Asia House Festival of Asian Literature, 7-22 May 2013

Now in its seventh year, the Asia House Festival of Asian Literature is the only UK festival dedicated to pan-Asian writing and cultures and will take place at Asia House in Central London and other prestigious cultural venues around the capital in May. There'll be a mix of literary talks and salons, topical debate, cookery, manga, samurai and yoga sessions from renowned authors, performers and poets - home-grown and from across Asia. details:

• With a range of events covering more than 15 countries, the Festival this year widens its remit to include authors from Turkey, Syria and parts of the Middle East, appearing alongside authors writing about Afghanistan, Burma, China, India, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, and Britain. Warming up with four exciting pre-festival events in April, the Festival also announces Booker Prize shortlisted author Mohsin Hamid talking about his new book How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia.
• Turkey’s biggest selling author Elif Shafak who joins Iraqi activist Haifa Zangana and Iranian novelist Kamin Mohammadi to debate ‘Women, Freedom and the Islamic World’ at an event in partnership with British Council’s Turkey Market Focus. 
• Najib Afghan, an 18 year old Afghan boy, shares his personal journey from Helmand to the UK as part of Asia House’s contribution to the Alchemy Festival at Southbank Centre.
• Will Hutton, Jonathan Fenby and Gerard Lemos re-evaluate the ‘Chinese Dream’.
• Colin Pyle shares tales from an exhilarating 18,000 km motorbike ride around China
• Man Booker and Man Asia Prize shortlisted author Tan Twan Eng takes the long view on Malaysia's turbulent road to independence, the subject of his novel The Garden of Evening Mists.
• A day will be devoted to Burma – to its style and poetry as well as a discussion on ‘What Next for Burma?’
• British-Asian “coolness” will be hotly debated by a panel including BBC Radio’s Nihal and Bobby Friction.
• The theme for 2013 is ‘Freedom’, in many contexts: freedom of expression, education, travel, justice, the freedom to read the truth and to live in our chosen ways. But not all events will focus on this issue: look out for Manga comics and Samurai swords from Japan, Punch and Judy-Bollywood style, award-winning food and yoga for families.  

In addition to events at Asia House and partner venues, the Festival of Asian Literature will also visit schools in the London area with a programme of workshops that bring writers and journalists into classrooms, and young people into potential internships. In partnership with The Reading Agency’s Reading Activists mentoring programme, Asia House Festival of Asian Literature will welcome six young reporters aged 14-16 to Asia House for the duration of the Festival, where they will interview authors and audience members about their experience at the Festival and publish their stories online.

Asia House Asian Festival of Literature Director, Adrienne Loftus Parkins [who BTW is one of the cleverest, most chic and global-minded people I know], says:

The appetite for Asian literature has grown noticeably over the past 7 years. We are proud of contributing to that growth as the only Festival in the UK to give a platform to excellent pan-Asian writing and of providing a forum for the discussion of the important issues affecting people across Asia and in the UK. 

This year we’re involving young people like never before - in helping develop Saturday programmes, marketing them to their peers, and in reporting on many of the Festival talks and workshops. We’re making a strong commitment to developing the next generation of British Asian readers and writers, through a pilot schools programme that we hope to take nationally in 2014.

A full programme will be announced in March 2013.


Text (c) Asia House