresses – or doesn’t – the contemporary issues confronting the modern world. Frédéric Ciriez is a French novelist, essayist, and advocate of the Sape movement, which was born in the wartorn streets of Brazzaville and Kinshasa and emphasizes fashion, elegance, and the values of peace and nonviolence; Nico Helminger is a Luxembourgian novelist, playwright, and poet who has won the country’s most important culture award, the Prix Batty Weber; and Lambert Schlechter is the author of 25-some books, who studied philosophy and literature in Paris
and Nancy before teaching philosophy, French language, and literature at the Lycée Classique in Echternach. This event will be in French with English interpretation.
A Novel Approach: Experimenting with Language and Style Eimear McBride, Anna Smaill, Xu Zechen; moderated by Rosie Blau
6:00PM | The Bookworm | BW17C | 60 RMB For you. You’ll soon. You’ll give her name. In the stitches of her skin she’ll wear your say. Thus begins Eimear McBride’s A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing, one of the most daring and innovative novels to come out in recent times. Anna Smaill’s novel, The Chines, is no less ambitious, set in a dystopic London where the written word is gone and a series of daily chimes destroys memory. And Xu Zechen’s Running Through Beijing – his first book translated into English – is like a literary Run Lola Run, following a hustling hero trying to stay ahead of the law – and himself. These three will share the stage in a discussion about language, style, and the novel, moderated by Economist correspondent Rosie Blau, a former judge for the Man Booker Prize.
Spoken-Word Performance Philip Wilcox
7:30PM | International School of Beijing | Free 2015 Australian Poetry Slam national champion Philip Wilcox mixes poetry, stories, anecdotes, and jokes in this full-length performance. This event will be held at International School of Beijing, one of BLF 2016’s main sponsors.
Akutagawa Prize when he was only 23 for his novel The Eclipse (Nisshoku), making him the youngest author to ever win that award. A hugely versatile writer, his publications include historical fiction, science fiction, short stories focusing on contemporary Japanese society, and wide-ranging essays. Hirano will talk about his creative work, his writing life, and the wider literary scene in Japan. Moderated by Karen Ma, author of the semi-autobiographical novel Excess Baggage, based on her family’s experiences as Chinese immigrants in 1990s Tokyo. This event will be in Japanese with English interpretation. It will be held at iQiyi, an official festival venue located next to The Bookworm.
Literary Europe Live Owen Martell, Jordi Punti, Undine Radzeviciute, Nora Wagener; moderated by Alexandra Büchler
8:00PM | The Bookworm | BW17D | 60 RMB Literature Across Frontiers is a Wales-based organization whose purpose is to promote European literature, particularly highlighting lesser-translated works. This event is chaired by LAF’s director, Alexandra Büchler. Panelists include Welsh writer Owen Martell (winner of the Arts Council of Wales’ Welsh Book of the Year award in 2001), Spanish writer Jordi Punti (award-winning Catalan author), Lithuanian novelist Undine Radzeviciute, and Luxembourgian writer/artist Nora Wagener.
Friday, March 18
Japan’s Literary Talent
Ken Hom, Master Chef
Keiichiro Hirano, moderated by Karen Ma
Ken Hom, moderated by Kristen Lum
7:30PM | iQiyi | IQ17 | 50 RMB Keiichiro Hirano is a prodigious literary talent from Japan who wrote his first novel when he was 17. He won the highly prestigious
6:00PM | The Bookworm | BW18C | 60 RMB Ken Hom is an American-born celebrity chef, TV presenter, and author of more than 80 books, many of which have been translated worldwide. He has spent more than three de29
cades on UK television and is acknowledged as a leading expert on Asian and Chinese cuisine, and has cooked for presidents, prime ministers, celebrities, and royalty across the world. In 2009 he was appointed honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for “services to culinary arts.” Learn more about him and his work at this talk moderated by Kristen Lum, founder of the food blog LumDimSum.com.
Contemporary Spanish Poetry
more. The New Yorker called it a “blazingly original novel... fueled by fractured, adventurous language and raw emotion.” One of the people currently working on a Chinese translation of this book, Liu Yan, will be at this talk to briefly discuss the process of translating such a challenging and profound novel. This event will be held at iQiyi, an official festival venue located next to The Bookworm.
Voices of Canada
6:30 | Cervantes Institute | CS18 | Free (Reservation required by emailing
[email protected]; please include your phone number)
Dionne Brand, Michael Crummey, Andy McGuire, Anakana Schofield; moderated by Nathan VanderKlippe
Instituto Cervantes and the Embassy of Uruguay in Beijing present the projection of two movies connected to the poetry of Uruguay, made by poet/audiovisual artist Fernando Foglino. The event will consist of welcoming words from Inmaculada González Puy, director of the Cervantes Institute in Beijing, and introduction of the event by the Embassy of Uruguay in Beijing, followed by a presentation on the characteristics of contemporary poetry in Uruguay by Laura Silva, the Uruguayan embassy’s Cultural Attaché. A six-minute short video, Clipoemas Foglino, will be screened first, followed by POETAS Proyecto Crossmedia, a material of 45 minutes. Both will be in Spanish with Chinese subtitles. A taste of honor will follow, provided by the Embassy of Uruguay. This event will be held at the Cervantes Institute of Beijing.
We put the spotlight on Canadian literature in this event featuring four of the country’s freshest voices. Dionne Brand, who grew up in Trinidad, was Toronto’s third Poet Laureate from 2009-12, and writes on gender, race, identity, and the African diaspora; Michael Crummey is an award-winning poet and novelist whose latest, Sweetland, has been garnering critical praise as both a hilarious and heartbreaking epic; Andy McGuire recently published his debut poetry collection, Country Club, “a lyrical wilderness of power, wealth, leisure, and desire”; and Anakana Schofield is an award-winning writer whose debut novel, Malarky, was a sensation, and whose latest book, Martin John, was shortlisted for the 2015 Scotiabank Giller Prize. Moderated by Globe and Mail reporter Nathan VanderKlippe.
A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing Eimear McBride, moderated by Bridget Riley 7:30PM | iQiyi | IQ18 | 50 RMB
A Girl is a Half-formed Thing – Liverpool-born Irish writer Eimear McBride’s first book – is a sensation, a stream-of-consciousness narrative written in disjointed language from the perspective of a young girl growing up with her cancer-stricken brother. It was named Best Book of the Year by a host of publications, including The New York Times Book Review, NPR, New York Magazine, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, and 30
8:00PM | The Bookworm | BW18D | 60 RMB
Saturday, March 19 Buy Me the Sky: The Remarkable Truth of China’s One-Child Generations Xinran, moderated by Laurie O’Donnell
10:00AM | The Bookworm | BW19A | 60 RMB China’s One-Child Policy – recently abolished – has shaped an entire generation of men and
women. Those born after 1979 are defined by the policy, and their stories are both remarkable and commonplace in this country of 1.4 billion. Xinran’s Buy Me the Sky is an intimate snapshot of this generation. The author made her name in China through talk radio as host of the call-in program “Words on Night Breeze” from 1989 to 1997. She has since gone on to become an international bestselling author with books that promote women’s issues and cultural understanding, such as The Good Women of China, Sky Burial, and Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother: Stories of Loss and Love.
Innovation and Imitation in China Christina Larson, Edmond Lococo, Kaiser Kuo
12:00PM | The Bookworm | BW19B | 60 RMB Every sector seeks innovation, but what does it actually entail? From Baidu’s plans for autonomous vehicles to micro-entrepreneurs and their ingenious do-everything apps, innovation is all around us – and yet, limitations also remain very real. Christina Larson, a contributing correspondent for Science magazine and Bloomberg Businessweek, writes about science, technology, and culture; Edmond Lococo is senior vice president for public relations at ICR, which counsels companies in tech, consumer, and industrial growth; and Kaiser Kuo is director of international communications at Baidu and host of the Sinica podcast.
Memory and Place Michael Crummey, Mariko Nagai, Anna Smaill; moderated by Kerryn Leitch
2:00PM | The Bookworm | BW19C | 60 RMB Three writers gather to discuss the role of memory and place in their stories. In Michael Crummey’s latest novel, Sweetland, residents of an endangered Newfoundland community – led by one enigmatic Moses Sweetland – try to save the last vestiges of their history. In Mariko Nagai’s Dust of Eden – a “novel” written as a series of poems – the main characters try to make sense of their identities after being relocated from their
Seattle homes to Japanese internment camps during World War II. And in Anna Smaill’s The Chimes, the written word is replaced with music and memory is wholly wiped out.
Travel Writing as Literature Lieve Joris, moderated by Tomasz Sajewicz
2:00PM | iQiyi | IQ19A | 50 RMB Lieve Joris has spent a great deal of her life traveling, and she has the books to show for it. In 1985 she set sail to the former Belgian colony of Congo, where her great-uncle had been a missionary. Congo became a recurring theme in her work, leading successively to Back to the Congo, The Leopard’s Dance, The Rebels’ Hour, and The High Plains. Her travels through the Arab world and her friendship with the Syrian woman Hala led to The Gates of Damascus, an intimate portrait of life in the Syrian capital. Her journeys between Africa and China resulted in her latest work, On the Wings of the Dragon. Wherever she goes, Joris immerses herself in the local culture, living in people’s houses (sometimes huts), adapting to their pace of life. She’ll explain how she does it, and discuss the rewards – and challenges – of the process.This event will be held at iQiyi, an official festival venue located next to The Bookworm.
Loss, Longing, and the Bizarreries of Life Ofir Touché Gafla, Anakana Schofield; moderated by Griffin Loynes
4:00PM | The Bookworm | BW19D | 60 RMB Loss and longing are themes that play prominently in the novels of both Ofir Touché Gafla and Anakana Schofield. In Gafla’s The World of the End, the protagonist kills himself in the hopes of finding his deceased wife in the Other World. In Schofield’s latest novel, the title character Martin John is a sex offender trying to make the best out of his devastating urges. Both authors write pointedly about desire, but also show how lives can be warped by obsession and want. Moderated by Griffin Loynes of International School of Beijing. 31
The Miraculous History of China’s Two Palace Museums Mark O’Neill; moderated by George Ding
4:00PM | iQiyi | IQ19B | 50 RMB The two most famous Chinese museums are located in Beijing (Palace Museum in the Forbidden City) and Taipei (National Palace Museum). Mark O’Neill, a longtime journalist based in Hong Kong, brings these museums to life as he tells the story of how China’s most precious artifacts were rescued from invaders and found their way to these two locations. O’Neill is the author of four other books, including The Second Tang Dynasty: The 12 Sons of Fragrant Mountain Who Changed China and Frederick: The Life of My Missionary Grandfather in Manchuria. This event will be held at iQiyi, an official festival
Shanghai Redemption: Investigating Murder, Sex, and Corruption Qiu Xiaolong, moderated by Tom Hancock
6:00PM | The Bookworm | BW19E | 60 RMB Qiu Xiaolong’s latest novel, Shanghai Redemption, takes the protagonist Inspector Chen Cao on new adventures deep inside the Chinese Communist Party. Qiu, who lives in St. Louis but writes trenchantly about contemporary Chinese issues, took inspiration for his latest – the ninth Inspector Chen novel in the series – from the case of Bo Xilai. There’s sex, murder, and a power struggle, all of which illuminate just a little of the opaque world of China’s political elite. Come see why the New York Times calls Qiu “an expert on the more sordid aspects of the Chinese political and legal systems.”
Atmen Einstellen, Bitte! Adjust Your Breathing, Please! Kai Strittmatter
6:00PM | iQiyi | IQ19C | 50 RMB Beijing-based journalist and writer Kai
Strittmatter was the China correspondent of Germany’s Sueddeutsche from 1997 to 2005, and returned to China in 2012 after seven years reporting from Istanbul. He is the author of several books on China, Hong Kong, and Istanbul, and is currently writing a new one inspired by the hutong where he lives with his family and the country in which he resides. He will share stories and insights from his many years reporting from China, and conduct a short reading in German (with English and Chinese subtitles).This event will be held at iQiyi, an official festival venue located next to The Bookworm.
In Conversation with Xinran Xinran, moderated by Joe McKee 7:00PM | Dulwich | Free
Xue Xinran, who writes under the pen name Xinran, is a British-Chinese journalist, author, and advocate of women’s issues. She will talk about her books – including international bestseller The Good Women of China and her latest, Buy Me the Sky, about China’s one-child generation – and her other work, past and present. Moderated by Joe McKee, Dulwich College Beijing Academic Director. This event will be held at Dulwich College Beijing, one of BLF 2016’s main sponsors.
Stuff I Learnt from 90s Children’s Television: Spoken-Word Performance Philip Wilcox
8:00PM | The Bookworm | BW19F | 60 RMB 2015 Australian Poetry Slam national champion Philip Wilcox mixes poetry, stories, anecdotes, and jokes in this full-length performance, put together for the Bookworm Literary Festival. Described as a “natural on stage for his ability to engage the audience with his wit, humor, lyrical lessons, and authenticity” (Jessie Ray, founder and creator of Art Party) and a poet who “asks us questions about our humanity that are frank and difficult to answer” (Miles Merrill, founder of the Australian Poetry Slam), Wilcox will have you laughing, musing, 33
brooding, and cheering – sometimes all at once. Come see why Wilcox is a headliner considered one of the best spoken-world performers in the world.
Sunday, March 20 Minority Matters: Focus on Ethnicity in Chinese Culture Li Dan, Sonthar Gyal, Xinran; moderated by Jocelyn Ford
10:00AM | The Bookworm | BW20A | 60 RMB China officially recognizes 56 ethnic groups, from the Ewenki of Inner Mongolia (only 30,000) to the majority Han (about 92 percent of the population), who exist in various states of conflict and cooperation. This panel takes a look at some of China’s ethnic issues, including various policies that both protect and erode the customs and traditions of the country’s lesser-known ethnic minorities. This event will be in Chinese with English interpretation.
Spotlight on Africa Lieve Joris, Liang Zi, Kabu Okai-Davies; moderated by Hannah Ryder
2:00PM | The Bookworm | BW20C | 60 RMB The China-Africa relationship is a complex, fascinating subject, one that our panelists know well. Lieve Joris is the author of On The Wings of The Dragon, about her journeys between Africa and China, written after she immersed herself in the world of Africans and Chinese who ventured into each other’s territory; Kabu Okai-Davies is a Ghanaian-Australian writer whose work often deals with issues of culture and identity; and Liang Zi is a photographer who has traveled to Africa a dozen times, and is the first female photographer from China to explore African tribal culture. Moderated by Hannah Ryder, Head of Policy and Partnerships for United Nations Development Programme China.
Confucius: And the World He Created Michael Schuman, moderated by Megha Rajagopalan 2:00PM| iQiyi | IQ20A | 50 RMB
Crime and Vice Qiu Xiaolong, Nury Vittachi; moderated by Robert Foyle Hunwick
12:00PM | The Bookworm | BW20B | 60 RMB Two renowned crime novelists share the stage to discuss when a crime novel is about more than just crime. Nury Vittachi’s The Feng Shui Detective – which has been translated into multiple languages and published worldwide – is a “comedy-crime” series of novels that explore ideological and cultural differences between East and West. Qiu Xiaolong’s Inspector Chen series of detective novels explores deeper issues within contemporary Chinese society, including corruption throughout all levels of government. Moderated by Robert Foyle Hunwick, a former HarperCollins crime editor who is working on a book about vice and crime in China. 34
Confucius, who might be the most influential philosopher in history, permeates Chinese society in ways we’ve taken for granted – and ways we hardly know. Veteran correspondent and Beijing resident Michael Schuman, who has written for Time magazine and the Wall Street Journal, takes a closer look at Confucius’s legacy across East Asia, including how the Chinese government has begun using the late sage for its own purposes.This event will be held at iQiyi, an official festival venue located next to The Bookworm.
The Meaning of Contemporary Poetry
Love Enough
Michael Crummey, Andy McGuire, Mariko Nagai, Nicholas YB Wong; moderated by Simon Shieh
6:00PM | The Bookworm | BW20E | 60 RMB
4:00PM | The Bookworm | BW20D | 60 RMB Four poets gather to read their works and discuss the role poetry can play in contemporary life. Hong Kong poet Nicholas YB Wong is the author of Cities of Sameness and Crevasse, which has been praised as “deft and radically inventive... blows a hole right through our expectation of what contemporary poetry is supposed to look and to sound like” (Ravi Shankar); Japanese poet Mariko Nagai is the author of Histories of Bodies, winner of the Benjamin Saltman Prize from Red Hen Press; Canadian Andy McGuire’s poems have appeared in Riddle Fence, Hazlitt, and The Walrus, and he recently released his debut collection, Country Club; and Canadian Michael Crummey’s poetry (Arguments with Gravity, Hard Light, Under the Keel, etc.) has been described as generous, genuine, rich, and warm, with some form of grace always present to redeem whatever hardships his characters endure. Moderated by local poet Simon Shieh.
The World of the End Ofir Touché Gafla, moderated by Kerryn Leitch 4:00PM | iQiyi | IQ20B | 50 RMB
An epilogist finds his wife dead in a bizarre accident, and fifteen months later shoots himself in the head in order to begin his new life in the Other World to seek his beloved. What happens next, he never would have guessed. The World of the End is Ofir Touché Gafla’s debut novel, first published in Hebrew in 2004, where it won the 2005 Geffen Award for best fantasy/science fiction novel of the year and the 2006 Kugel Award for Hebrew literature.This event will be held at iQiyi, an official festival venue located next to The Bookworm.
