Welcome to the Hong Kong International Literary Festival. Now in its fifteenth year, the Hong Kong International Literary Festival continues to present celebrated writers and discuss compelling ideas. Dame Margaret Drabble, Professor A. C. Grayling, and over thirty novelists, poets, historians, scholars, journalists and playwrights from across the world will converge in Hong Kong to participate in more than thirty-five events over eight days, to inspire, stir and excite. Short form literature continues to be at the forefront of Hong Kong’s literary landscape. Perhaps we can attribute this to the transitory and dynamic nature of the city: do Hong Kong-ers favour short literary fixes that fit easily around their busy lifestyles? This year, we pay particular attention to short works, in the form of fiction, essays, poetry and journalism. We are thrilled to have renowned philosopher Professor A. C. Grayling join us to talk about his new collection of essays, The Challenge of Things. Writers from the UK, America, China and Hong Kong, amongst others, assemble for lively and insightful discussions as part of our ‘Short Works, Big Ideas’ events. This year we present some of the world’s finest women writers. What makes their vision unique, their stories memorable and their messages universal? Grasp the opportunity to listen to Dame Margaret Drabble, Susan Choi, PP Wong, Monica Catieni, Anna Smaill and others. You are invited to reflect on issues that regularly fill the pages of newspapers worldwide: race, identity and immigration. We feature speakers who have talked widely about discrimination, and we are proud to offer a platform for them to continue to do so. Jabari Asim lends his perspective to black voices and Benjamin Law explores attitudes towards homosexuality across Asia. Join us as we look at cultural issues closer to home and offer insights in to the urbanization of China with fascinating talks from Mike Meyer and David Bandurski. We are committed to supporting the Hong Kong writing scene and are pleased to launch ‘Our Future Voices’ this year, an initiative that invites creative writing students to unite and share their work. Be a part of our celebration as we continue to encourage our emerging talent and enjoy the best of spoken word and performance poetry with budding writers from HKU, CUHK, HKBU, CityU and HKIEd. We are also dedicated to providing young people with the unique opportunity to meet and hear some of today’s most distinguished writers speak. This year, with the continued support of our Festivalgoers and sponsors, we aim to reach more secondary schools through our Schools Programme. Our ambition is to build on our ever growing number of participating schools every year. Please help us do this by becoming a Festival Supporter. Share the joys of reading, writing, learning and debating with us. Discover something new and immerse yourself in the flourishing literary landscape of Hong Kong. We look forward to the next fifteen years!
Christine Van
Winnie Ng
Co-chairs Hong Kong International Literary Festival Limited