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IN ITS NEW HOME AT TAI KWUN CENTRE FOR HERITAGE AND ARTS, NEXT MONTH’S HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL LITERARY FESTIVAL PROMISES TO BE BIGGER AND BETTER THAN EVER, WRITES STEPHEN MCCARTY
Many and varied are the reasons for attending the literary festival, that modern-day meeting of minds, that contemporary crossroads of penetrating parley, that essential component in the ever-inventive machinery of bookselling. For the reader and attendee, the prestigious pow-wow is perhaps a onetime-only opportunity to press the flesh of their idols at the post-appearance book sale and signing – and to come away from that brief encounter with a precious, inscribed copy, dedicated, “To Jan/Ben/Steph, Best Wishes, Indecipherable.” Having heard and seen their beloved authors up on stage, maybe even reading from their work, festival-goers are thus happy to fork over a little more cash for a solid souvenir. For the author, the literary shindig represents the chance to wallow in publicity while elevating book sales, both pursuits bearing a direct mathematical relationship to the size and fame of the festival. He or she can choose to meet the readers who have indirectly brought them to the event and to be gracious, offering at least a few words of thanks and polite personal enquiry; or, in some exceptional cases, they can ignore their doting public absolutely and refuse to answer any questions. They may meet author friends old and new. They may even be paid for appearing, or at least enjoy complimentary travel, accommodation, and food and beverage. As novelist and playwright David Lodge put it in the Financial Times: “For writers, irrespective of fees or perks, festivals can become a wearisome chore if they do not enjoy them as occasional breaks, usually in pleasant and interesting locations, from the lonely and anxious business of composition.” Note the most telling strand of Lodge’s assessment – “usually in pleasant and interesting locations”. Now no one is suggesting for a moment that the prime attraction for festival-goers is ever location and not literature. But the history and solid cultural heft of a Unesco World Heritage Site, such as George Town, Penang; the ramshackle beauty of Jaipur, India’s “pink city”, whose festival programme is presented amid the faded opulence of a palace; or the restless ghosts of Portuguese and Dutch invaders at Galle Fort, Sri Lanka – another Unesco world wonder – inevitably add layers of gloss to their respective literary blow-outs. Joining the party this year is the Hong Kong International Literary Festival, its 18th incarnation running from November 2 to 11. Previous iterations have seen events scattered across Hong Kong and held in venues of varying suitability, often to the detriment of attendances. But all that is set to change, with the 2018 festival finally taking a bow in a permanent home. And as new digs go, they come loaded with history (as well as an unnecessarily clumsy name). Opened in May, after eight years and HK$3.8 billion worth of investment, the Tai Kwun Centre for Heritage and Arts occupies the restored Central Police Station and Victoria Prison, built in the months following the first appearance of the British flag on Hong Kong soil. Happily, the evolution of the “Big Station” has an echo in that of Hong Kong’s big literary bash, as Simon Westcott, co-chair (with Angela Mackay) and the man behind Luxe City Guides, explains: “The festival has been making a significant cultural contribution to Hong Kong life for almost two decades, thanks to the tireless work of many since the first, in 2001: board members past and present, directors, donors, advisers, provocative moderators, government patrons and sponsors. It takes a village to raise a child. “But for the last three festivals in particular we’ve been incredibly lucky to have had the dynamic team of director Phillipa Milne and assistant manager Jacqueline Leung at the helm,” he says. “They are the Doctor Who’s Tardis of arts management: a small unit on the outside but capable of galactic expansion on the inside, especially as each festival approaches. Under their direction the festival has more than doubled its programming and audience from 2015 to 2017 – and we’re delighted to say we will reach more than 10,000 people this year.” And in conjunction with the festival’s expansionist aims comes a new image. “We’re so happy to be working with Tai Kwun, at the cutting edge of the city’s new cultural conversation, and look forward to a long and illustrious partnership,” says Westcott. “We’re also very proud to be launching our new logo and branding: simple, bold and unabashedly celebrating the power of the written word.” Backing up the new look is an authors’ line-up packing a considerable punch. “We have a real feast of international and local writers on offer this year, featuring in more than 50 events,” says Milne. “Topics we’ll explore include feminism, LGBTQ+ and inclusivity in the arts and travel writing. We’ll also host more workshops than ever, ranging from a literary editing workshop to a Start Your Own Podcast event.” Among the big hitters, adds Milne, are Susie Orbach, who “will discuss her seminal book, Fat is a Feminist Issue, which turns 40 this year, and new editions of which continue to be published. There’s a real buzz surrounding the appearance of Irvine Welsh; festival-goers will be excited to hear him speak about his new book, Dead Men’s Trousers, another followup to the era-defining Trainspotting. Cheryl Strayed, best known for Wild, her memoir of hiking the United States’ Pacific Crest Trail solo, will feature
at this year’s Gala Dinner at the China Club. And Ma Jian will discuss his latest novel, China Dream, which charts the psychological collapse of a regional Chinese official stalked by nightmares recalling his violent history.” Hong Kong’s own Emma-Lee Moss – better known as singersongwriter Emmy the Great – “will be in conversation with New Yorkbased short-story writer Jenny Zhang, whose first book, Sour Heart, won this year’s PEN/Robert W Bingham Prize,” says Milne. “They’ll be sharing insights into their experiences of the Chinese diaspora.” And on the subject of short stories, “Indonesian writer Intan Paramaditha will present her recently published collection Apple and Knife,” she adds. “Her work is greatly influenced by gothic fiction and feminism, and her stories are clever and compelling.” Alongside local writers Dung Kai-cheung (fiction), Ng Mei Kwan (poetry and arts criticism) and Hon Lai Chu (fiction) – and fittingly for Hong Kong – the festival will also feature “Dr Mithu Storoni, author of Stress-Proof, which offers advice on strengthening our natural defences against stress. And I’m looking forward to hearing from Tom Wright, who will introduce Billion Dollar Whale, the thrilling inside story of the 1Malaysia Development Berhad corruption scandal,” says Milne. When the curtain goes up next month and the latest chapter in the event’s own story begins, it will, hopes Westcott, presage an even bigger and better festival. “We’re very optimistic about and ambitious for our future,” he says, “looking to at least double in size again for our 20th anniversary, reach new and younger audiences across Hong Kong, expand our schools programme, and bring to the city the world’s best writers, thinkers and creatives. “If Hong Kong has built its phenomenal reputation and international impact on the exchange of goods, we want to be a critical part of expanding that reach to the exchange of ideas – uniquely situated as we are on the fault lines of shifting global power.”