Dionne Brand
Canadian author Dionne Brand’s latest novel, Love Enough, is a love letter to Toronto, but also so much more. “The very title… nods in the direction of limits, of boundaries enclosing something that wants desperately to free itself of its shackles,” writes The Globe and Mail. “The city as Brand conceives it is precisely this kind of roiling mass, pushing at its edges and struggling to contain the vibrant, often violent life within it.” It’s a beautiful tale from the former Poet Laureate of Toronto.
Finding India in China Anurag Viswanath, moderated by Daniel Ho 6:00PM | iQiyi | IQ20C | 50 RMB
Anurag Viswanath’s debut book is a whirlwind journey across China, slicing through preconceptions and shibboleths through her diverse interactions — with Muslim housewives in Xinjiang, Mongols dressing up for tourism, academics, baijiu-loving party officials, restless migrant workers, and more. In this talk, Viswanath will provide an Indian’s perspective on China – there is little understanding or scholarship about China in India, and yet the countries are similar in their vastness and underappreciated diversity, from the “orphan colony” of Jews in Kaifeng and Cochin to internal migration and pockets of discontent. As one reviewer notes about Finding India in China, “With a scholar’s depth, a journalist’s eye for the detail and a story-teller’s wit, Anurag Viswanath takes the reader to intimate arenas of living history through Indian parallels and presents a uniquely insightful treatise on contemporary China.” This event will be held at iQiyi, an official festival venue located next to The Bookworm.
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Bookworm Comedy Night, headlined by Steve Simeone Local comics + Steve Simeone, hosted by Paul Creasy
8:00PM | The Bookworm | BW20F | 150 RMB Bookworm Comedy Night is a monthly night of stand-up comedy featuring acts from the local community opening for an international headliner. This month’s headliner is Steve Simeone, whose high-energy, positive, family-friendly approach has delighted audiences around the world and made him a regular at Hollywood’s most prestigious comedy clubs. In 2014 he made his Comedy Central debut on Gabriel Iglesias’s Stand Up Revolution, was chosen by Honda to represent their Summer “Cheerance” Campaign, and saw his first album, Remember This, hit the top of the Billboard and iTunes charts.
Monday, March 21 Territorial Disputes and Regional Stability Moderated by Philip Wen
1:00PM | The Bookworm | BW21B | 60 RMB Contested territories, uneasy alliances, energy pacts, strategic differences… China’s relationship with its neighbors has never been more closely scrutinized, and it’s the focus of this panel discussion, featuring foreign correspondents who make a living covering Beijing’s every move. Moderated by Philip Wen, China correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Asylum and Exile Bidisha, moderated by Gareth Evans
6:00PM | The Bookworm | BW21C | 60 RMB Asylum and Exile is Bidisha’s fifth book, written after several months of outreach to refugees 36
and asylum seekers, revealing their heartbreaking stories of hope and hardship. Bidisha – a writer and BBC broadcaster specializing in human rights, international affairs, and the arts and culture – will put the “refugee crisis” into perspective, as well as overview some possible solutions. Moderated by Gareth Evans of Yew Chung International School of Beijing.
Ninety Seventy-Six: The End of the Cultural Revolution Ragnar Baldursson, moderated by Alan Babington-Smith 7:30PM | iQiyi | IQ21 | 50 RMB Everything changed in 1976: Mao Zedong died, the Gang of Four Fell, and the Tangshan Earthquake killed hundreds of thousands. Ragnar Baldursson, now the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Iceland, was a true believer in the Chinese socialist experiment back then, making him one of a very few foreigners allowed in the country during that time. Forty years on, in a radically different China, Baldursson revisits his experiences as a student in Beijing in 1976, offering glimpses of life during this momentous year. Moderated by Alan Babington-Smith, president of the Beijing chapter of the Royal Asiatic Society. This event will be held at iQiyi, an official festival venue located next to The Bookworm.
predicted the attack on the World Trade Center a year before 9/11). And Andrzej Sapkowski is one of the most famous fantasy writers in the world, whose Witcher Saga led to a video game series. Moderated by Joe McKee, Dulwich College Beijing Academic Director.
Tuesday, March 22 Trends in Spirituality in Modern China 1:00PM | Haiyun Jimeng, Joseph Loftus, etc. | The Bookworm | BW22B | 60 RMB China still has, by a wide margin, the most atheists in the world, but religion – and spirituality – has steadily risen over the past two decades. Buddhism and Confucianism have been booming, but more people are also turning to Christianity to find a foothold in the modern world. And interestingly, unlike in many countries, the rise of religious conversion in China has paralleled its urban development. What is it about the city – and life there – that nudges people toward faith? A Buddhist monk and Irish Catholic priest will discuss.
The Witcher Saga Creating Worlds: Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy Ofir Touché Gafla, Han Song, Andrzej Sapkowski; moderated by Joe McKee
8:00PM | The Bookworm | BW21D | 60 RMB This panel of decorated authors will discuss the genres of science fiction and fantasy. Ofir Touché Gafla’s debut novel, The World of the End, won the 2005 Geffen Award for best fantasy/science fiction novel of the year and the 2006 Kugel Award for Hebrew literature. Han Song, a six-time recipient of China’s Galaxy Award for fiction, is one of China’s most prolific and respected science fiction writers (one of his novels, 2066: Red Star Over America,
Andrzej Sapkowski, moderated by Olga Alimov
6:00PM | The Bookworm | BW22C | 60 RMB The Witcher Saga, by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski, is one of the most popular fantasy series of short stories and novels in the world – so much so that a series of video games, called The Witcher, has been created based off Sapkowski’s world. While the Saga is five books long in Sapkowski’s native Polish, only three of the books have been translated into English so far. The author will be presenting Blood of Elves, which will soon be available in Chinese.
Storytelling: “Far From Home” Matt Hulse, Lieve Joris, Yves Laplace, Mariko Nagai, Kabu Okai-Davies, etc.; hosted by Amy Daml
8:00PM | The Bookworm | BW22D | 60 RMB Oral storytelling is the oldest form of telling stories, myths, urban legends, and moral lessons. Here’s an event that celebrates it, modeled after the famous storytelling sessions hosted by The Moth in New York. The theme for this night is “Far From Home,” and will feature stories from international authors and some of the best storytellers from the local community.
Wednesday, March 23 Spiritual Economics: A Way to Save the World Haiyun Jimeng.
1:00PM | The Bookworm | BW23B | 60 RMB Haiyun Jimeng quit his official post in Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs to work in the “spiritual economy.” He believes that through spirituality, human beings can save the environment – and the world. Of his many books, Our Only Choice: A New Vision for the Long-Term Survival of Humanity and the Earth has been translated into English, and describes how the teachings of Buddha can help us formulate a set of “core values,” which in turn lead to an “economics of spirituality with which to transform economic growth into growth in happiness; material development into educational and mental development; and the plundering of natural resources into spiritual development.” This event will be in Chinese with English interpretation.
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From Alice in Wonderland to Present: The Evolution of Children’s Lit Josh Lacey, Ian Whybrow, moderated by Lee Williamson
6:00PM | The Bookworm | BW23C | 60 RMB 2015 marked the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s groundbreaking Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. How has the publishing industry for children’s literature changed since then, and in what condition is it today? Two prolific and award-winning children’s authors will explore these and other questions, and talk about Alice’s legacy: Ian Whybrow has written more than 100 children’s books, which have been translated into nearly 30 languages, and Josh Lacey’s works have been nominated for awards such as the Branford Boase Award and Roald Dahl Funny Prize. Moderated by Time Out Beijing editor Lee Williamson.
Hero’s Prairie Yves Laplace
7:30PM | iQiyi | IQ23 | 50 RMB Renowned Swiss author Yves Laplace will discuss his latest novel, Hero’s Prairie, which was inspired by George Oltramare, a Swiss actor, writer, and politician who was sentenced to death in France in 1950 due to his role in the fascist movement. Laplace won the Alice Rivaz Prize in 2015 and the Swiss Literary Prize in 2016 for this book. This event will be in French with English interpretation. It will be held at iQiyi, an official festival venue located next to The Bookworm.
Covering Conflict Bidisha, Lieve Joris, Edward Platt; moderated by Megha Rajagopalan
8:00PM | The Bookworm | BW23D | 60 RMB Bidisha is a human rights journalist whose travels to the West Bank resulted in the book Beyond the Wall: Writing a Path Through Palestine, giving voice to the many who are margin38
alized. Lieve Joris has traveled to Iraq, Syria, and other parts of the Middle East for her books, including The Gates of Damascus. And Edward Platt’s The City of Abraham is about the city of Hebron, where Israelis and Palestinians live side-by-side. In this session moderated by Reuters reporter Megha Rajagopalan, these authors will compare notes and discuss what it takes to travel to and write about places in turmoil.
Thursday, March 24 The Future of the Chinese Economy Tom Orlik, Michael Schuman, Lingling Wei; moderated by Mark Magnier
1:00PM | The Bookworm | BW24B | 60 RMB “Made In China: The Next Global Recession,” blared the headline on a Time magazine story in January. China has been an economic warhorse for the last decade, but recent events – a GDP growth slowdown, a weaker currency, growing debt, stock market crashes – have given analysts reasons for worry. Is the Chinese economy experiencing a hiccup, or are these the early days of a full-blown recession? This panel of experts – featuring Tom Orlik, Beijing-based economist for Bloomberg; Michael Schuman, award-winning journalist and author of The Miracle: The Epic Story of Asia’s Quest for Wealth; and Lingling Wei, finance journalist at the Wall Street Journal – will discuss. Moderated by Wall Street Journal China correspondent Mark Magnier.
Poetry in Translation Yves Laplace, Yi Sha, etc.; hosted by Matthew Byrne
6:00PM | The Bookworm | BW24C | 60 RMB This event is held in conjunction with Spittoon, a monthly poetry night founded by Matthew Byrne, which contains a poetry-in-translation segment
that seeks to unlock the secrets of poetry written in languages other than English. The narrative and meaning of the poetry is explored through translation, and the real music behind the poetry is highlighted through authentic readings in the original language of the poems. This event will feature readings from foreigners and locals, headlined by French-speaking Swiss author Yves Laplace and Chinese poet Yi Sha, who is regarded as one of the most influential poets in China, having been described as the Chinese Allen Ginsberg and “the greatest avant-garde in China.”
Sinica Live Recording: The Cultural Revolution Hosts Kaiser Kuo and David Moser, with guest Melinda Liu 8:00PM | The Bookworm | BW24D | 60 RMB
The Sinica Podcast is the most popular podcast in China, featuring themed discussions led by Kaiser Kuo and David Moser with guests covering all facets of society. In this special live recording for the Bookworm Literary Festival, Kuo and Moser sit with award-winning foreign correspondent and Newsweek Beijing Bureau Chief Melinda Liu to revisit the Cultural Revolution, launched 50 years ago by Mao Zedong, and inquire after its legacy.
Friday, March 25 The Future for Civil Society and Philanthropy in China Li Li, Chloé Froissart, etc.
1:00PM | The Bookworm | BW25B | 60 RMB Civil society is defined as the “third sector” of society, outside of government and business. It’s a country’s social sphere, and often can contribute as significantly to a country’s stability as its state or market. How do we define China’s civil society, whose very existence relies upon the state, and whose health is closely tied with the strength of the market? For those working
in China’s civil society and philanthropy sectors, what challenges do they face, and how might they overcome them?
In Conversation with a Literary Pioneer Yang Li, moderated by Isolda Morillo
6:00PM | The Bookworm | BW25C | 60 RMB “I remember, I swear: it was the summer of ’74,” writes Yang Li in the poem “Albania. “We had just turned 12 and thought what he’d said outrageously reactionary.” Reactionary wouldn’t be the best way to describe Yang Li, but he certainly draws reactions. One of the most prominent members of China's avantgarde poetry movement, he was a founding member of the hugely influential “Fei Fei” (Not-Not) poetry movement in the 1980s. His poems touch the most banal and personal everyday life events, and sometimes his sexual life takes the center of his prose and stories. With this he seems to attempt to escape moral codes and semantic conventions, finding poetical purity by going to the basics of language. Isolda Morillo, an AP reporter who has published poetry in Chinese, will direct this conversation, which will feature short readings. This event will be in Chinese with English interpretation.
The Violet Hour Sergio Del Molino, moderated by David Lopez 7:30PM | iQiyi | IQ25 | 50 RMB
The Violet Hour is a poignant account of the death of the author’s son from a rare and aggressive form of infant leukemia. But it’s also a celebration of life, in which Sergio del Molino shows us the deepest parts of an inner life confronted with its limitations. Children who lose their parents are orphans, and those who have to close their spouse’s dead eyes are widows and widowers. But we, the parents who sign the documents authorizing our children’s funerals, we have no name, no civil status. We remain parents forever. This event will be held at iQiyi, an official festival venue located next to The Bookworm. 39
Cartoons, Creativity, and Censorship Larry Feign, moderated by Steven Schwankert
8:00PM | The Bookworm | BW25D | 60 RMB Like most political cartoonists, Larry Feign doesn’t back down from sensitive subjects. His hardheadedness has gotten him fired before – from South China Morning Post – but it’s won him ample credibility. His cartoons have appeared in Time, Newsweek, The Economist, Fortune, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Der Spiegel, and Pravda, to name a few, and he’s produced animated cartoons for Cartoon Network and Disney. He’s also published fifteen books and received a number of awards. At this wide-ranging talk, he’ll touch upon the career of a cartoonist, using satire as a form of expression and dissent, differences between Chinese and Western humor, self-censorship (both in China and abroad), the Chinese language, Chinglish, and his book AIEEYAAA!: A Hilarious Look At the Joys and Pitfalls of Life in Hong Kong. Moderated by True Run Media executive editor Steven Schwankert.
Saturday, March 26 The Arts Alive: Identity and New Media in ContemporaryChinese Art Ju Anqi, Tian Xiaolei; moderated by Ellen Larson
10:00AM | The Bookworm | BW26A | 60 RMB Ellen Larson, editor of opengroundblog.com, will lead a discussion with emerging Beijing-based artists about current happenings within Beijing’s vibrant, diverse, and rapidly evolving contemporary art world, introducing viewers to innovative and exciting new trends. Members of the panel will discuss the intersection between their work and contemporary Chinese society, 40
taking inspiration from everyday life experiences, memory, tradition, and the increasingly significant role of technology. Ju Anqi is a filmmaker whose There’s a Strong Wind in Beijing was nominated at the Berlin Film Festival as a milestone in experimental Chinese film, while Tian Xiaolei is a digital artist whose video shorts and animations have received accolades from the Odense International Film Festival and Berlin Interfilm International Short Film Festival. This event will be in Chinese with English interpretation.
Chinese Rules: Mao’s Dog, Deng’s Cat, and Five Timeless Lessons from the Front Lines in China Tim Clissold, moderated by Kevin O’Donnell
12:00PM | The Bookworm | BW26B | 60 RMB Why does Western understanding of China lag so far behind reality? That’s the question author Tim Clissold tackles in Chinese Rules, a part-history, part-memoir adventure story that can provide valuable lessons to any foreigner seeking to live or do business in China. Clissold has lived and worked in China for more than twenty years, cofounding a private equity company that has invested more than US$400 million in the country. He is the author of the memoir Mr. China, which has been translated into twelve languages and was an Economist magazine Book of the Year.
“The Story of My Teeth” and Other Stories from Mexico’s Rising Literary Star Valeria Luiselli, moderated by Christopher Beam
2:00PM | The Bookworm | BW26C | 60 RMB Plato, Montaigne, Borges, Virginia Woolf, Marilyn Monroe, and others are name-dropped in the first part of Valeria Luiselli’s incredible “novel” The Story of My Teeth. Near the end, a series of photos appear, each with a quotation from the likes of H.G. Wells, Rubén Darío, Voltaire. Luiselli’s translator then presents a map of time, before finally ending with an afterword in the
fashion of Roussel. “Valeria Luiselli is as much a cartographer as a writer, interested in finding areas still unmapped,” says The New York Times. In 2014 Luiselli won the National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 award, and her work has appeared in publications such as The New Yorker, Granta, and McSweeney’s.
The Mercenary Mandarin: A Biography of William Mesny David Leffman, moderated by Oscar Holland
2:00PM | iQiyi | IQ26A | 50 RMB
William Mesny (1842–1919) was born in Jersey, ran off to sea as a deckhand at the age of 12, and finally wound up in Shanghai in 1860 at a time when China was being dismembered by foreign powers and civil war. Amid the chaos Mesny became variously a prisoner of the Taiping rebels, a smuggler, a customs official, and an arms dealer. He eventually enlisted as an instructor in the Chinese military where, after five years of fierce campaigning in remote Guizhou province, he rose to the rank of general. David Leffman’s biography of this extraordinary character is the subject of this talk. The author will also discuss the process of writing historical biographies. Moderated by That’s Beijing editor-in-chief Oscar Holland.This event will be held at iQiyi, an official festival venue located next to The Bookworm.
The Hazards and Thrills of Literary Translation Zhiling Gao, Han Yujoo, Yi Sha; moderated by Kelly Falconer
4:00PM | The Bookworm | BW26D | 60 RMB Translating a text requires deconstructing it at every level. Vladimir Nabokov, in his essay “The Art of Translation,” outlines the various pitfalls that threaten every translator, and deduces three requirements that good translators must fulfill. The third of those: “…while having genius and knowledge he must possess the gift of mimicry and be able to act, as it were, the real author’s part by impersonating his tricks of demeanor and speech, his ways and his mind, with the
utmost degree of verisimilitude.” It’s a difficult and humbling task, one that our panel of literary translators knows well. How do they do it, and why?
