Press Release
HKBU International Writers' Workshop presents talk by Akutagawa Prize winner Yoko Tawada
Tuesday, 12 Oct 2021
The International Writers' Workshop (IWW) of Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) will host its Distinguished Writers Series this month. It will feature renowned Japanese fiction writer Ms Yoko Tawada, winner of the Akutagawa Prize and the National Book Award, at a talk from 4:00pm to 6:00pm on 20 October (Wednesday) that aims to inspire literary creativity in teachers and students as well as the general public. Ms Tawada will virtually join the literary reading and the conversation with the translators of her award-winning work The Emissary.
Ms Yoko Tawada is a renowned Japanese novelist and writer of short stories. She was born in Tokyo, Japan and moved to Germany at the age of 22. She writes both in Japanese and German, and she has been active in giving readings and performances in collaboration with musicians such as Aki Takase. She is also the recipient of numerous literary awards, including the Kleist Prize and the two most sought-after literary awards in Japan, namely the Akutagawa Prize and Tanizaki Prize. The Emissary (2018) (the English translation of Kentoshi) won the 2018 National Book Award for Translated Literature in the United States.
Members of the public can join the talk online and it is free of charge. Those who are interested in joining can register online (https://bit.ly/3DVXK4S). The latest information about the event can be found on IWW's webpage (http://iww.hkbu.edu.hk/) or Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/hkbuiww/).
Each year in the fall semester, IWW's Distinguished Writers Series honours one esteemed international writer who will subsequently be invited to Hong Kong to give a literary reading and discuss their literary works with local writers and readers. IWW also runs a competitive residency programme in the spring semester each year, with an open call for applications from potential writers-in-residence who will be featured in the IWW Literary Festival.
ABOUT IWW
Founded in 2004, the International Writers' Workshop is one of the signature programmes in the Faculty of Arts at Hong Kong Baptist University. IWW has hosted nearly 130 writers from more than 50 countries, and it is one of the few writers-in-residence programmes in Asia. A self-funded, non-profit initiative, IWW continues to be an important and historically significant initiative that promotes cultural and educational activities in Hong Kong, and it remains a long-standing part of HKBU's commitment to the literary arts. Please visit this website for more details: http://iww.hkbu.edu.hk/
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