Cross-cultural connections

Hong Ying, China

Claim to fame: She made a splash with K: The Art of Love, a novel based on the true story of the tumultuous romance between Bloomsbury progeny Julian Bell and Chinese novelist Ling Shuhua, set in 1930s China. Summer of Betrayal, Peacock Cries, and her autobiography Daughter of the River were bestsellers too.

Authorspeak: Foreign writers usually don't keep their emotional problems vis-a-vis writing to themselves. Talking to them is comforting. I can draw consolation from the fact that I am not the only writer in distress.

I remember one year the Bookworm invited Howard Goldblatt, who had translated my autobiography, Daughter of the River. We talked about literature and literary translation that night. It was unforgettable.

I look forward to meeting the Australian Sinologist Mabel Lee who translated my poems. The last time I saw her was in 2004 in Paris. Seven years have passed, in the blink of an eye.

Event: 7 pm, March 4, The Bookworm, Beijing; 2 pm, March 13, M on the Bund, Shanghai

Anne Summers, Australia

Claim to fame: A political adviser to former Australian prime minister John Keating, Summers changed tack and turned editor of the US edition of Australian Financial Review, and later the Ms magazine, which she eventually sold for a record $20 million. Her book, Damned Whores and God's Police, is hailed as a modern feminist classic.

Authorspeak: It has been six years since my last visit. I will re-visit some of my favorite haunts: Dongtai Lu and the Shanghai Museum, the Forbidden City and Liulichang in Beijing, as well as explore the new places that have sprung up in the last few years.

Events: 6:30 pm, March 1, Capital M, Beijing; 12 noon, March 4, M on the Bund, Shanghai

Leslie T. Chang, US

Claim to fame: Chinese-American Leslie T. Chang returned to China to work for the Wall Street Journal when she stumbled on the story of the largest migration in human history - the 130-million strong contingent of laborers who leave home every year to seek a livelihood. Her findings went into Factory Girls, a much-awarded book that takes a long, hard look at China's thriving mass production industry.

Authorspeak: I am pleased and honored that readers familiar with China have connected with my book. It's one thing to attract readers for whom China is fascinating and unknown, quite another to win the attention and interest of those who are engaged professionally and personally with the country on their own terms.

I am looking forward to attending the literary festivals and meeting readers, and also to seeing old friends and eating lots of Sichuan food. And I am curious to see how people respond to our 9-month-old identical twin daughters.

I am interested in how the current generation of writers chooses to capture the country's momentous changes. China offers great material for a writer but it can also be an overwhelming place to make sense of and write about.

Events: 10 am, March 10, The Helena May, Hong Kong; 7:30 pm, March 11, Pacific Place, Conference Center, Hong Kong; 1 pm, March 14, The Bookworm, Beijing; 8 pm, March 16, Studio X, Beijing; 5 pm, March 19, M on the Bund, Shanghai

Qiu Xiaolong, China/US

Claim to fame: The creator of the tough cop with a love of poetry, Inspector Chen Cao - the protagonist of his six crime novels, bestsellers all - Qiu is also a poet, literary translator, critic and academic. His latest, Years of Red Dust, is a series of interlinked stories about life as seen from a narrow lane in Shanghai, from the early days of the Communist revolution to the rapid urbanization in the late 1990s.

Authorspeak: I remember attending the first Shanghai Literature Festival. It is so good to be back. I grew up in Shanghai, which also serves as the backdrop of my books. I'm certainly looking forward to the event.

In the last few years, Shanghai Literature Festival has become more and more well-known abroad. A number of writers in the West have talked to me about it. It surely enhances the cultural image of the city.

Fellow festival attendee S.J. Rozan is a wonderful writer, and a great friend. We have met in other cities, but it will be the first time in Shanghai. I have promised to be her "guide" in Shanghai.

Events: 3:30 pm, March 16, Central Library, Hong Kong; 1 pm, March 19, M on the Bund, Shanghai

Xu Xi, China/US/New Zealand

Claim to fame: She traverses three continents, living between Hong Kong, New York and the south island of New Zealand. She's the author of eight books of fiction and essays, including her latest, the Man Asian Prize shortlisted Habit of a Foreign Sky, a novel about a globe-trotting, high-profile investment banker trying to come to terms with her complicated relationship with her deceased mother.

Authorspeak: I would like to walk the stores in Beijing to see how Chinese fashions and products look (I used to be in marketing and the quickest way to take the pulse of a place is to walk the local stores and marketplaces). I'd like to catch up with friends, oh! and eat.

Beijing is an interesting international space for writers these days - perhaps even more so than Shanghai or Hong Kong - because every writer I know from somewhere else wants to go to Beijing. This is testament to how "sexy" the city has become for writers. I actually think Beijing could be a rather different kind of conduit to the larger literary world than most other cities..

Event: 5 pm, March 5, The Hutong, Beijing; 1 pm, March 7, The Bookworm, Beijing; 6 pm, March 13, Hullet House, Hong Kong; 7:30 pm, March 15, Central Library, Hong Kong

Helon Habila, Africa

Claim to fame: Nigeria novelist and poet, Helon Habila, won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for the Best First Book from Africa for his novel Waiting for an Angel, set in 1990s Nigeria, torn apart by internal strife. Now a teacher of creative writing at the George Mason University in Virginia, US, his latest work, Oil on Water, examines the human cost of oil industry in Nigeria.

Authorspeak: I have a long list of events to do, including readings, panel discussions, and school visits. I am particularly interested in the school visits because I want to talk to the young people about what they are reading, and what they think about African literature and culture. I am also looking forward to the food - a friend told me I must try the dumplings.

This would be my first time in Asia, so I am looking forward to discovering new things, meeting new people, and who knows, I might come back with material for a new story, set in China.

Events: 6 pm, March 13, The Bookworm, Beijing; 6 pm, March 14, The Bookworm, Beijing