Year of the Goose Carly Hallman, moderated by Ami Li 4:00PM | iQiyi | IQ26B | 50 RMB
As China’s economy booms, so does its corporations, but none are as successful as the Bashful Goose Snack Company. Founded by Papa Hui, the company is a national treasure, as is his beloved pet goose who steadfastly remains at his side. Papa Hui’s daughter, Kelly, is desperate to prove herself, and jealous of that wretched goose. She heads up the corporate responsibility department where she builds a fat camp for children. It’s a good plan – until the children begin dying in a series of gruesome accidents. Carly Hallman’s debut book, Year of the Goose, is a rollicking, comic, caustic novel, with scenarios that both parody and mirror real life. “It is hard for fiction to match the craziness, energy, contradiction, and exciting implausibility of modern China,” writes James Fallows. “Year of the Goose does that and more.” Moderated by City Weekend Beijing editor-in-chief Ami Li.This event will be held at iQiyi, an official festival venue located next to The Bookworm.
El Impostor Javier Cercas, Chen Zhongyi; moderated by Guillermo Bravo 4:00PM | CS26 | Free (Reservation required by emailing
[email protected]; please include your phone number)
Javier Cercas, one of the most important writers in Spain today, sits with Chen Zhongyi, a Cervantes expert and Spanish translator, for a cross-cultural dialogue moderated by Argentinian writer, editor, and journalist Guillermo Bravo. Cercas is in China to present his latest novel, El Impostor (Chinese translation available), which centers around the exploits of Enric Marco, who in real life lied about serving time in a German concentration camp. The panelists will compare Marco with Don Quixote, as both characters take up new identities to escape 41
their reality. This event is supported by the Embassy of Spain in Beijing, the Cervantes Institute, and People’s Literature Publishing House. It will be in Spanish with simultaneous Chinese interpretation.
The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story Hyeonseo Lee; moderated by Calum MacLeod
6:00PM | The Bookworm | BW26E | 80 RMB When I was seven years old, I saw my first public execution. But I thought my life in North Korea was normal. One day, in 1995, my mom brought home a letter from a coworker’s sister. It read, “When you read this, our five family members will not exist in this world because we haven’t eaten for the past three weeks. We are lying on the floor together, and our bodies are so weak, we are waiting to die.” Don’t miss this extraordinary talk by Hyeonseo Lee, a North Korean defector whose memoir, The Girl With Seven Names, has been published in more than 20 countries, and whose TED Talk has been viewed more than 5 million times. She will explain the circumstances that led her to defect, and the harrowing story of how she returned to China to get her parents out.
Whisky and Writers Alec Ash, Larry Feign, Han Yujoo, Matt Hulse, Valeria Luiselli; hosted by Anthony Tao 8:00PM | The Bookworm | BW26F | 60 RMB non-drinking ticket, 160 RMB drinking ticket
Do you like whisky? How about stories? Put them together and you get the booziest night of the festival, a whisky-and-writing pairing you didn’t think possible. The way it works: five writers will each tell a story, accompanied by a glass of whisky poured for everyone with a drinking ticket. Five whiskies in total, paired with five stories. A very limited number of drinking tickets are available, so get those fast. (The non-drinking tickets still come with a complimentary soft drink, coffee, tea, or wine.) 42
Sunday, March 27 Chinese Filmmaking: From the Indies to Hollywood Julie Makinen, Pema Tseden, Jenny Man Wu, Raymond Zhou; moderated by Clifford Coonan
organizations to fund the marriages of seven couples in California. On the other, NGOs were subjected to tougher crackdowns, and the arrest of five female activists caused a chilling effect across the LGBT community. At this event, several important members from the LGBT movement will share their reflections and visions of both past and future. (Of note: 2016 is an important anniversary as it marks 15 years since the Chinese Psychiatric Association declassified homosexuality as a mental illness.) This event will be in Chinese with English interpretation.
10:00AM | The Bookworm | BW27A | 60 RMB While China’s major film studios continue looking to Hollywood for inspiration – and continue to fast-track projects to capture the attention of foreign audiences – a quiet revolution is happening back home, as a record number of independent films and documentaries are being made every year, screened at small festivals, impromptu theaters, and art houses. What’s the current status of China’s vast filmmaking industry? How does it compare, both internationally and to its own ambitions? And what are the biggest issues confronting Chinese filmmakers and producers today? This panel includes Pema Tseden, an award-winning Tibetan filmmaker (The Search, Tharlo, etc.); Raymond Zhou, a film critic who’s been called “Beijing’s answer to Roger Ebert”; Julie Makinen, former film editor at the Los Angeles Times; and Jenny Man Wu, a filmmaker, film festival organizer, and project manager at a China-Europe coproduction association; moderated by former Hollywood Reporter contributor Clifford Coonan.
China LGBT Panel: The Tumultuous Year That Was Kate, Lotus, Wei Tingting, Ying Xin (Xiao Tie); moderated by Fan Popo 12:00PM | The Bookworm | BW27B | 60 RMB
Looking back, 2015 was a rollercoaster ride for China’s LGBT movement. On one hand, members of the community won lawsuits against psychological clinics, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), the Department of Education, and the Department of Civil Affairs; and Taobao joined with LGBT
Writing Life: The Art Memoir Hyeonseo Lee, Sergio del Molino; moderated by Zhiling Gao
2:00PM | The Bookworm | BW27C | 60 RMB Sergio del Molino and Hyeonseo Lee have both crafted spellbinding, powerful memoirs. Del Molino lost his young son to a rare and aggressive form of leukemia, and his memoir, The Violet Hour, is a moving account that muses on life and death. Lee’s story is also one of life and death – her book, The Girl with Seven Names, is the story of her defection from North Korea, her decade spent in China, and the subsequent escape of her parents. This session will be moderated by Zhiling Gao, currently working on a social memoir set in her birthplace of Inner Mongolia.
China’s Future Perfect Hu Xingdou, Melinda Liu, David Moser, Joerg Wuttke
4:00PM | The Bookworm | BW27D | 60 RMB
Ibero-American Literature Javier Cercas, Sergio del Molino, Valeria Luiselli; moderated by Guillermo Bravo
6:00PM | The Bookworm | BW27E | 60 RMB Javier Cercas is a writer and professor of Spanish literature at the University of Girona. He is the author of several books, using “historical memory” to focus on the Spanish Civil War and the Franco dictatorship. Sergio del Molino is the author of the memoir The Violet Hour, a poignant account of the death of his son from a rare and aggressive form of infant leukemia. And Valeria Luiselli is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared in publications including The New York Times, The New Yorker, Granta, and McSweeney’s. These three leading writers will discuss their own work and writing life, and the wider world of Ibero-American literature in the current day. This event will be in English.
Literary Quiz Show Kaiser Kuo and Anthony Tao host
8:00PM | The Bookworm | BW27F | Free Three teams comprising authors and journalists compete in this game-show-style contest to determine the most literary of them all. Watch as contestants puzzle over questions ranging from Shakespeare to Snape, Tom Sawyer to Jonathan Seagull. Special audience questions will be scattered throughout the evening, with prizes! If nothing else, come help us celebrate the conclusion of the 10th Bookworm Literary Festival – and, of course, stay for the afterparty.
What kind of future is China building, and what role can we all play? Now is the time for big and bold ideas. This Future Perfect discussion will summarize all the themes previously explored in the China Future Perfect series, then try to answer the hardest question of them all: how does this country create the cleanest, most stable, innovative, and sustainable future for itself ? A historian, a journalist, an academic, and a financial expert will speculate. Brought to you in cooperation with The Royal Asiatic Society, Beijing.
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Children’s Events
Monday, March 14
Monday, March 21
[Ages 9-12] Reading Lewis Carroll is Prohibited
[Ages 8+] Around the World in 70 Minutes
Diego Arboleda
Frané Lessac
Diego Arboleda is a Spanish author who won multiple awards for his 2014 book Prohibido leer a Lewis Carroll – Reading Lewis Carroll is Prohibited. This children’s event will be a tribute to Lewis Carroll and his timeless masterpiece, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, which celebrated its 150th birthday just last year.
Go on a book safari and travel to the islands of the Caribbean, the deserts of the Sahara, and the jungles of the Amazon with author and illustrator Frané Lessac, who will give you ideas to help develop, plan, and design your own book inspired by the wonders of the world. Children will commence working on their own individual books. Lessac has published more than 40 children’s books throughout the world, many of them inspired by her love of travel. In 2010 she was presented the Muriel Barwell Award for Distinguished Service to Children’s Literature.
10:30am | The Bookworm | BW14A | 60 RMB
Sunday, March 13 [Ages 7-12] This Writer’s Life Jane Godwin
10:30AM | The Bookworm | BW13A | 60 RMB Jane Godwin talks about her life as a writer for children and young people. She explores inspiration and generating ideas; the writing process itself with its many challenges, mysteries, and rewards; collaborating with illustrators; and being published. Godwin is the former Publisher for Young Readers at Penguin Books Australia, a highly acclaimed author of many books for children, including bestselling picture books Little Cat and the Big Red Bus, All Through the Year, Today We Have No Plans, Starting School, and, most recently, Bear Make Den and Hattie Helps Out.
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Tuesday, March 15 [Ages 9-14] Maori Legends of New Zealand David Hill
10:30AM | The Bookworm | BW15A | 60 RMB Writer David Hill will tell the Maori legend of how the hero Maui fished part of New Zealand up from the sea – which explains the country’s present shape – and read some of his stories. Combining mythology and geography, this session will introduce listeners to a part of the world full of magic and wonder. Over his long career, Hill has received multiple awards for his children’s and young adult writing, for books such as See Ya, Simon, Coming Back, and My Brother’s War. Hill has been writing full time since 1983, and his books have been translated into French, German, Danish, Dutch, Chinese, Slovenian, Japanese, and Korean.
10:30AM | The Bookworm | BW21A | 60 RMB
Thursday, March 24 [Ages 6-10] Dinosaurs, Meerkats, and Other Talking Animals Ian Whybrow
Tuesday, March 22 [Ages 6-12] Writing Workshop: Strange Objects Mark Greenwood
10:30AM | The Bookworm | BW22A | 60 RMB Become excited and intrigued by objects and curiosities. Make your own strange-objects book. Discover how they connect us with history and how strange objects can inspire creative writing. The famed children’s writer Mark Greenwood, who has twice received the West Australian Premier’s Award and the West Australian Young Readers’ Book Award, will lead this workshop, which also includes an illustration component. Greenwood’s books have been published internationally, examining myths and legends and promoting multiculturalism.
10:30AM| The Bookworm | BW24A | 60 RMB Ian Whybrow, one of the UK’s favorite children’s authors, talks about how animals have influenced a great many of the 100-plus books he has written, including Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs – which was adapted into a 104-episode animated series – and Meerkat Madness, the first in his Awesome Animals series. Whybrow’s books have been translated into nearly 30 languages and have won awards in multiple countries, and one of them, Little Wolf ’s Book of Badness, was adapted into an award-winning movie and play.
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Workshops Sunday, March 20 WORKSHOP: The Writer Within Ofir Touché Gafla
12:00PM | The Opposite House | OH20 | 200 RMB Award-winning author and creative writing instructor Ofir Touché Gafla leads this workshop that examines the creative process and provides tips for taking your writing to the next level. Gafla will discuss the myriad advantages of fiction writing, how to approach the daunting task of translating an idea into a full-blown story, the marriage of content and structure, developing one’s voice, and looking for the writer within through getting acquainted with one’s profound subtext. Gafla is the author of six novels, including The World of the End, The Day the Music Died, and The Book of Disorder, and teaches creative writing at the Sam Spiegel School of TV and Cinema in Jerusalem. He has also been a guest teacher at the University of Texas, Austin. This event will be held in Mesh at The Opposite House. See Page 93 for an address and map.
Thursday, March 24
Saturday, March 26
WORKSHOP: Nonfiction Writing
WORKSHOP: Cartoon Creation from Concept to Finish
Edward Platt
7:30PM| iQiyi | IQ24 | 200 RMB Award-winning nonfiction writer Edward Platt will introduce key literary techniques in creative nonfiction and discuss how to structure an appealing concept in the genre. He will look at common problems faced by writers in the research and writing process, and offer advice on how to approach agents and publishers with an idea. Platt will begin by introducing his books, how he came to write them and the form they take, before moving on to group writing exercises (e.g., autobiographical writing, character invention, scene-setting, etc.). Discussions near the end will center on how to get works published. The ideal participant is someone interested in writing nonfiction of any kind – memoir, travel book, nature writing, or long-form journalism. This event will be held at iQiyi, an official festival venue located next to The Bookworm.
Larry Feign
2:00PM | The Opposite House | OH26 | 200 RMB From comic strips to graphic novels to animation, here’s a workshop for all ages, from child to adult, and any level of drawing experience, from none whatsoever to advanced. Learn the process of cartoon creation from a master of the genre, the very funny and award-winning Larry Feign, who has published fifteen books and whose works have appeared in publications such as Time, Newsweek, The Economist, Fortune, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Der Spiegel, and Pravda. Feign will begin with a brief demonstration of how various famous characters are constructed, then assign some brief, fun drawing exercises. A significant portion of the workshop will be about conceiving ideas and writing gags. As Feign says: a well-written cartoon can get away with bad artwork, but a well-drawn cartoon cannot get away with bad writing. Participants will learn techniques that can be used every day to create funny and meaningful cartoons. Note: this will be a “digital” drawing workshop… meaning FINGERS, not electronics. Drawing materials – 1) black pencil (2B hardness recommended), 2) light blue pencil, 3) eraser / rubber, 4) white paper – will be provided, but participants are encouraged to bring their own if they would like. This event will be held in Mesh at The Opposite House. See Page 93 for an address and map.
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authors
Eric Abrahamson
Olga Alimova
tion whose purpose is to further and promote Spain’s culture and heritage within and beyond its borders.
Alec Ash
A Yi
A Yi (real name Ai Guozhu) is “one of the most gifted Chinese authors in recent times,” according to Nobel-nominated poet Bei Dao. His star has been rising in the global literary scene as well: he’s been published in Granta and The Guardian, and A Perfect Crime, his first novel translated into English, was published in June 2015. He is the author of two other novels in Chinese, Now, What Shall I Do Next? and Where Is Spring, and the short story collections Grey Stories and The Bird Saw Me. Before settling down at age 32 to write fiction, A Yi worked as a police officer, secretary, and editor, with a brief stint as editor-in-chief of the edgy literary magazine Chutzpah.
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Eric Abrahamsen has lived in Beijing since 2001, when he came to study Chinese. He now works as a translator, editor, and publishing consultant, and manages the website Paper Republic, providing information about Chinese literature in English. He edits Pathlight magazine, and his most recent translation, of Xu Zechen’s Running Through Beijing, was published by Two Lines Press in 2014.
Olga Alimova manages the Beijing Science Fiction Club. She is working towards a PhD in economics from the Beijing Institute of Technology, and is fluent in English, Russian, and Romanian.
Diego Arboleda
Theresa Ahdieh
Theresa Ahdieh relocated with her family from the U.S. in February 2011. She relocated as a trailing spouse and a mother of Monique, 17, and Ty, 9. Ahdieh is very active in Beijing’s expat community as a contributing member of Beijing Mama’s Yahoo group, and as president of the International Newcomer’s Network (INN).
Diego Arboleda is a children’s author famous in his native Spain as a storyteller and for his original narratives. He was born in Sweden in 1976 but grew up in Madrid, where he developed his passion for classical stories while working in one of the city’s premier bookshops. In 2014 he won the National Children’s and Young People’s Literature Award for Prohibido leer a Lewis Carroll (“Reading Lewis Carroll is Prohibited”), a book that received international acclaim and has since been published in China in Chinese. Arboleda’s latest book is Los descazadores de especies perdidas (“The Unhunters of Lost Species”). Brought to you with the kind support of Acción Cultural Española (AC/E), a public institu-
and speaks several languages.
Ragnar Baldursson
nalism in China, a book of eight cases on Chinese watchdog journalism. In addition to his work with China Media Project, Bandurski is a producer of Chinese independent films through his Hong Kong production company, Lantern Films. His most recent feature, Shadow Days, directed by Zhao Dayong, showed at the 2014 Hong Kong International Film Festival. Brought to you with the kind support of Penguin China.
Graeme Base Alec Ash is a writer and journalist. He was born in England and has been writing from Beijing since 2008. His articles have appeared in The Economist, Prospect, Dissent, Foreign Policy, and elsewhere. He is a correspondent for the Los Angeles Review of Books, contributing author to the book of reportage Chinese Characters, and co-editor of While We’re Here, an anthology of stories from China. His book about young China, Wish Lanterns, is forthcoming from Picador in June. Twitter: @alecash
Alan Babinton-Smith
Alan Babington-Smith has lived in China all this century (16 years total), and is the founding president of The Royal Asiatic Society, Beijing. He holds a Masters Degree from Cambridge University UK in History and Economics,
Ragnar Baldursson is a diplomat and scholar of Chinese philosophy, and author of Nineteen Seventy-Six, a firsthand account of life in post-revolutionary China. Baldursson is the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Iceland in Beijing and has served in the Icelandic foreign ministry for more than 20 years. He was one of the first foreign students admitted to study at Peking University in the 1970s, where he gained a BA in Philosophy. He has translated the Analects of Confucius and the Daodejing into Icelandic.
