Latest news with #HKILF
South China Morning Post
22-02-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
This week in PostMag: from HKILF and new books to Zuma's alumni
Published: 11:00am, 22 Feb 2025 In what I expect isn't an uncommon story for media types – or anyone picking up a print magazine honestly – I was an avid reader as a child. Shockingly, compulsory education didn't beat it out of me. In fact, summer reading lists and 19th century literature courses were welcome havens from the indignity of precalculus, physics and econ. (Perhaps to my detriment, but that's another story.) For me, it was entering the workforce. Even in a profession of words, time to just read for pleasure evaporated. And that was before the deluge of social media with its memes, short-form video and infinite scrolling. I wish I didn't have to make time and space for reading, but that's the reality. So the arrival of the Hong Kong International Literary Festival (HKILF) next weekend is, in a way, luxurious. A whole week all about books. I even got a reading assignment – you'll find me deep in the pages of Jake Adelstein's Tokyo Noir (2024) and Asako Yuzuki's Butter (2024) before their dinner on March 3. This isn't exactly a Lit Fest themed issue, but with all the great writers coming to town, it was impossible for them not to show up in the stories that follow. Our cover, bringing the world of books into a traditional kaifong stall, is illustrated by Hong Kong artist Kaitlin Chan, who will be speaking at the festival. The 'culture wars', as they are, feel like they are at a fever pitch across the world. In this context, Jo Lusby explores the role of sensitivity readers in publishing. It's an interesting proposition – should historical works be edited to fit the time? Marked with a trigger warning? What's the line between sensitivity and censorship? She speaks with authors joining next week's literary festival to understand how they grappled with these issues in their own work. Fionnuala McHugh plunges into a new book on Hong Kong's Japanese residents in the late 1800s. Inspired by Hong Kong Cemetery's Japanese section, Meiji Graves in Happy Valley (2024), by Yoshiko Nakano and Georgina Challen, who will be leading a walk as part of the HKILF, uncovers the untold stories of those who were laid to rest there.
South China Morning Post
13-02-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Highlights of the coming Hong Kong International Literary Festival 2025
Published: 12:45pm, 13 Feb 2025 When US historian Steven Schwankert discovered that six Chinese men had survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912, after it hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage, he knew he had to write about it. He was shocked that nobody else had. Ah Lam, Chang Chip, Chung Foo, Fang Lang, Lee Bing, and Ling Hee survived the disaster that killed more than 1,500 of the estimated 2,224 on board. But their ordeal did not end with their rescue. When they reached the US they were not allowed to enter because of the country's anti-Chinese immigration policies. On March 5, Schwankert – a shipwreck buff and author of Poseidon: China's Secret Salvage of Britain's Lost Submarine (2013) – will talk about the research journey behind his new book, The Six , at an event that is part of the Hong Kong International Literary Festival (HKILF). Taking place at venues across the city from March 1 to 8 – and running in conjunction with the Young Readers Festival from February 24 to March 7 – the HKILF has again attracted established and emerging writers from Hong Kong and around the globe. The packed programme includes book talks, readings, workshops, panel discussions, performances and school programmes. British author and China expert Paul French will host a talk on March 8 about his latest literary offering , Her Lotus Year: China, the Roaring Twenties, and the Making of Wallis Simpson, which shines a light on the controversial figure who became famous for changing the course of the British monarchy.
