Into the Maze of Human Nature with Mystery Narratives: Chinese Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Fiction Writers: An International Outlook
I was invited to a showcase of ‘mystery and suspense’ writer in China by the China Writer’s Association recently, as one of the international experts, to hear the authors speak and to give a short talk on my work in curating horror literature. I found the author speeches a very interesting window into their attitudes as writers and their work, and was delighted to see Cai Jun, one of the most contributors to my anthology Sinophagia, with the greatest renown. Here’s the short talk I gave.
Posted in Events and tagged books, Chinese, horror writing, literature
Sinopticon: Japanese edition
I never thought my literary curations would reach beyond the Anglosphere and into other regions of the world. It was a pleasant surprise to be contacted by Hayakawa Publishing in Japan who told me they wanted to publish an edition of my own-originated anthology, Sinopticon: A Celebration of Science Fiction.
Posted in Books and tagged anthology, books, japanese, literature, science fiction, sinopticon
A New Era of Wuxia: the Female Writers
The global popularity of Chinese historical fantasy has brought forward a new era of female writers. How did this revolution start?
Posted in Articles and tagged books, chinese drama, fantasy, female writers, literature, martial arts, novels, SFF, TV, Wuxia, Xianxia
Mahjong Illustrated: The Sound of Sparrows
The clickety-clack of mahjong tiles being mixed by a group of friends is one of the most soothing and distinctive sounds found across East Asia and, increasingly, North America. First developed in southern China in the early 19th century, mahjong – meaning ‘sparrow’ – is a fun and popular game that tasks you with solving a tile-matching puzzle before you run out of moves. Played by four people using 144 tiles, mahjong is not just a game of luck; it requires strategy, pattern recognition, and an understanding of the other players’ tactics.
Posted in Books and tagged books, china, Chinese, culture, games, Mahjong, majiang, strategy, tiles
A Thousand Eyes and One
I had a lot of fun chatting to the lovely Tanya and Nikki for their speculative fiction book club, Wine On an Empty Stomach about Sinophagia. We talked about resonating aspects of The Waking Dream, the the terrifying Death of Nala, and the unique female voice in Immortal Beauty, also discussing translation and the great genre fiction out there, ending with their fun signature finish.
Posted in Events and tagged books, genre, horror, literature, POC, podcast, SFF, women
Chinese Horror Literature in Italy
I couldn’t find a better home for my Chinese horror collection than Italy, and I had the pleasure of being at the MUFANT in Turin, to talk about my experiences as an transcultural author, Chinese science fiction in Europe, Western Gothic and Chinese Gothic, and the unique features of the latter. It was a few weeks after Sinofagia, the Italian edition of my book was published in Italy, and the immense enthusiasm in the audience made everything that it took for the trip to happen worth it. I was also delighted to meet my publishers add editore, and sign some copies of my book in their bookshop.
Posted in Books, Events and tagged add editore, author, books, genre, gothic, horror, Italy, literature, MUFANT, museum, SFF, Sinofagia, translation, Turin
Story Feast 2025: ESEA Futures
On the day of the Far Right rallies in central London on the 13th of September 2025, it felt momentous to be there to stand with my fellow East and Southeast Asian authors, and our diverse audiences at SOAS. It was a day packed with fantastic panels. On the ESEA Futures panel, we discussed how we first got into genre fiction, Western definitions of sci-fi imposed on ESEA literature and how legend and lore sit at an intersection between speculative genres. It was the first time I had spoken about Wuxia storytelling to an Anglophone audience in person, specifically discussing the differences and similarities in its speculative elements with similar fiction in the West.
Posted in Events and tagged Asian, authors, books, diversity, ESEA, festival, fiction, inclusivity, literature, london, POC, representation, SFF, speculative, Wuxia
Brighton Book Festival 2025: Sinophagia
One of my highlights of 2025 was being invited to the Brighton Book Festival, whose motto is “making the marginalised mainstream”, to be part of their first ever event on horror literature, an apt occasion to discuss my anthology Sinophagia, the first curated collection of translated contemporary horror from China. Alongside two wonderful fellow authors, we read extracts from our books, and discussed topics such as female horror fiction, horror literature in relation to the exploration of facets of human nature, horror fiction and the writing of grief, followed by some great questions from a very interested audience, and signing. The venue was packed with an audience that did very much, go in there!
Posted in Events and tagged anthology, books, festival, fiction, horror, literature, SFF, women, writing
Birmingham Science Fiction Group May 2025: Chinese Horror and Sinophagia
It was a pleasure to be with the Birmingham Science Fiction Group in person to give a talk about modern Chinese horror fiction and discuss my collection Sinophagia, in particular the two horror sci-fi tales featured in it, The Waking Dream and Ti’naang. The event was packed and attended by readers of different generations. This group is one of the longest running science fiction groups in the U.K., it was a great pleasure to speak with my hosts as well as the group’s founders. I will be writing about this soon.
Posted in Events and tagged books, fiction, horror, literature, SFF