David Bandurski
David Bandurski is a researcher at the University of Hong Kong’s China Media Project and editor of the project’s website. He is the author of Dragons in Diamond Village, a book of reportage about urbanization in China (Penguin Random House, 2015), and co-author of Investigative Jour-
Graeme Base is one of the world’s leading creators of picture books. His alphabet book Animalia received international acclaim when it was first published in 1986, and has sold around three million copies worldwide, in addition to inspiring an animated TV series. Other books include The Eleventh Hour, My Grandma Lived in Gooligulch, The Sign of the Seahorse, The Waterhole, Jungle Drums, and Uno’s Garden. In 2007, Uno’s Garden featured in six major awards and was winner of three: Speech Pathology Book of the Year, younger readers; The Green Earth Book, USA; The Wilderness Society Environment Award. Graeme’s latest book is Eye to Eye. Brought to you with the kind support of the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Embassy of Australia in Beijing.
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Christopher Beam
Christopher Beam is a writer living in Beijing. His articles have appeared in The New Republic, The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Bloomberg Businessweek, New York Magazine, Travel + Leisure, and GQ. Before moving to Beijing, he was a political reporter for Slate in Washington D.C.
Bidisha
Bidisha is a British writer and BBC broadcaster specializing in human rights, international affairs, and the arts and culture. She does outreach work in UK prisons and detention centers and was recently an International Reporting Project 2013 Fellow, working with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to raise awareness of global health and development issues. She is a trustee of the Booker Prize Foundation. Her most recent book, her fifth, is Asylum and Exile: Hidden Voices of London, following the 2012 publication of her internationally acclaimed Beyond the Wall: Writing a Path Through Palestine. 52
Jon Bilbao
Jon Bilbao (b. 1972 in Ribadesella, Spain) studied mining engineering and English literature. His first novel El hermano de las moscas (2008) was a revision of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. In 2010 he published Padres, hijos y primates, available in English under the title Still the Same Man, which explores man’s deepest and darkest instincts. Shakespeare y la ballena blanca, published in 2013, is a reflection on the creative process that brings together William Shakespeare and Moby Dick in a historical tragedy. Bilbao’s short stories have been widely anthologized, and he has three short fiction collections. Brought to you with the kind support of Acción Cultural Española (AC/E), a public institution whose purpose is to further and promote Spain’s culture and heritage within and beyond its borders.
Richard Blanco
Richard Blanco is the fifth inaugural poet in US history — the youngest, first Latino, immigrant, and gay person to serve in such a role. Born in
Madrid to Cuban-exiled parents and raised in Miami, the negotiation of cultural identity and place characterize his body of work. He is the author of the memoirs The Prince of Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood and For All of Us, One Today: An Inaugural Poet’s Journey; the poetry chapbooks One Today and Boston Strong; and the poetry collections Looking for the Gulf Motel, Directions to the Beach of the Dead, and City of a Hundred Fires.
Rosie Blau
Rosie Blau is China correspondent for The Economist, based in Beijing. She joined The Economist in May 2011 as a reporter on the Britain section, where she covered energy, transport, and a range of other areas. She was then seconded Intelligent Life as Associate Editor. Prior to joining The Economist she worked at the Financial Times. Her jobs there included Books Editor, Leader Writer, and Assistant World News Editor. She served as a judge for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2010.
Dionne Brand
and editor. He is the founder of La Guepe Cartonnerie and Alba magazine, and currently a member of Cathay Publisher. He is the author of the books No le cuentes a nadie, El cuchillo, Server Error y otros cuentos, Pene Primavera, and Chorno.
Matthew Byrne
Alexandra Büchler Dionne Brand, who grew up in Trinidad, is a renowned Canadian poet, novelist, filmmaker, educator, and activist. Her latest novel is Love Enough. Her literary honors include the Griffin Poetry Prize (for Ossuaries), the Governor General’s Literary Award, the Trillium Book Award, the Toronto Book Award (for What We Long For), and the 2006 Harbourfront Festival Prize for her contribution to the world of books and writing. She was Toronto’s third Poet Laureate from 2009-12; her poetry collections include Land to Light On, Thirsty, and Inventory. Brand is also a prolific author of nonfiction on subjects of gender, race, identity, and the African diaspora. Brought to you with the kind support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Embassy of Canada in Beijing, and the International Festival of Authors, Toronto.
Guillermo Bravo
Guillermo Bravo is an Argentinian writer, journalist,
Alexandra Büchler is director of Literature Across Frontiers. A translator and editor of numerous publications, she has worked as cultural manager for thirty years, and served on the board of the advocacy network Culture Action Europe and of the UK Translators’ Association. She is the editor of the New Voices from Europe and Beyond series of contemporary poetry anthologies from Arc Publications, UK. She has translated more than twenty-five books of fiction and poetry. Her translation of the Czech modern classic The House of a Thousand Floors by Jan Weiss is her most recent work. Brought to you in cooperation with Literature Across Frontiers and the Literary Europe Live project, supported by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union and co-financed by Wales Arts International.
Matthew Byrne has an MA in Creative Writing from Manchester Metropolitan University. He’s been reading poetry for many years in England and now China and has shared the stage with many renowned poets, including the English Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy. He has published a poetry magazine called UNSUNG in his home city of Manchester and he is the founder of Spittoon, a successful Beijing poetry night held every month.
Javier Cercas
Javier Cercas (b. 1962 in Cáceres, Spain) is a writer and professor of Spanish literature at the University of Girona. He is the author of several books, using “historical memory” to focus on the Spanish Civil War and the Franco dictatorship. Among his works translated to English are Soldados de Salamina (Soldiers of Salamis), La velocidad de la luz (The Speed of Light), Anatomía de un instante (The Anatomy of a Moment), and Las leyes de la frontera (Outlaws). His latest, El impostor, 53
tells the story of Enric Marco, a faked “hero” against Nazism and Franco. Cercas is also a frequent contributor to the Catalan edition of El país, and also translates English and Catalan literature into Spanish. Brought to you with the kind support of the Embassy of Spain in Beijing and People’s Literature Publishing House.
Josh Chin
phasizes fashion, elegance, and the values of peace and nonviolence. Brought to you with the kind support of the Embassy of France in China and the French Institute – Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Tim Clissold
Joy Chen
Joy Chen, formerly the deputy mayor of Los Angeles, is an internationally acclaimed Chinese American writer and media personality. She is the author of the China bestseller Do Not Marry Before Age 30, which debunks conventional wisdom that single women are “leftover” by their late 20s, and helps them unlock their potential and realize their dreams. Chen partners with top media companies to create movies, television shows, and viral videos to delight and entertain modern Chinese audiences. She currently has a movie in development with Wanda Media, and one with Alibaba Pictures. Additionally, she is working on her first novel.
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Josh Chin covers China’s politics and society for the Wall Street Journal. He has been reporting on China off and on for the past 15 years. He earned the Journal’s first Emmy nomination (for a video about a subprime lending crisis on the Mongolian steppe) and later went on to edit the newspaper’s China Real Time blog.
Frédéric Ciriez
Frédéric Ciriez (b. 1971) is a French writer, the author of two novels (Des néons sous la mer, 2008; Mélo, 2013), short stories, a scenario for a fulllength feature film (La Loi de la jungle, Antonin Peretjatko), an essay on writer Raymond Roussel, and multiple reviews on French literary news. His novel Mélo was adapted into a play by scene producer David Bobée in 2015. Ciriez is an aficionado of the Sape movement — SAPE a French acronym for the “Society of Ambiance-makers and Elegant Persons” — which was born in the war-torn streets of Brazzaville and Kinshasa and em-
biggest story of change as Beijing correspondent for The Irish Times. He has previously written for The Independent and The Times. He is passionate about the development of the Chinese film market, and has contributed to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. Before moving to Beijing, he was a Reuters correspondent for seven years. He is a graduate of Trinity College in Dublin.
Michael Crummey
Tim Clissold has lived and worked in China for more than twenty years. After graduating with degrees in physics and theoretical physics from Cambridge, and working in London, Australia, and Hong Kong, he moved to Beijing, where he eventually cofounded a private equity company that has invested more than $400 million. He is the author of the memoir Mr. China, which has been translated into twelve languages and was an Economist magazine Book of the Year, and most recently Chinese Rules: Mao’s Dog, Deng’s Cat, and Five Timeless Lessons from the Front Lines in China.
Clifford Coonan
Clifford Coonan has worked as a correspondent for the past 13 years in China, enjoying a front-row seat on the world’s
Amy Daml
Becky Davis
Amy Daml hosts the radio program The Pulse on 91.5 FM in Beijing and runs the Listen section of the arts and culture website Loreli (loreli-china.com). In her spare time, you can find her writing stories about her expat misadventures, voice acting in TV dramas, hosting Beijing Storytellers events, or recording bands for Loreli.
Becky Davis is a China correspondent for Agence France-Presse, covering issues ranging from human rights to politics and the arts. She previously worked for Le Monde and The New York Times in Beijing. Before her career in journalism, Davis worked in HIV prevention at a public health NGO in Yunnan province. She is also a translator of essays on Chinese contemporary art.
Jordan Darling Michael Crummey is an award-winning poet, novelist, and short story writer who was born in Buchans, a mining town in Newfoundland’s interior. His debut novel, River Thieves (2001), was a Canadian bestseller and won multiple awards. His latest novel, Sweetland, tells the story of one man’s battle to keep his Newfoundland home. Crummey’s poetry has been described as generous, genuine, rich, and warm, with some form of grace always present to redeem whatever hardships his characters endure. His works have appeared in a wide range of magazines and anthologies, including twice in the League of Canadian Poets’ annual contest anthology. Brought to you with the kind support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Embassy of Canada in Beijing, and the International Festival of Authors, Toronto.
Jordan Darling is an ever-evolving singer-songwriter and a transplant from the balmy beaches of South Florida. She first tried her hand at songwriting at the tender age of 8, capturing the angst and emotional depth of childhood with lyrics such as “is there a spray/to keep my siblings away,” but began to write and perform in earnest at 17. Her music is lyric-focused, and her songs are playful, wry, intimate, and full of imagery drawn from myths, stories, and poems. She now makes her home in Beijing and frequents the Gulou music scene.
Sergio Del Molino
Sergio del Molino (Madrid, 1979) is the author of the memoir The Violet Hour, a poignant account of the death of his son from a rare and aggressive form of infant leukemia. The book won the Premio Ojo Crítico de Narrativa 2013 and Premio Tigre Juan 2014. Del Molino has also published short stories, works of research, and a collection of nonfiction. He won the Premio de Literatura Joven del Gobierno de Aragón for fiction, and his first novel was chosen as one of the best ten books of 2012 by the Spanish Booksellers As55
sociation. He currently lives in Zaragoza, where he writes a Sunday column for Heraldo de Aragón. Brought to you with the kind support of Acción Cultural Española (AC/E), a public institution whose purpose is to further and promote Spain’s culture and heritage within and beyond its borders.
George Ding
tional Original Project.
Publication
Robert Drewe
Charlotte Edwards-Zhang
he also teaches the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) courses Theory of Knowledge and Global Politics (for which he was one of the pilot course teachers) at YCIS Beijing.
Kelly Falconer
Agnès Desarthe George Ding is a Beijing-based writer and screenwriter. His work has appeared in VICE, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. Previously, he was the back-page columnist for the Beijinger from 2012 to 2015.
Bao Dongni Agnès Desarthe is the author of more than 30 children’s books, nine novels, an essay on Virginia Woolf (with Geneviève Brisac), and a story on the dual portrait of her grandfather, education specialist Janusz Korczak. She is also an award-winning translator who has translated into French the works of Loïs Lowry, Anne Fine, Cynthia Ozick, Jay McInerney, and Woolf. She won the Livre Inter Prize in 1996 for her novel Un secret sans importance, the Marcel Pagnol and Virgin/ version Femina prizes for Le remplaçant, and the Renaudot Prize for High-schoolers for The Foundling. Her latest book, Ce Coeur changeant, received the 2015 Le Monde Literary Prize. Brought to you with the kind support of the Embassy of France in China and the French Institute – Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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Bao Dongni (b. 1961, Beijing) is a children’s author who graduated from Beijing Normal University in 1995 with a Master’s degree in Modern Literature. She was the editor-in-chief of Marriage and Family, sponsored by the All-China Women’s Federation, and the picture magazine Super Baby. Since 1990 she has published more than 200 children’s and picture books, and has won numerous awards, including the National Outstanding Children’s Literature Prize, National Outstanding YA Books Prize, Most Beautiful Book Across the Taiwan Strait, etc. Her work was recommended in the 100 Outstanding YA Books by the State Administration of Publication of the PRC and the Na-
Robert Drewe is one of Australia’s most prominent literary authors of fiction, nonfiction, and memoir. He has won many of Australian literature’s top prizes, and The Drowner made Australian literary history by winning the premier’s literary prize in every state. His books have also been adapted for the screen, theater, and radio, with Our Sunshine made into the film Ned Kelly, and The Shark Net and The Bodysurfers appearing on Australian and international television screens. Drewe has an honorary doctorate in literature from the University of Queensland, and an honorary doctorate of letters from the University of Western Australia. Brought to you with the kind support of the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Embassy of Australia in Beijing.
Charlotte Edwards-Zhang is a kindergarten teacher by day and a freelance parenting writer by night. She writes a monthly parenting column in Tianjin Today and discusses the joys and challenges of raising kids in China. She’s a regular contributor to Hawaii Parent, writes for several parenting blogs and websites, and blogs about real life in small-town China at ChinesePotpourri. com. Edwards has a degree in Elementary Education, which she’s used in various capacities in China since 2005. She lives south of Beijing with the most frequent inspiration for her writing: her Chinese husband, son, daughter, and in-laws, who are just a few buildings away.
Gareth Evans
Larry Feign Kelly Falconer founded the Asia Literary Agency in March 2013 to represent Asian authors, experts on Asia, and writers living in the region. Previously she was a London-based editor of fiction and non-fiction working inhouse and as a freelancer for literary agents, scout, and publishers including Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Orion Books, Virgin Books, Granta magazine, and Constable & Robinson. In 2012 she was the literary editor of the Hong Kong-based Asia Literary Review and she has contributed to the Financial Times, the Times Literary Supplement, and the Spectator.
Popo Fan
Gareth Evans, originally from the UK, has been a teacher for 31 years across multiple countries, including the UK, Kenya, Tanzania, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and China. While his academic specialty is literature,
the author of Happy Together: Complete Record of a Hundred Queer Films, and his documentary films include New Beijing, New Marriage; Mama Rainbow; and The VaChina Monologues, among others. He has participated in international film festivals in Taipei, Copenhagen, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and other places. In 2012 he received the Prism Prize at the 22nd Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. He is currently on the committee of the Beijing Queer Film Festival and board member of the Beijing LGBT Center.
Larry Feign has been disappointing his mother since the age of 7, when he started writing stories and cartoons for his primary school magazine. Mom is not satisfied that his cartoons have appeared in such insignificant journals as Time, Newsweek, The Economist, Fortune, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Der Spiegel, and Pravda, to name a few, or that he’s produced animated cartoons for obscure little companies like Cartoon Network and Disney. She’s not happy that he’s published only 15 books or received a number of awards. All of this only postpones her goal of being able to utter the magic words: “My son the doctor.”
Fan Popo is a queer filmmaker, writer, and activist. Born in 1985, he is a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy. He is 57
Jesse Field
seums around the country and abroad. Brought to you with the kind support of the Embassy of Uruguay in Beijing.
Chloé Froissart
Jocelyn Ford
Jesse Field has been teaching, writing, and translating in Beijing since 2012. This coming year, look for his translations from the Chinese, including work by historian Ge Zhaoguang and thriller-romance from Cai Jun. Field teaches in the Beijing schools, encouraging young people to read, write, and learn their whole lives through.
Fernando Foglino
Fernando Foglino (b. 1976) is a poet and visual artist who lives and works in Montevideo, Uruguay. In 2004 he published the poetry collection Kate 500 Km, and in 2007 published Vodka. In 2009 he was awarded a scholarship to Berlin for “Clipoemas,” an audiovisual piece, and in 2011 he won second prize in the Grand Prix Paul Cezanne in Paris. In 2013 he published La máquina del Movimiento Contínuo and, the year after, the poetry collection Link. Since 2008, he has been exhibited at solo and group exhibitions in mu58
Jocelyn Ford is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker who has lived in Asia for three decades. For more than ten years she was bureau chief for U.S. public radio’s premier business show, Marketplace, first in Tokyo and then in Beijing. In 2014 she made her directorial debut with the documentary Nowhere To Call Home: A Tibetan in Beijing, which premiered at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, about a traditional Tibetan family trying to survive in contemporary China. Ford, the former chair of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China’s media freedom committee, is a pioneer in pushing for media freedom and giving voice to marginalized groups.
writing in the Sam Spiegel School of TV and Cinema in Jerusalem. Brought to you with the kind support of the Embassy of the State of Israel in Beijing.
Zhiling Gao
Chloé Froissart is a senior researcher at the French Center for Research on Contemporary China (Hong Kong) and Director of the Tsinghua University Sino-French Center in Social Sciences. Her research focuses on civil society development, political participation, citizenship, labor, and environmental politics in China. She sits on the editorial boards of China Perspectives and Critique Internationale.
Ofir Touché Gafla
Ofir Touché Gafla was born in Israel. His bestselling first novel, The World of the End — about a man who commits suicide 18 months following the bizarre death of his wife, who then finds himself amongst strange characters in the even stranger world of the afterlife — won the 2005 Geffen Award for best fantasy/science fiction novel of the year and the 2006 Kugel Award for Hebrew literature. His later novels include The Cataract in the Mind’s Eye, Behind the Fog, and The Day the Music Died. He teaches creative
Zhiling Gao is an interpreter, literary translator, language teacher, broadcaster, and author. She has taught courses in Chinese language and culture at Melbourne University. Her short story “Mao’s Great Mangifera Parade” won the Victorian Writers Centre’s Grace Marion Wilson award. Gao is an Asialink writer-in-residence, hosted by The Bookworm in Beijing. She is currently working on a social memoir, A Bag of Power, set in her birthplace of Inner Mongolia, which explores the behavior of ordinary people under extraordinary circumstances through the eyes of a child of the time. She currently resides in Melbourne, Australia.
Roxane Gay
Roxane Gay is the bestselling author of Bad Feminist, An Untamed State, Ayiti, and the
forthcoming Hunger. She is a prolific writer of both fiction and nonfiction, tackling subjects ranging from gender, race, sexuality, education, class, and privilege to loneliness, body image, identity, and Scrabble. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Best American Mystery Stories 2014, Best American Short Stories 2012, Best Sex Writing 2012, Time, The New York Times Book Review, The Los Angeles Times, The Nation, Salon, and many others. She is currently co-editor of the literary magazine PANK.
Julien Girault
Julien Girault, 31, is a Beijing-based business reporter for the international newswire AFP. He grew up in Brittany and graduated from Sciences Po Paris. He worked in Paris and London before settling in Beijing three years ago. An avid reader and traveller, he’s especially interested in intercultural connections, Chinese classical and modern literature, and Shanghai history, while trying to keep an eye on the prolific and thriving literature of the French-speaking world.
Jane Godwin
Jane Godwin is the former Publisher for Young Readers at Penguin Books Australia. She is also a highly acclaimed author of many books for children, including the bestselling picture books Little Cat and the Big Red Bus, All Through the Year, Today We Have No Plans, Starting School, and, most recently, What Do You Wish For? (published with Anna Walker). Her many commendations include the Queensland Premier’s Award (Children’s Books), the Aurealis Award, and the Animal Welfare Award. Godwin’s most recent novels are Bear Make Den and Hattie Helps Out. Brought to you with the kind support of the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Embassy of Australia in Beijing.
Sandra Greenwell
Sandra Greenwell comes from the Land Down Under and has been working in international schools for the last 15 years. A librarian by profession, Green59
well is also an EAL teacher and an IELTS examiner. She enjoys reading science fiction and fantasy, and some of her favorite authors include Anne McCaffrey and Patrick Ness.
Sonthar Gyal
Mark Greenwood
Mark Greenwood is an author with a passion for history. His award-winning books, such as The Donkey of Gallipoli and Jandamarra, examine myths and legends, and have been published and honored internationally. He has twice received the West Australian Premier’s Award and the West Australian Young Readers’ Book Award. Greenwood often teams with his wife, illustrator Frané Lessac, to produce books that promote understanding of multicultural issues, such as Drummer Boy of John John, Magic Boomerang, Outback Adventure, and Our Big Island. Greenwood’s other books include The Mayflower and Midnight and the recent Boomerang and Bat. Supported by an Artflight grant from Western Australia’s Department of Culture and the Arts.
Sonthar Gyal is a renowned Tibetan cinematographer and artistic director, working with Tibetan filmmaker Pema Tseden on The Silent Holy Stones, The Search, and Old Dog. A graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, Gyal is also a prominent member of the first generation of Tibetan filmmakers. In 2011, his debut feature film, The Sun Beaten Path, competed at the Locarno Film Festival and won the Vancouver International Film Festival’s prestigious Dragons & Tigers Award for Young Cinema. River is his latest feature, which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Haiyun Jimeng
Haiyun Jimeng (laic names Chen, Ho Shan), born 1950 in Taiwan, is a thinker, speaker, religious leader, and scholar. In the early 1990s he quit his official post in Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and pledged to work in the “spiritual economy.” He established the Huayen Community of Taiwan to propagate Huayen 60
studies, the most difficult and profound of Buddhist dharma. Haiyun is the author of many books, including the bilingual Our Only Choice: A New Vision for the Long-Term Survival of Humanity and the Earth, and holds several posts, including head of the Huayen Research Institute at Shaanxi Normal University and guest professor at Lanzhou University.
Han Song
Writers Award for her short story “To the Moon” in 2003 and the prestigious Hankook Ilbo Literary Award in 2009. Han currently teaches and runs the independent press Oulipopress. Her most recent book is the novel The Impossible Fairytale (2013).
he is also chief editor of “Read Paper Republic,” a new initiative to showcase a weekly translation online.
He Xiaopei
Tom Hancock
Carly Hallman
Carly J. Hallman is author of the novel Year of the Goose, which has won praise as a “scathing satire of tycoon culture and political corruption, set in present-day China” (Publishers Weekly) and “more excitingly implausible than the real-world originals and also much more entertaining… an absurdist comedy with some sharp and serious social observations” (James Fallows, The Atlantic). Hallman has a degree in English writing and rhetoric from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, and has a forthcoming Kindle Single about growing up in a Walmart. She lives in Beijing.
Han Song is one of China’s most prolific — and best, according to the Los Angeles Times — science fiction writers. His novels include Let’s Go Look for Aliens, about UFO-spotters in China, Manmade Man, about clones, and Subway. He has won multiple Galaxy Awards, China’s highest profile sci-fi prize, and is regularly cited as an influence by younger writers. Han also works at the state news agency Xinhua. According to Paper Republic, “It becomes clear, reading his writing, that science fiction is merely a slightly warped mirror with which to reflect modern Chinese society.” As a result, much of his work is banned in mainland China.
Tom Hancock is a China correspondent for Agence-France Presse, reporting on a wide range of issues in politics, international affairs, human rights, society, culture, and the arts. He lives in Beijing.
Dave Haysom
Han Yujoo
Han Yujoo is a writer and translator born in Seoul in 1982. She has published five books and translated Michael Ondaatje’s The Cat’s Table and Geoff Dyer’s But Beautiful and The Ongoing Moment into Korean. She was awarded the Literature and Society’s New
He Xiaopei is executive director of the Pink Space Sexuality Research Center in Beijing, an NGO she co-founded in 2007 that provides a platform for minority groups, especially women and children, to tell their stories. Prior to that, He gave up her job in the State Council to enter a master’s program in the UK on gender and development studies. She is a rights advocate for those living with HIV/AIDS, sex workers, those from the LGBT community, and the disabled. She’s also the director of several short films that shed light on these issues.
Ray Hecht
Dave Haysom has been living and working in Beijing since graduating from Leeds University with a degree in Classical Literature and English in 2007. He first started translating short stories at spittingdog.net, and has since contributed essays and translations to publications including Asymptote and Words Without Borders. In 2014 he took over as joint managing editor at Pathlight, a quarterly journal of Chinese poetry and prose;
Ray Hecht, born in the 1980s in Israel, grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, before moving to Long Beach, California, and then to China in 2008. He is the author of the recently published South China Morning Blues, his first novel, about 61
a set of idiosyncratic expats trying to make sense of the modern China in which they reside. Hecht has spent time all over the Pearl River Delta zone, from Shenzhen to Guangzhou to Hong Kong. He found his passion as an observer of contemporary Chinese culture, and wrote and edited for Shenzhen Daily – the only daily English-language newspaper in Guangdong province – along with other freelance projects.
Nico Helminger
Nico Helminger (b. 1953) is a novelist, playwright, and poet from Luxembourg who has studied and worked in Berlin, Vienna, Paris, etc. Among his many prizes is the most important culture award in Luxembourg, the Prix Batty Weber, which he won in 2008. He writes poetry, prose, drama, radio plays, and libretti in Luxembourgish and German. Among his recent works are “zu schwankender zeit und an schwankendem ort” (in volatile times and in a volatile place, 2012), the novel “lëtzebuerger léiwen” (Luxembourgian Lions, 2013), the poetry collection “abrasch” (2013), and the novel Autopsy (2014). Brought to you with the kind support of the Embassy of Luxembourg in Beijing, the Luxembourg Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Luxembourg National Center of Literature.
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David Hill
David Hill is a multiple-award-winning author of fiction and nonfiction books for children and adults, including the Esther Glen Medal (NZ) for Fat-Four-Eyed and Useless and Right Where it Hurts. He won a Notable Children’s Book Award in the US for See Ya, Simon, which also was awarded the NES Times Educational Award in the UK and the Silver Feather Award in Germany. Coming Back won two awards in France, and most recently, My Brother’s War was honored several times. Hill has been writing full time since 1983, and his books have been translated into French, German, Danish, Dutch, Chinese, Slovenian, Japanese, and Korean. Brought to you with the kind support of the New Zealand Book Council and the Embassy of New Zealand in Beijing.
Keiichiro Hirano
Keiichiro Hirano is an internationally acclaimed Japanese novelist born in Aichi prefecture in 1975 and raised in Kita-kyushu. His first novel, The Eclipse, won the Akutagawa Prize in 1999, making him one
of the youngest winners ever at 23 years old. He has since published several other novels, including Funeral, Ripples the Dripping Clocks Make, Dawn, and The Only Form of Love. His most recent works are the novel Transparent Maze and a book of essays and interviews Where Vitality is Headed: The Changing World and Dividualism. He is a graduate of Kyoto University’s law department. Brought to you with the kind support of The Japan Foundation.
Tammy Ho Lai-Ming
Daniel Ho
Tammy Ho Lai-Ming is a poet, short story writer, translator, and founding editor of the literary journal Asian Cha, the first online literary journal based in Hong Kong. Her story “Let Her Go” won Third Prize in The Standard-RTHK Short Story Competition 2005, and her poetry has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize three times and the Forward Prize. She is the author of Hula Hooping, a collection of poetry, and the forthcoming short story collection Her Name Upon the Strand. She is currently an assistant professor at Hong Kong Baptist University, where she teaches fiction, poetry and poetics, and modern drama. Brought to you with the kind support of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council.
Daniel Szehin Ho is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of randian, a bilingual online magazine on contemporary art in China and beyond (with recent print editions). He also writes for ArtForum, Broadsheet, etc., and he has edited and translated numerous museum catalogues, including for Power Station of Art (Shanghai), Rockbund Art Museum (Shanghai), UCCA (Beijing), and Minsheng Art Museum (Shanghai), among many others.
2000s, he has since undergone puberty and, in 2013, moved to China to pursue feature writing. His long-form stories regularly appear in That’s Beijing, and his work has also featured in media outlets including The Independent, Vice, and CNN.
Ken Hom
ered China for Reuters from Shanghai and Beijing. She has reported from all but one of China’s provinces and regions and is fluent in Mandarin. Hornby is a graduate of Princeton University. She first moved to China in 1995, surviving the chills of two Yangtze Valley winters in Wuhan.
Anders Hove
Oscar Holland
Ken Hom is an American-born celebrity chef, TV presenter, and author of more than 80 books, many of which have been translated worldwide. He has spent more than three decades on UK television, and is acknowledged as a leading expert on Asian and Chinese cuisine, and has cooked for presidents, prime ministers, celebrities, and royalty across the world. In 2012 he spent more than five weeks filming his TV series Exploring China: A Culinary Adventure. In 2009 he was appointed honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for “services to culinary arts.”
Lucy Hornby
Oscar Holland is editor-in-chief of the culture and lifestyle magazine That’s Beijing. After launching his media career reporting for Nickelodeon News UK in the early
Anders Hove is Associate Director for China Research at the Paulson Institute. He guides the Institute’s research work related to China air quality and climate change, developing insights related to policy, market, and technology solutions. Hove has more than 15 years of public and private sector experience related to energy policy and markets, including nine years on Wall Street and four years in China. Anders moved to Beijing in 2010, where he became director of research analytics at the China Greentech Initiative. He has also worked for Rand, Deutsche Bank AG, Jefferies and Co., and Azure International.
Lucy Hornby is China Correspondent for the Financial Times, having previously cov63
Hu Xingdou
Hu Xingdou is a professor of economics at Beijing Institute of Technology, and guides the work of graduate students in fields such as politics, economic development, constitutional government, and business management. He is the author of multiple books, including The China Problem, Ancient Chinese Management, and a compilation of essays on China’s disadvantaged social groups. He often blogs on corruption, social, and legal issues. Hu is the founder of China Studies (Sinology), and is one of 20 forum members of the China Society of Economic Reform, one of China’s foremost public intellectuals, and one of the country’s most prominent voices on the Internet.
Matt Hulse
tional Media Museum (UK), National Library of Scotland, Gallaudet University (Washington DC), and The Wallace Library (Rochester Institute of Technology). He has twice been nominated for the Jarman Award and the Margaret Tait Award. His films include Follow The Master, Dummy Jim (for which he produced a book, I Cycled Into the Arctic Circle), and, most recently, The Hippies: Punk Rocked My Cradle.
rebel, in a family of teachers, who swore she would never become a teacher, and yet somehow found herself pursuing a Masters in Education. She writes and rants with a touch of sarcasm about education, expatriation, society, and womanhood on vanessajencks.com.
Xuefeng Ji
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Vanessa Jencks hails from Greenville, South Carolina, a small city that educated Jencks much more about cultural struggles and divides than would be expected. She’s the
tional Committee on US-China Relations. His book China’s Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know will be published by Oxford University Press in April 2016.
Josh Lacey
Kaiser Kuo is director of international communications at Baidu and the host of the Sinica Podcast. He’s an unreconstructed headbanger who founded the band Tang Dynasty and currently plays guitar in Chunqiu (Spring & Autumn). He has lived in Beijing for about 20 years and has two young children.
Robert Foyle Hunwick
Robert Foyle Hunwick is a writer, media consultant, and former HarperCollins crime editor. His work has appeared in publications including The Atlantic, Daily Telegraph, Esquire, Foreign Policy, Global Post, and Vice. He is currently working on a book about vice and crime in China.
Kaiser Kuo
Ju Anqi
Xuefeng Ji is a frontman/ guitarist/synth player for the psychedelic band The Peppercorns, based in Beijing. Besides rock music he also composes pop and folk songs rooted deep in the 70s style.
Lieve Joris
Vanessa Jencks
Matt Hulse is an artist, filmmaker, and writer. His films have been screened in more than two dozen countries, and his work features in Time Out’s 1000 Films to Change Your Life and A History of Experimental Film & Video, and is represented by the Na-
of The Dragon, is about her journeys between Africa and China, written after she submerged herself in the world of Africans and Chinese who ventured into each other’s territory. Joris was born in Belgium and currently lives in Amsterdam. Brought to you with the kind support of the Flemish Literature Fund and the Embassy of Belgium in Beijing.
Lieve Joris is one of Europe’s leading nonfiction writers, with award-winning books on Hungary, the Middle East, and Africa. In 1985 she set sail to the former Belgian colony of Congo, where her great-uncle had been a missionary. Congo became a recurring theme in her work, leading successively to Back to the Congo, The Leopard’s Dance, The Rebels’ Hour, and The High Plains. Her most recent book, On The Wings
Ju Anqi (雎安奇), a graduate of Beijing Film Academy, is a film director and cross-media artist who has recently received much international attention, honored with several awards for his participation in more than 30 international film festivals. He has exhibited works at the Pompidou Centre in Paris, as well as at MoMA and New York’s Lincoln Center. In 2000, his debut film There’s a Strong Wind in Beijing was nominated at the Berlin Film Festival as a milestone in experimental Chinese film. The deviant nature of his most recent film Poet on a Business Trip left a great mark on international film in 2015 and received great praise from film critic Tony Rans.
Arthur R. Kroeber
Arthur R. Kroeber is head of research at Gavekal, a financial-services firm based in Hong Kong, founder of the China-focused Gavekal Dragonomics research service, and editor of China Economic Quarterly. He divides his time between Beijing and New York. Before founding Dragonomics in 2002, he spent fifteen years as a financial and economic journalist in China and South Asia. He is a senior non-resident fellow of the Brookings-Tsinghua Center, an adjunct professor at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, and a member of the Na-
Josh Lacey is the author of the Grk and Dragonsitter series of children’s books; A Dog Called Grk was shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award, while The Dragonsitter was shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize. He has written many other books for children, including The Island of Thieves, The Sultan’s Tigers, and Bearkeeper. He reguarly visits schools, where he enjoys talking about the writing experience, the origin of ideas, and magic of inspiration. Lacey has also written one book for adults, God is Brazilian, a biography of the man who introduced football to Brazil. He lives in London with his wife and daughters.
Yves Laplace
Yves Laplace is a well-known novelist, playwright, and essayist in the French-speaking 65
literary circle. He has published fifteen literary works. His latest novel, Hero’s Prairie, was inspired by George Oltramare, a Swiss actor, writer, and politician who was sentenced to death in France in 1950 due to his role in the fascist movement. Laplace won the Alice Rivaz Prize in 2015 and the Swiss Literary Prize in 2016 for this book. Laplace’s dramatic work includes Sarcasm (adapted from The Model Man), and many of his plays been presented in Paris and Geneva. He is also a literary and dramatic critic, a teacher, and referee for amateur football matches. Brought to you with the kind support of the Embassy of Switzerland in Beijing.
Christina Larson
Ellen Larson
David Leffman
66
worm Literary Festival. She is also the visual arts curator and co-founder of Loreli China, a website dedicated to promoting artists in China. As a voice actor she has died many times with causes varying from tiger attack to Japanese grenade strike, and in the process has become a master of screaming, crying, and begging for mercy.
Frané Lessac
Li Dan
Frané Lessac has published more than 40 children’s books throughout the world, many of them inspired by her love of travel. In 2010 she was presented the Muriel Barwell Award for Distinguished Service to Children’s Literature. Her contribution to Amnesty International’s We Are All Born Free, celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, has been translated into more than 30 languages and is the receipt of a USBBY Outstanding International Book.
Li Dan founded the Dongzhen School for AIDS Orphan Children in Henan province in 2003, launching his NGO career. He won the won Reebok Human Rights Award in 2006, the same year he co-founded the Manchurian Language Class. He founded the China Women’s Film Festival in 2013, which won the Intercultural Achievement Award from the Austrian Embassy the following year. He created the Crossroads Centre in Beijing. Last year the US State Department invited him to participate in the International Visitor Leadership Program, and this year the EU’s European External Action Service invited him to participate in the EU Visitor Programme.
Daniel Lenk Ellen Larson is a curator and writer based in Beijing. Her work focuses on modern and contemporary Chinese art and social history. She is completing her Masters Degree at Minzu University of China and will begin her doctoral studies at the University of Pittsburgh in fall 2016 specializing in contemporary Chinese art. She is the co-managing editor of opengroundblog.com, and has curated and presented exhibitions, symposia, and art events in China and the United States.
Hyeonseo Lee
Christina Larson is an award-winning journalist in Beijing who writes about the environment and the human side of China’s economic boom. She is a contributing correspondent for Science magazine and for Bloomberg Businessweek. Her reporting from Asia on the environment, climate change, science, technology, and culture has also appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic Monthly, TIME, Fast Company, MIT Technology Review, Scientific American, Smithsonian, and Foreign Policy magazine, where she is a contributing editor. She has reported from Myanmar, Cambodia, Mongolia, Vietnam, Thailand, Korea, Japan, Greece, and Mexico.
about North Korean human rights in front of a special panel of the UN Security Council, and has discussed issues with important leaders such as UN Ambassador Samantha Powers.
David Leffman was born and raised in the UK, spent twenty years in Australia, then relocated back to Britain in 2009. Since 1992 he has authored and co-authored guides to Australia, China, Indonesia, Iceland, and Hong Kong for Rough Guides, Dorling Kindersley, and others, ghost-written a Chinese cookbook, and contributed articles for various publications on subjects ranging from crime to martial arts and history. If he had spare time he’d go scuba diving.
Kerryn Leitch
Hyeonseo Lee is a North Korean defector living in Seoul. Her memoir, The Girl With Seven Names, has been published in more than 20 countries “I’m telling them about the girl who grew up believing her nation to be the greatest on earth, and who witnessed her first public execution at the age of seven,” Lee writes. Over 5 million people have viewed her TED Talk about her life in North Korea, her escape to China, and struggle to bring her family to freedom. Lee has given testimony
Kerryn Leitch is an Australian with diverse interests and talents (a.k.a. lacking focus). She has collaborated with the Bookworm several times as a co-founder of the WOW Writing Collective, moderating the Bookworm Book Club, and moderating events at the Book-
Daniel Lenk has been involved in the Beijing music scene since arriving in 2008. Spending his early years at seminal indie rock watering hole D22 as a university student, he caught a very tenacious strain of the music bug and has not been able to extricate himself from it ever since. With songwriting and arrangement credits in both Luvplastik and The Death Narcissist (EP forthcoming this spring), he has spent his most recent projects developing a unique style for composition with the bass guitar as the principal instrument at the center of arrangements.
Ami Li
Li Li
Ami Li is the managing editor of City Weekend Beijing magazine, where she also covers the dining scene and has previously edited the nightlife and style sections. Before joining City Weekend, she worked for independent music and festival promoters Split Works and contemporary art gallery Chambers Fine Art. In a previous life, she was a news translator whose work appeared in The New York Times, Global Post, and China File. Born in Beijing, Li grew up between Amherst, Massachusetts and Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Li Li is currently the program and operations manager in PILnet’s Beijing office, where she is responsible for organizing and implementing PILnet’s projects, including its annual fellowship program, capacity-building trainings, and conferences and workshops. Li majored in finance and earned her bachelor’s 67
degree in economics from Hebei University; she then studied sociology at Peking University and received a Master’s degree in law, and furthered her learning in the United States as an exchange fellow for the National Committee on US-China Relations. Prior to her work at PILnet, Li was a manager at Kimberley-Clark (China), Ltd.
Li Yan
Li Yan joined Greenpeace in 2006. She has led Greenpeace’s Climate & Energy work in its mainland China branch since 2011, and is an active NGO expert and spokesperson on domestic environment and energy related issues. She’s now Deputy Program Director of Greenpeace East Asia, overseeing energy and toxics pollution projects. She holds a Master’s Degree in ecology from Peking University, and had previously worked in the environmental protection department of Beijing Municipality.
Liang Zi
Liang Zi is a photographer and author who Time Out fea68
tured as one of the 40 most influential Chinese people in its 40th anniversary issue. She has made a dozen solo trips to Africa in the past 15 years, and is recognized as the first female photographer from China to explore African tribal culture. Additionally, she has traveled to the likes of Iran, India, Laos, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Australia, and New Zealand to take photos and film documentaries. Of her many books, her autobiography An Opened Diary was published in 1999, the same year she held an exhibit of her work at the Japan-China Friendship Center in Tokyo. Liang is currently a member of the Chinese Photographers Association, director of the Chinese Female Directors of Documentary Association, and director of the China Adventure Association.
Melinda Liu
in recognition of her reporting on Asia.
Edmond Lococo
spontaneity of writing goes to be euthanized. Loynes says nay; not euthanized, just slowly and painfully dissected. He has been at the International School of Beijing for the past six years. Before Beijing, he lived and worked in Thailand and Ecuador.
Valeria Luiselli
David Lopez Edmond Lococo is the senior vice president for public relations at ICR, which provides counsel to public and private companies in tech, consumer, industrial growth, clean tech, and healthcare. Lococo first came to China in 1991 and worked at Bloomberg News for 15 years, including two postings as a foreign correspondent in Beijing, covering the technology beat for five years. Previously he followed the US defense industry during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lococo has also worked at the South China Morning Post and Hong Kong Standard, among other places.
Joseph Loftus Melinda Liu is Beijing Bureau Chief for Newsweek Magazine, and has reported on China for much of her career. She’s lived and worked in Beijing since November 1998, returning to a city in which she had resided from 1980 to 1982 as Newsweek’s first Beijing Bureau Chief. One of Newsweek’s most experienced foreign correspondents, Liu covered China’s post-Mao modernization, the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and the fall of the Taliban, the 1991 liberation of Kuwait, and U.S. military interventions in Somalia and Haiti. Liu won the 2006 Shorenstein Journalism Award
in the emptying villages. He is particularly interested in the impact China’s unprecedented migration is having on close knit Catholic villages. His contention is that the Chinese Catholic Church is not developing rapidly enough the structures necessary to deal with the social changes its (mainly rural) adherents are experiencing.
Karen Ma
David Lopez-del Amo is director of SINICUS, a literary consultancy based in Beijing that focuses on introducing foreign rights content into the East Asian markets. He is also the coordinator of SINICUS PLATFORM, a writers’ panel series where Asian and European authors play host to each other. Lopez collaborates with several National Book Institutes and is currently advising both the Spanish and Polish ones on how to increase their authors’ presence in China.
Griffin Loynes
Joseph Loftus, an Irish Catholic Priest, is an advisor to China’s charity sector, having been in the country since 1994, first on Taiwan and later in Beijing. His interests include the stresses of rapid urbanisation as it effects both those relocating to the cities as well as those left behind
Since moving to Beijing in 2006, she’s done PR and marketing for Beijing’s top nightlife and dining destinations and founded LumDimSum.com, one of Beijing’s most read food blogs. A devoted foodie with an insatiable curiosity to seek and discover both hidden gems and current trends, she shares her experiences and tips on Beijing’s multifaceted, quickly developing creative industries, including art, music, film, fashion, nightlife, and exciting (yet fickle) dining scene.
Griffin Loynes is a grizzled veteran of the high school English classroom, where students and some writers say the beauty and
Valeria Luiselli is the author of the internationally acclaimed novel Faces in the Crowd (2012), which won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for first fiction, and The Story of My Teeth (2015), and the collection of essays Sidewalks (2014). She is a rising literay star whose work has appeared in publications including the New York Times, The New Yorker, Granta, and McSweeney’s. In 2014 she won the National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 award. Born in Mexico City in 1983, she grew up in South Africa. Brought to you with the kind support of the Embassy of Mexico in Beijing.
Kristen Lum
Karen Ma is a Chinese-American writer and journalist who grew up in Hong Kong and Japan. She’s a graduate of Tokyo’s Sophia University and holds a Master’s degree in Chinese Literature from the University of Washington, Seattle. She is the author of Excess Baggage, a semi-autobiographical novel loosely based on her family’s experiences as Chinese immigrants in Tokyo during the post-bubble years of the 1990s. She has written for The Japan Times, The International Herald Tribute, NPR, and the South China Morning Post. Currently based in Beijing, she is also a lecturer of Chinese culture and film at the Beijing Center of Chinese Studies.
Kristen Lum graduated with double degrees in Communications and Chinese from UCSB. 69
Ma Tianjie
sive crisis reporting, camping out under Saddam Hussain’s bridges, covering suicide bombings in Israel, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, suffering through bad soju in North Korea, and sleeping in abandoned nunneries in East Timor.
Julie Makinen Ma Tianjie is managing editor in the Beijing office of China Dialogue, a Londonand Beijing-based independent, nonprofit organization specializing in reporting on China’s environment. Before joining China Dialogue, Ma was Greenpeace’s program director for mainland China. While there, he was a regular commentator on China’s environmental challenges contributing to a range of media organizations. He holds a master’s degree in environmental policy from American University in Washington D.C.
Mark Magnier
Julie Makinen is the Los Angeles Times’s Beijing bureau chief. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, she studied Human Biology at Stanford and earned her master’s degree in East Asian Studies at UCLA. She has worked as a reporter and editor for the Washington Post and the International New York Times in Hong Kong and is a board member of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China.
Owen Martell
Mark Magnier is based in the Wall Street Journal’s Beijing bureau where he covers China’s economy and its broader implications for the world and the Middle Kingdom’s growing global ambitions. Before joining the Journal in early 2014, he was bureau chief in New Delhi, Beijing, and Tokyo for the Los Angeles Times. In addition to his coverage of these Asian economic and political giants, he’s done exten70
Owen Martell grew up in Pontneddfechan, South Wales. After studying at Aberystwyth and Oxford universities, he spent a number of years working as a reporter with the BBC. His first Welsh-language novel, Cadw dy ffydd, brawd (Strong and Prophetic), won
the Arts Council of Wales’ Welsh Book of the Year award in 2001. His second novel, Dyn yr Eiliad (The Other Man), was shortlisted for the same prize in 2004. Dolenni Hud (Welsh Knot) is a collection of short stories in collaboration with photographer Simon Proffitt. His most recent novel, Intermission, is his first book written in English; it has been translated into French and German. Brought to you in cooperation with Literature Across Frontiers and the Literary Europe Live project, supported by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union and co-financed by Wales Arts International.
Eimear McBride
Stephen McDonell
Joe McKee Stephen McDonell is now a China Correspondent for the BBC. From 2006 to the end of 2015 he was Beijing Bureau Chief for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). He studied Mandarin at BLCU in 2005. Prior to that he was a television and radio reporter in Australia for the ABC. He has won three Walkley Awards for his reporting and also a Logie Award for best television news reporting. Three of these awards were for his coverage of China.
Andy McGuire Eimear McBride is a Liverpool-born Irish writer who shot to fame with her debut novel, A Girl is a Half-formed Thing, which won the Goldsmiths Prize and Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction. The book, which took her nine years to get published, tells the intimate, powerful story of a young girl’s relationship to her cancer-stricken brother as they each navigate devastating childhoods. The New Yorker called it a “blazingly original novel… fueled by fractured, adventurous language and raw emotion.” McBride currently lives in Norwich, where she is working on a second novel. Brought to you with the kind support of the Ireland Literature Exchange and Embassy of Ireland in Beijing.
passions — even unpleasant ones — stare down the barrel of a world in which freedom is the 51st state, and love is the 11th province. Brought to you with the kind support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Embassy of Canada in Beijing, and the International Festival of Authors, Toronto.
Isolda Morillo Joe McKee hails from Manchester, England and moved to China in 2014. He taught English Literature for over 20 years in the UK and is currently Academic Director of Dulwich College Beijing. His particular literary interests are in Gothic fiction, 20th century English poetry, and the American novel. Moving to Beijing has provided him with a whole new world of reading, about China’s history and culture, that he is loving getting to grips with.
Vicky Mohieddeen Andy McGuire is from Grand Bend and currently resides in Toronto. He is pursuing an MFA in creative writing from the University of Guelph. McGuire’s poems have appeared in Riddle Fence, Hazlitt, and The Walrus. He presents his debut poetry collection, Country Club. A lyrical wilderness of power, wealth, leisure, and desire, the poems of Country Club freewheel across state lines with panache and flagrant feeling. In this bold collection, all
tographer to more than 10,000 people on Instagram). In 2009 she founded Electric Shadows, a nonprofit film collective, which has played a key role in helping shape the evolution of public cinema in Beijing. Her work with Koryo Tours has taken her to North Korea more than 20 times and ranges from coordinating overseas submissions to the Pyongyang International Film Festival to producing groundbreaking photography and video work. She recently organized the first art-photography exhibition ever to be shown in Pyongyang.
Isolda Morillo is a journalist based in Beijing. Over the past ten years, she has reported on civil society, ethnic conflicts, the environment, the arts, film, etc. Born in Peru, she has lived and studied fine arts and film in the US, France, Cuba, Spain, and China. Prior to becoming a full-time journalist, she independently directed and produced documentary films on HIV/AIDS, poverty alleviation, the environment, and Tibet. She has published many short stories in various magazines in Peru, as well as poetry in Chinese on web-based magazines. Her latest short story written in Chinese, “Ideal Lover,” will be soon published by Dan Du (One Way Street Magazine).
Vicky Mohieddeen, based in Beijing since 2008, is a filmmaker, producer, and curator (as well as mobile-phone pho71
David Moser
David Moser holds a Master’s and a Ph.D. in Chinese Studies from the University of Michigan. He was a visiting scholar at Peking University in 19871990, and a visiting professor for five years at the Beijing Foreign Studies University, where he taught Translation Theory and Psycholinguistics. Moser is currently Academic Director at CET Chinese Studies at Beijing Capital Normal University, where he teaches courses in Chinese history and politics, and a co-host of the Sinica Podcast. Moser also worked at China Central Television (CCTV) as a program advisor, translator, and host, and continues to be active in Chinese media.
Michela Murgia
Michela Murgia was born in Cabras, Italy in 1972. She attended theological studies and worked as a religion teacher, as well as for the nonpolitical lay organization Azione Cattolica, before making her literary debut in 2006 with Il mondo deve sapere, which inspired the film Tutta la vita davanti by Paolo 72
Virzi. She is also author of Viaggio in Sardegna, the novel Accabadora (winner of the 2010 Campiello Award), Ave Mary, and L’incontro. She has been an honorary member of the Coordination of Italian Female Theologians since 2011, and collaborates with many magazines and newspapers. Her books have been translated into more than twenty languages. Brought to you with the kind support of the Embassy of Italy in Beijing.
Mindaugas Nastaravicius
Mariko Nagai
Mindaugas Nastaravicius is a Lithuanian poet and playwright. His poetry collection Stained Eyes received the Zigmas Gele prize for best literary debut. In 2014 he published his second poetry collection, Mo, which was selected one of the “top five poetry books of the year” and listed as one of the “twelve most creative books of the year” by the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore. He has worked with four Lithuanian theaters to stage four of his plays: The Dormitory of Poultry, The Other School, Democracy, and Your Suit Does Not Fit Me. In 2015, Nastaravicius was awarded the Golden Stage Cross, the most prestigious Lithuanian theater prize. Brought to you with the kind support of the Lithuanian Culture Attache in China, the Lithuanian Culture Institute, and Lithuanian Council for Culture.
Mariko Nagai is a poet and author born in Tokyo and raised in Europe and America. She has received the Pushcart Prize in both poetry and fiction. Her collection of poems, Histories of Bodies, won the Benjamin Saltman Prize from Red Hen Press, and her first collection of stories, Georgic: Stories, won the 2009 G.S. Sharat Chandra Fiction Prize from BkMk Press. Her other books include the poetry collection Instructions for the Living and novel Dust of Eden, and the forthcoming Irradiated Cities, which won the 2015 Les Figues Press NOS Book Contest. She is an Associate Professor of creative writing and Japanese literature at Temple University, and also serves as Co-Regional Advisor of SCBWI Japan. Brought to you with the kind support of The Japan Foundation.
Jason Y. Ng
Jason Y. Ng, born in Hong Kong, is a globetrotter who spent his adult life in Italy, the United States, and Canada be-
fore settling in his birthplace to rediscover his roots. He is the author of the recently published Umbrellas in Bloom, the first English-language book to chronicle the pro-democracy political movement that took Hong Kong by storm in the fall of 2014. Ng is also the bestselling author of HONG KONG State of Mind and No City for Slow Men, and his short stories have appeared in various anthologies. His social commentary blog As I See It and leisure review site The Real Deal have attracted a cult following. Brought to you with the kind support of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council.
Kevin O’Donnell
Laurie O’Donnell
Mark O’Neill
Laurie O’Donnell is a Canadian businesswoman who jumped at the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong desire to live and work in China. Her career has taken her to many places, but her life passion is reading great works of literature. The Bookworm has been her intellectual home in Beijing for the past three years. She considers the Bookworm Literary Festival a chance to read — and meet — authors from around the world.
Kabu Okai-Davies Kevin O’Donnell is a Canadian who has lived in China since June 2013. He has spent many years working for public television, responsible for developing educational programming from scriptwriting to production management, and for the past ten years has worked for a software development and video production company. He now works on a freelance basis, a small cost for living his version of the “Chinese Dream” with his wife, Laurie.
ark, where he was a producer from 1992-2005. He has been a Playwright-In-Residence at the Street Theatre in Canberra and producer at the National Multicultural Festival, and currently manages the Theo Notaras Multicultural Centre.
Mark O’Neill is a Hong Kongbased journalist whose latest book, The Miraculous History of China’s Two Palace Museums, is about China’s two most famous museums, located in Beijing (Palace Museum, in the Forbidden City) and Taipei (National Palace Museum). He “details the treacherous history of how some of China’s most precious artifacts were rescued from the invading Japanese imperial army in the 1930s and later transported to Taiwan, and the powerful symbolism of the museums,” according to the Wall Street Journal. O’Neill, who reported in Asia since 1978, is the author of four other books.
Tom Orlik Kabu Okai-Davies is an Australian writer from Ghana. He is the author of two poetry collections, The Long Road to Africa and Symphony of Words, and two collections of short stories. He recently published Curfew’s Children, a childhood memoir set in Ghana, and completed a novel, In Another Man’s Name, set in Newark, New Jersey. Okai-Davies is the founder of African Globe TheatreWorks in New-
Tom Orlik is the Chief Asia Economist for Bloomberg, 73
where he focuses on China and Japan and leads a team of economists covering the region. Prior to that he headed the Wall Street Journal’s China economy coverage, and worked as a policy analyst at HM-Treasury. His book Understanding China’s Economic Indicators was published by Pearson in summer 2011, and provides the first comprehensive guide to working with China’s economic data.
Tom Phillips
Bradford Philen
Tom Phillips is the Guardian’s Beijing correspondent. In over a decade as a foreign correspondent he has reported from more than 15 countries, including Brazil, where he was based from 2005-12. Phillips has covered numerous major international stories, including Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement protests, typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, earthquakes in Haiti and Nepal, and the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. He arrived in China in 2012 on the eve of Xi Jinping’s rise to power. Phillips has also made a number of documentaries, including Dancing with the Devil, a film about one of Rio’s most wanted drug lords.
Bradford Philen is from Raleigh, North Carolina but currently teaches and writes in Beijing. He is the author of the novel Autumn Falls and the short story collection Everything is Insha’Allah. His work has also appeared in a variety of publications, such as Faerie Magazine, Elsewhere Lit, Whiskey Paper, and Lunch Ticket. While working on his second novel, he is pursuing an MFA in creative writing with the University of Alaska Anchorage.
where Israelis and Palestinians live side-by-side. His latest book, The Great Flood: Journeys through a Sodden Landscape, will be published next year. He is a Contributing Writer at the New Statesman and a regular contributor to other newspapers and magazines. In 2009, he was shortlisted for an Amnesty Media Award for his reporting from the Middle East.
Qiu Xiaolong
Fishes and Dragons, her fourth and biggest book so far, won the European Union Literature Prize 2015. Two of her earlier novels have been translated into Russian, and one into Estonian. Brought to you with the kind support of the Lithuanian Culture Attache in China, the Lithuanian Culture Institute, and Lithuanian Council for Culture.
diplomacy, and social issues. She was a Fulbright fellow in China and, before that, was a fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington DC. Her reporting and criticism have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The San Francisco Chronicle, TIME, Wired, Salon, and others. She speaks Mandarin Chinese.
Edward Ragg
Emily Rauhala
Edward Ragg is a poet and wine professional living in Beijing. He won the 2012 Cinnamon Press Poetry Award and his first collection of poetry is A Force That Takes (Cinnamon Press, 2013). His second collection of poetry, Holding Unfailing, will appear in 2017. His “Mutton Fat Jade” and “Punctuation Points” were both prize-winning poems, respectively, at the 2009 and 2014 Troubadour International Poetry Prizes. Ragg is an associate professor at Tsinghua University and co-founder, with Fongyee Walker, of Dragon Phoenix Wine Consulting.
Emily Rauhala is a China correspondent for the Washington Post. She was previously a Beijing-based correspondent for TIME, where she covered news, politics, and culture across greater China and the Korean Peninsula, and an editor at the magazine’s Hong Kong office, where she covered Southeast Asia. She was born and raised in Toronto.
Jordi Puntí
Edward Platt
Edward Platt is a writer and journalist. He is the author of Leadville: A Biography of the A40, which won a Somerset Maugham Award and the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and was short-listed for two other awards, and The City of Abraham, about the city of Hebron,
Jordi Puntí was born in 1967 and lives in Barcelona. He writes in Catalan and has published two books of short stories: Pell d’armadillo (Armadillo Skin) (1998) and Animals tristos (Sad Animals) (2002). In 2010 he published his first novel, Maletes perdudes (Lost Luggage), which received the National Critics’ Award, El Llibreter Award (booksellers prize), and the prestigious Lletra d’Or, and has been translated into 16 languages. His most recent book is Els castellans (2011), a memoir about the daily life in a Catalan industrial town in the 1970s, focusing on the relationship between Catalan kids and the immigrants arrived from Spain. Brought to you with the kind support of Acción Cultural Española (AC/E), a public institution whose purpose is to further and promote Spain’s culture and heritage within and beyond its borders, and in cooperation with Literature Across Frontiers and the Literary Europe Live project, supported by the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union and co-financed by AC/E.
Qiu Xiaolong was born in Shanghai. He is the author of the award-winning Inspector Chen series of mystery novels, Death of a Red Heroine (2000), A Loyal Character Dancer (2002), When Red is Black (2004), A Case of Two Cities (2006), Red Mandarin Dress (2007), and The Mao Case (2009). He is also the author of two books of poetry translations, Treasury of Chinese Love Poems (2003) and Evoking T’ang (2007), and his own poetry collection, Lines Around China (2003). Qiu’s books have sold over a million copies and have been published in twenty languages. He currently lives in St. Louis with his wife and daughter.
Undinė Radzevičiūtė
Bridget Riley
Megha Rajagopalan
Undinė Radzevičiūtė (b. 1967) graduated from the Vilnius Academy of Arts, where she studied art history, theory, and criticism. She worked for ten years as a creative director for international advertising agencies including Saatchi & Saatchi and Leo Burnett. Her first short novel was published in 2003.
Megha Rajagopalan is a correspondent with Reuters in Beijing, where she reports on security,
Bridget Riley has been based in Beijing since 2011 and is the magazine editor at the American Chamber of Commerce in China. She was shortlisted for the 2015 Young Communicator of the Year from the Asia Pacific Communications Awards, and isn’t too bad at Irish dance, either. 75
Adam Robbins
currently teaching at The College of New Jersey and is a faculty member of the MFA program at the City University of Hong Kong.
Marcus Ryder
Adam Robbins is an editor for City Weekend Beijing, covering the Community, Art, Book, Film, Stage, and LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender) sections. The peripatetic Yankee is originally from a small town in Maine, educated at Harvard University. He worked in Minnesota for ten years to help win marriage equality. He has been featured on The Daily Show and CCTV News’s Dialogue discussing LGBT equality. When not exploring Beijing by bike, you can find him at home with husband and cat.
Jess Row
Jess Row is the author of two short story collections — The Train to Lo Wu and Nobody Ever Gets Lost — and the novel Your Face in Mine. His stories have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Tin House, Ploughshares, Granta, American Short Fiction, Harvard Review, etc., have been anthologized three times in The Best American Short Stories, and have won two Pushcart Prizes and a PEN/O. Henry Award, among other prizes. In 2007 he was named a “Best Young American Novelist” by Granta. He is 76
Marcus Ryder served as the Head of Current Affairs for BBC Scotland. He has over 20 years experience working in television, including executive producing the BBC’s flagship current affairs program Panorama and its award-winning business show The Money Programme. In 2015 Ryder won the British Journalism Award for an investigation into drugs in sport, and in 2014 he has won a Scottish Royal Television Society Award and British Academy of Film & Television Arts Award for the film Sins of Our Fathers. In the last seven years he been nominated and won more Scottish television journalism awards than any other person. He is currently Chief International Digital Media Editor for CCTV.
Tomasz Sajewicz
Tomasz Sajewicz is Asia Correspondent for Polish Public Radio, based in Beijing since 2005. In
2003-04 he was a correspondent in Iraq, based in Baghdad and Camp Babylon.
Andrzej Sapkowski
Andrzej Sapkowski (b. 1948) is a fantasy writer who is one of the five bestselling authors in Poland today. His stories reach beyond the conventional patterns of fantasy, featuring nontraditional plots that shuffle problems and conventions, and play together with his reader. He has two story collections, The Last Wish (which inspired The Witcher video game series) and The Sword of Destiny. His stories about Hexer Geralt – the intrepid tamer of ogres – abound in breathtaking adventures, humor, magic, passionate love, intricate enigmas of fate, and postmodern mockery of the contemporary life. Sapkowski has been translated into nine languages. Brought to you with the kind support of the Embassy of Poland in Beijing.
Lambert Schlecter
Lambert Schlechter (b. 1941) has published some 25 books.
His work includes poetry, novels, short stories, and essays. Since 2006 he has worked on a prose project titled “Le Murmure du monde,” a collection of literary, philosophical, and autobiographical fragments. Schlechter studied philosophy and literature in Paris and Nancy before teaching philosophy, French language, and literature at the Lycée Classique in Echternach. He was vice president of the Luxembourg section of Amnesty International, Luxembourg, and representative in the International Service for Human Rights in Geneva. Brought to you with the kind support of the Embassy of Luxembourg in Beijing, the Luxembourg Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Luxembourg National Center of Literature.
Anakana Schofield
Anakana Schofield is an Irish-Canadian writer whose debut novel, Malarky, won the Amazon. ca First Novel Award and the 2013 Debut-Litzer Prize for Fiction, and was a finalist for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. It was named on 16 Best Books of 2012 lists and was selected as a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Pick. She has also written literary criticism for many newspapers, including The Guardian, The Irish Times, The Globe and Mail, the National Post, and the London Review of Books blog. Her second novel, Martin John, was shortlisted for the 2015 Scotiabank Giller Prize. Brought to you with the kind support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Embassy of Canada in Beijing, and
International Festival of Authors, Toronto
Michael Schuman
Michael Schuman is an American author and journalist who specializes in global economics and Asian politics and history. He has been a correspondent for TIME Magazine and the Wall Street Journal, and won an Overseas Press Club award as part of the team covering the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis for WSJ. His first book, The Miracle: The Epic Story of Asia’s Quest for Wealth, is an historical narrative of Asia’s transformation. His most recent book is Confucius and the World He Created, about the great philosopher’s influence in China’s economic rise, which made NPR’s list of favorite international reads.
Britain’s Lost Submarine, founder of Beijing’s first professional dive operation, SinoScuba, and a PADI Course Director.
Shuang Xuetao
Shuang Xuetao (b. 1983, Shenyang) is a fiction writer whose stories appear in Shouhuo, Shiyue, Shanghai Literature, China Times: Renjianfukan, and many more. He won first prize in the inaugural Huawenshijie Prize for Film and Fiction, first prize at the 14th Taipei Literature Awards, and at the 5th Xinrui Awards by Xihu Magazine.
Sheng Keyi
Steven Schwankert
Steven Schwankert, currently serving as the executive editor of True Run Media, is an award-winning editor and journalist with 20 years of experience in Greater China. He is the author of Poseidon: China’s Secret Salvage of
Sheng Keyi (盛可以) is a fiction writer born in Yiyang, Hunan, later moving to Shenzhen before settling in Beijing, where she currently lives. She is the author of six novels, two of which have been translated into English: Northern Girls, longlisted for the 2012 Man Asia Literary Prize, and Death Fugue. Sheng is known for the fierce and often unforgiving style of her writing, her different narrative voices and insightful observations.
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Steve Simeone
fairs University on a Princeton in Asia fellowship. His poetry has been published in the Aztec Literary Review.
Scot Slaby
Steve Simeone developed his unique high-energy approach to storytelling by competing for laughs with his two brothers around the family dinner table. His positive, family-friendly approach to comedy has delighted audiences around the world and made him a regular at Hollywood’s most prestigious comedy clubs. In 2014 he made his Comedy Central debut on Gabriel Iglesias’s Stand Up Revolution, was chosen by Honda to represent their Summer “Cheerance” Campaign, and saw his first album, Remember This, hit the top of the Billboard and iTunes charts. Simeone recently shot a pilot for TruTV and will return to Comedy Central on Ari Shaffir’s This Is Not Happening storytelling show. Brought to you with the kind support of Kung Fu Komedy.
Scot Slaby is a poet, author, and educator who teaches at Shanghai American School. His first chapbook, The Cards We’ve Drawn, won the 2013 Bright Hill Press National At Hand Chapbook Competition, and his second work, Bugs Us All, is a collaboration with artist Walter Gurbo, forthcoming in Summer 2016 from Entasis Press in Washington, D.C. His poems have appeared most recently in Arcana: The Tarot Poetry Anthology, The Book of Forms: A Handbook of Poetics Including Odd and Invented Forms, Unsplendid, and elsewhere in print and online.
Anna Smaill
Simon Shieh
Simon Shieh is a writer from upstate New York who’s spent much of his life in Beijing. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in literature and is currently teaching at China Foreign Af78
Anna Smaill was born in Auckland in 1979. A classically trained violinist, she changed her pursuit to creative writing while in college. Her first book, The Violinist in Spring, is a collection of poetry published that was listed as one of
2006’s best books by the New Zealand Listener. Her debut novel, The Chimes — set in a dystopian London in which people cannot form new memories and the written word has been forbidden and destroyed — was longlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize for Fiction. She currently lives in Wellington, New Zealand, and supervises MA students in Creative Writing for the International Institute of Modern Letters. Brought to you with the kind support of the New Zealand Book Council and the Embassy of New Zealand in Beijing.
Jack Smith
Felicia Sonmez
ing Post. For the past two years, he has worked as a consultant for a variety of ventures, such as the Ministry of Culture (ROC)’s Books from Taiwan Vol. III: Comics. He is currently working on a translation of the “Chinese Game of Thrones.”
Kai Strittmatter Felicia Sonmez is the editor of The Wall Street Journal’s China Real Time Report, based in Beijing. A 2005 graduate of Harvard University, she previously worked as a China correspondent for the international newswire Agence France-Presse and as a national political reporter for The Washington Post, covering Congress, the White House, and the 2012 presidential campaign. She is a board member of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China.
Su Zixu Jack Smith is the LGBT editor at Time Out Beijing, where he uses his monthly column to draw attention to the ongoing development of the capital’s vibrant and diverse queer scene. A passionate gender and queer rights advocate, Smith began researching sexology and LGBT issues while at the University of Edinburgh, where he wrote his graduate thesis on portrayals of same-sex relationships in contemporary Chinese cinema. He lives in Xinjiekou with his husband Eddy.
Ruth Silbemayr-Song
Ruth Silbermayr-Song is an Austrian illustrator and the face behind the blog China Elevator Stories (.com). She shares conversations with locals in China, writes personal stories of balancing life abroad, the ups and downs of marrying into Chinese society, and her journey from being pregnant in one of China’s vibrant metropolises in the southeast to raising her toddler son in a small town in China’s far-flung northeast together with her Chinese husband and the inlaws in close proximity.
Nick Stember
Su Zixu is a poet and songwriter, and lead singer and guitarist of Paramecia Band, which he formed in 2013. On January 2, 2015, he participated in the second season of Song of China with his entry “Without You.” On March 6, in a timed songwriting competition presented by Yu Quan Group, he performed the original song “Fuse & Dissolution.” In December 2015 he released his first EP, Stardust Memory, and the poetry collection The Tip of the Iceberg of Youth’s Passions.
Nick Stember is a translator of Chinese comics and popular culture who lives in Vancouver. In 2015 he earned a Master of Arts in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia with his thesis on the formation of the Shanghai Manhua Society in the late 1920s. His work has been featured on the websites such as Boing Boing, iO9, Rolling Stone, the BBC World Service, and the South China Morn-
Kai Strittmatter is the author of several books on China, Hong Kong, and Istanbul, and is currently working on a new one about China loosely centered around the hutong where he lives with his family. After studying sinology in Munich, Xi’an, and Taipei, Strittmatter joined Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung in 1994. From 1997 on he worked for eight years as China correspondent of Süddeutsche. Those years were followed by a seven-year stint as a correspondent in Istanbul, reporting on the changes in Turkey and Greece. In the summer of 2012 he returned to Beijing. His English-language book is China: An Introduction to the Culture and People. Brought to you with the kind support of Goethe-Institut Peking.
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Su Cici
(2). She still performs live in Beijing and also moonlights as a teacher and voice-over artist. She is a contributing author to Beijing Kids Magazine, Mami Magazine, Women of China Magazine, China.org, Herizon’s Feminist Quarterly and InCulture Parent.
Didi Kirsten Tatlow
Tian Xiaolei
Nathan VanderKlippe
Anthony Tao Su Cici (苏瓷瓷) is a much-anthologized poet and short story writer whose work has appeared in literary journals across the country. She has won the Chinese Writers’ Association’s Literary Newcomer Prize, the Spring Literature Prize, and the Changjiang Literature & Art Prize. She is the author of The Ninth Night, a collection of short stories, and One’s Hospital, a collection of essays. Su’s eclectic work experience includes five years in a mental institution; she has also been a nurse, a propaganda officer, a go-go dancer, a hotel clerk, and a newspaper editor.
Ember Swift
Ember Swift, originally from Canada, has been living in Beijing since 2008. She is a musician and performer who has released 11 albums and toured internationally. Married to a Chinese musician, the pursuit of harmony and balanced rhythm has taken on new forms in the interplay between in-laws, Chinese culture, and the creative rearing of their young daughter (4) and son 80
Anthony Tao is a writer and editor living in Beijing. He is co-founder and chief editor of Beijing Cream, a news/society/ culture blog. His poetry has appeared in publications such as Prairie Schooner, Borderlands, Kartika Review, Cottonwood, and Open Road Review, plus an anthology of China writing called While We’re Here. His poem about baijiu, “Things That Taste Like Purple,” was a finalist at Literary Death Match – Beijing. He is currently co-captain of Big Brother, one of China’s premier Ultimate Frisbee club teams, and a coordinator of the Bookworm Literary Festival. He tweets @anthonytao
Golden Rooster for Best Directorial Debut Award for The Silent Holy Stones. His latest film is Tharlo, about a shepherd’s search for identity and culture. Tseden has published more than 50 short stories and novels in Tibetan and Chinese.
Didi Kirsten Tatlow has been living in China on and off since she was born in Hong Kong during the turbulent and weird Cultural Revolution. She has traveled widely and has lived for extended periods in Europe, where Berlin is one of her favorite cities for its historical fractures that remind her of home. She is a Beijing-based correspondent for the International New York Times and is married, with two children.
Dan Taylor
Tian Xiaolei (田晓磊), born in 1982 in Beijing, graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 2007 majoring in digital arts. His digital works have been exhibited in both China and abroad, including the United States and Italy, and his video shorts and animations have received international accolades from the Odense International Film Festival and Berlin Interfilm International Short Film Festival. Tian employs new media to explore social and cultural themes related to the complex human condition. He currently lives and works in Beijing.
Pema Tseden
Dan Taylor is a singer/guitarist currently playing in and around Beijing. He is the lead singer for the psychedelic rock band the Harridans, plays the drums and sings for the garage rock band Luv Plastik, and plays in numerous acoustic groups. His solo material draws on Celtic traditional music, mixing classical finger picked guitar with a focus on 70’s British folk-style songs.
Pema Tseden is a film director and writer born in 1969 in Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Qinghai province. He is the first Tibetan to graduate from the prestigious Beijing Film Academy, and also the first director in China to make movies only in the Tibetan language. He won the Grand Jury Prize at Shanghai’s International Film Festival for The Search and a
Nathan VanderKlippe is the Asia correspondent for The Globe and Mail. He was previously a print and television correspondent in Western Canada based in Calgary, Vancouver, and Yellowknife, where he covered the energy industry, aboriginal issues, and Canada’s north.
Anurag Viswanath
Asia (Manila). Within India, she has written in Economic and Political Weekly (Mumbai), Global Affairs (Mumbai), and Indian Management (Delhi). She was a regular writer at Business Standard (Delhi) from 2007-11. Since, she has been a leading columnist with Financial Express (Delhi).
Nury Vittachi
Nury Vittachi is a Hong Kongbased journalist and author known for the comedy-crime novel series The Feng Shui Detective, which has been translated into multiple languages and published worldwide. He’s a man of many talents, beloved by children (for his Jeri Telstar and Magic Mirror series of books) and respected by adults for his outspokenness. In addition to writing fiction, nonfiction, and children’s books, he was a founding editor of the Asia Literary Review, co-founder of the Hong Kong International Literary Festival, key figure in the creation of the Man Asian Literary Prize, and chair of the judges of the inaugural Australia-Asia Literary Award in 2008. Brought to you with the kind support of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council.
Anurag Viswanath is the author of Finding India in China. While she has written about Thailand, India, and Singapore, her main focus is contemporary China. She has published more than 85 articles in Bangkok Post, Prachatai, and Nation (Thailand), Far Eastern Economic Review (Hong Kong), and Journal of Contemporary 81
Nora Wagener
Journal‘s Beijing bureau. She focuses on China’s central bank, some of the country’s — and the world’s — largest commercial banks and deepest pools of capital. A graduate of New York University, she has also covered U.S. real estate and finance.
Philip Wen Nora Wagener, born 1989, is a fresh voice in the Luxembourgian literary scene. She studied creative writing and arts journalism in Hildesheim, Germany. Her first novel, Menschenliebe und Vogel (literally, Love for Humanity and Bird, Hoot), won the Prix Arts et Lettres from the Institut grand-ducal Luxemburg. This past year saw the publication of her second book, E. Galaxien, and the theatrical debut of her play Visions. Wagener regularly participates in lectures within cultural institutions, fairs, and schools in Luxembourg and abroad. She is a member of the theater collective Independent Little Lies and co-organizer of the lecture series Impossible Readings. Brought to you with the kind support of the Embassy of Luxembourg in Beijing, the Luxembourg Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Luxembourg National Center of Literature.
Lingling Wei
Lingling Wei covers Chinese finance from the Wall Street 82
Stories, was published in 1989. They have been translated into nearly 30 languages and have won awards in multiple countries. Harry and the Bucketful of Dinosaurs was adapted into a 104-episode animated series, and Little Wolf ’s Book of Badness was adapted into an award-winning movie and a play. For all his accomplishments as a children’s writer, Whybrow actually began his writing career as a poet — he is the recipient of the Leeds Poetry Prize. Engaging and easygoing, Whybrow was born in Gillingham, Kent, England, and grew up in Margate in East Kent and Hong Kong.
Philip Wilcox Philip Wen is the China correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based in Beijing. He took up his post in July 2013 after a previous stint reporting from China and time on the business and news desks in Melbourne and Sydney. Wen has been nominated twice for Australia’s Walkley Awards for his coverage, including the 2014 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. Born in Melbourne to Taiwanese parents, he spent his early school years in Singapore. He worked for consulting firm KPMG before deciding to pursue a career in journalism.
Ian Whybrow
Ian Whybrow has written more than 100 children’s books since his first, The Sniff
Lee Williamson
Lee Williamson is editor of Time Out Beijing. He’s been a China-based journalist and editor for seven years, the past four in Beijing. He recently fulfilled a lifelong dream of being quoted in TIME, even if it was for talking about a weird burger. He tweets at @leesw1985
Ed Wong
Philip Wilcox, the current Australian Poetry Slam National Champion and two-time NSW Poetry Slam Champion, is an award-winning poet who hosts and co-organizes Three Poets Speak, a Sydney showcase of the finest spoken word artists from around Australia. He has featured in major events such as the Sydney Writers Festival, Wollongong Writers Festival, and Newtown Festival, where he performed for a crowd of more than 8,000. He recently headlined the Melbourne event Voices in the Attic. He is also a playwright, having co-written and directed Thursday, one of the most successful productions of the 2013 Sydney Fringe Comedy Festival.
Edward Wong is the Beijing Bureau Chief of The New York Times. He arrived in Beijing in 2008 after working as a correspondent in the Baghdad bureau, where he received a Livingston Award for his coverage of the Iraq War from 2003 to 2007. He was also among a group of reporters from that bureau named as finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting. He joined The Times in 1999, and since has been a regular commentator on National Public Radio, BBC, and CBC, and has appeared on the Lehrer NewsHour and the Charlie Rose Show. An essay of his was published in the anthology book Travelers’ Tales Tibet.
Nicholas YB Wong
Nicholas YB Wong (MFA, the City University of Hong Kong) is the author of the poetry collections Cities of Sameness and, most recently, Crevasse, which has been praised as “a book of action” (Jericho Brown) and “deft and radically inventive… blows a hole right through our expectation of what contemporary poetry is supposed to look and to sound like” (Ravi Shankar). Wong was a finalist for the New Letters Poetry Award and a semifinalist for the Saturnalia Books Poetry Prize. He is on the editorial board of the literary journals Drunken Boat and Mead: Magazine of Literature and Libations. Corgis are his favorite human breed. Brought to you with the kind support of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council.
Clare Wright
Beyond the Ladies Lounge: Australia’s Female Publicans, garnered both critical and popular acclaim. Her groundbreaking second book, The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka, which took ten years to research and write, won the 2014 Stella Prize and has recently been published in a YA edition, We are the Rebels. Clare researched, wrote, and presented the ABC television documentaries Utopia Girls and The War that Changed Us. Brought to you with the kind support of the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Embassy of Australia in Beijing.
Joerg Wuttke
Jörg Wuttke is president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, a post he’s held since April 2014 (and previously from 2001 to 2004). He is also currently vice president and chief representative of BASF China, based in Beijing. Since joining BASF in 1997, Mr. Wuttke has been responsible for helping guide the company’s investment strategies for China, negotiation of large projects, and government relations. Previous to that, Mr. Wuttke worked with ABB in Germany and China for 11 years. He has co-authored three books on China.
Clare Wright is an historian who has worked as a political speechwriter, university lecturer, historical consultant, and radio and television broadcaster. Her first book, 83
Xiao Meili
Xiao Meili (b. 1989, Sichuan province) is a prominent women’s rights activist who most recently made international headlines when she started a contest calling for photos of women’s unshaven armpits. From September 2013 to March 2014, Xiao walked 2,300 kilometers (1,400 miles) from Beijing to Guangzhou to raise awareness of China’s handling of sexual abuse on college campuses. She is also known for starting China’s “bloody wedding dress” meme in 2012 to protest domestic violence, and once starred in a Chinese adaptation of The Vagina Monologues. She penned a New York Times editorial in May 2015 called “China’s Feminist Awakening.”
Ying Xin (Xiao Tie)
Ying Xin — known to many as Xiao Tie, or Iron — is the executive director of the Beijing LGBT Center in China. She is the co-curator of the China Women’s Film Festival, co-founder of Guerrilla Salon, a feminist salon in Bei84
jing, and co-founder of the volunteer-based organization Wuhan Rainbow. Her awards include the Reebok Human Rights Award in 2006 and the Intercultural Achievement Award from the Austrian Embassy in 2014. She was invited by the US State Department to participate in the International Visitor Leadership Program in 2015, and invited by the EU’s EEAS to participate in the EU Visitor Programme this year.
Xu Zechen
Xinran
Xu Zechen (b. 1978, Jiangsu province) is considered one of the best young writers in China, a graduate of Peking University’s Chinese literature Master’s program, former Writer in Residence at Creighton University, and participant at the University of Iowa’s famous International Writing Program. His fiction focuses on China’s less fortunate, its peddlers and migrant workers. He recently had his first novel translated into English: Running Through Beijing, about Beijing’s wild and colorful underworld. “The novel captures the taste and tension of Beijing better than any I’ve ever read,” wrote the Los Angeles Review of Books.
Xinran (pen name for Xue Xinran) is a British-Chinese journalist, author, and advocate of women’s issues. Her first book, The Good Women of China, was an international bestseller upon publication in 2002. She followed up with Sky Burial, a true account of a Han woman’s journey through Tibet, and Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother: Stories of Loss and Love. Her latest is Buy Me the Sky: The Remarkable Truth of China’s One-Child Generations. Between 1989 and 1997 Xinran was the popular host of a call-in radio program in China called “Words on the Night Breeze.” She is also founder of The Mother’s Bridge of Love, which reaches out to adopted Chinese children around the world.
ly editor-in-chief of Erasers, an independent yearly literary magazine. He also writes novels, short stories, and essays. Among his print publications is Canlan (trans. Splendor), a 623-page tellall chronicle of the avant-garde poetry scene in China during the closing decades of the last century.
Yi Sha
Yang Li
Raymond Zhou Yi Sha (real name Wu Wenjian) is one of the most influential poets in China, having been described as the Chinese Allen Ginsberg and “the greatest avant-garde in China.” He has produced more than twenty collections of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, including the well-known poetry collections Starve The Poet! (available in English), The Train Crosses the Yellow River, Corner of the World, and Ecstasy. In addition, he and his wife have co-translated more than eighty foreign poets into Chinese. Born in Chengdu in 1966, Yi Sha attended university in Beijing and now teaches in the Chinese Department of Xi’an Foreign Languages University.
Lijia Zhang Yang Li, a Sichuan-born poet, is considered one of the most prominent members of China’s avant-garde poetry movement. In the 1980s he was one of the founding members of the hugely influential “Fei Fei” poetry project, often translated as the “ Not-Not” movement. Yang has run a few independent poetry magazines, including Fei Fei until the mid-90s, and is current-
er-turned writer, journalist, social commentator, and speaker. Her articles have appeared in many publications, including The Guardian, Newsweek, and The New York Times. She is the co-author of China Remembers, an oral history of the People’s Republic of China. Her critically acclaimed memoir Socialism Is Great!, about her decade-long factory experience, has been translated into numerous languages. Her first novel Lotus, about prostitution in contemporary China, will be published next year. She lives in Beijing with her two daughters.
Raymond Zhou is a film, theater, and culture critic who the Los Angeles Times calls “China’s most famous film critic” and “Beijing’s answer to Roger Ebert.” He is the author of nineteen books, including his Chinese-language book Hollywood Revealed, the first study in China of the mechanisms of America’s movie industry, and A Practical Guide to Chinese Cinema 2002-2012, the first English-language book on China’s film industry of the new century. Zhou’s column for Movie View, the country’s highest circulated film magazine, is the longest-running film column in the country. Zhou is also senior writer for China Daily, where he pens the X-Ray column.
Lijia Zhang is a factory-work85
Patrons and Acknowledgements
our team Director
Peter Goff CORPORATE PATRON
Beijing Festival Coordinator Anthony Tao
Schools & Volunteer Coordinator Julia Lobyntseva FIRST EDITION
Books
Kevin and Laurie O’Donnell Richard Brett
Designer
GOLF LEAF Tomasz Sajewicz LEATHER BOUND Colin Dixon, Jenn Pratt, Split Works, Jonathan S. Rechtman, Fang He
Francis Gao Dennis Sazonov
Logistics Coordinator Sabrina Zou
Chengdu Festival
Catherine Platt, Ran Wei, Annie Leonard, June Liu
Suzhou Festival
Don Patter, Wendy Ding Howrie
INTERNS
Alex Zhang, Kirstin Clouser
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Alice Wu and Rommelly Chan from GPM, Nikki Anderson, the International Festival of Authors (Toronto), Alexandra Buchler and Literature Across Frontiers, the Foreign Correspondents Club of China, the Royal Asiatic Society, Olivia Liu and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, the Word Alliance, Earnshaw Books, Bloomsbury, Penguin Random House, Miles Merrill and Word Travels, Pathlight and the Paper Republic, Alex Pearson, Dave Cantalupo, Matt Durnin, Stephanie Halford, Karin Finkleston, Dan Brody, Jim Harkness, Jim Lindsey. And a huge thanks to all our moderators, authors, panelists, sponsors, volunteers, and all The Bookworm team. 90
Volunteers Milou Pol, Anna Peltola, David Rosset, Deva Eveland, Louisa Wu, Simon Siegel, Bridget Riley, Ben Zarov, Ekaterina Mazur, Rosalyn Jun-Hao Shih, Miriam Frank, Beata Wasilewska, Chizi Igwe, Andrea Mella, Clara Sung, Lin Lin, Thomas Cheng, Stevie Preater, Anran Li, Jenny Hess, Julia Gabel, Laura Yao, Liu Chang, Tom Price, Olena Borodyna, Khor Sue Yee, Sun Xiaoning, Wenqi Ni, Yin Yanbing, Jianyi Nie, Nancy Huike Lee, Zhao Li, Allison Bernand, Ge Wen, Hong Zhao, Ina Geng, Mark Leonard, Angela S. Yu, Xian Huang, Shejan Salahuddin, Barbara Xia
ticketing Terms and Conditions Tickets for all events except Workshops, Children's Events, and comedy include a complimentary beer, glass of wine, or soft drink. Tickets are available exclusively at The Bookworm and online via bookwormfestival.com. We cannot accept reservations by telephone or email. Festival tickets are non-refundable. The Bookworm is not responsible for lost tickets. Doors open approximately 15 minutes prior to the event starting time. The use of flash photography and any recording equipment is forbidden during author events, unless prior approval is given by Festival Management. Please ensure that all mobile phones and other beeping devices are switched off during Festival events.
Late Arrivals SOLD-OUT EVENTS Ticket holders for sold-out events arriving later than 15 minutes after the event starting time forfeit their ticket to the waiting list. NON-SOLD-OUT EVENTS Ticket holders arriving after the event starting time will be let in at a suitable interval, at the discretion of the event manager.
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Courtyard 4, Sanlitun South Rd.
11 Sanlitun North Rd.
1 Sanlitun South Rd. (opposite The Bookworm)
北京市朝阳区三里屯南路4号院
北京市朝阳区三里屯北路 11号院1号楼
北京市朝阳区三里屯南路1号
65869507
64176688
65008180
