In her book Gin's Tonic: Ocean Voyage, Inner Journey, Ginni MacRobert documents her real-life episodes with pirates, terrific storms and astonishingly remote breakdowns as she undertook the sea voyage of her dreams. She describes how she, her crew and her faithful dog Henry dealt with unexpected challenges and she shares the wonders experienced along the way. Dinner included. For more details and to register, click here or telephone 2259-3456. This is an independent event hosted during the Festival.

Cost: $398.00

Join independent publishers, Proverse Hong Kong, in celebrating the launch of two works from local writers. Canadian-born Jennifer Ching introduces her debut novel, A Painted Moment, and solicitor-turned-poet Patty Ho shares her first collection of poems, Heart to Heart. Books will be available for purchase and signing. There will be a cash bar. To register for this event, please click here or telephone 2259-3456. This is an independent event hosted during the Festival.

Cost: Free with registration

Writing Across Cultures is a two-day symposium for students and teachers of creative writing, featuring writers who teach writing at universities around the region and at some of the world’s top creative writing programmes -- including the Iowa Writing Program and the MA at the University of East Anglia. This is a unique opportunity for emerging writers and others to discover some of the secrets of the craft. The symposium is organised by the Asia-Pacific Writing Partnership and The City University of Hong Kong in conjunction with the 2010 Man Hong Kong International Literary Festival. It is the key event for the Asia-Pacific Writing Partnership for 2010. Go to www.apwriters.org for details about the authors. Please note this event requires registration; click here for details. Ticket prices are in Hong Kong dollars; $250 for general public and $100 for Friends of the APWP.

Cost: $250.00

Help kick start this year’s Festival at this celebratory soirée! Whether a voracious reader or a book hoarder, a bibliophile or a bookworm, we invite you to mingle with visiting writers, publishers and other literature enthusiasts at The Upper House. This event is being sponsored by The Upperhouse and Kedington Wines.

Cost: Free with registration

Come hear some intriguing tales and secrets, and celebrate the entire literary community, including the HK Writers Circle, the publishers, the bookshops and the journals. Free beer, free books, and free-of-inhibition stories! This is an independent event hosted during the Festival.

Cost: Free with registration

Comedians call them monologues. Editorialists call them columns. And college applicants call them something we can't repeat. The essay may be the bane of students, but as Aldous Huxley famously wrote, “like the novel, the essay is a literary device for saying almost everything about almost anything”. Robin Hemley’s essays have appeared in many literary publications including The New York Times, New York Magazine and The Wall Street Journal. He talks with Kim Cheng Boey, a prize-winning poet and senior lecturer in Creative Writing, whose latest collection of essays, Between Stations, focuses on the state of the migrant writer. Moderated by Wendy Gan. Coffee will be served from 10:00am. Mr Hemley appears with the assistance of The City University of Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific Writing Partnership. Mr Boey has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding advisory body. This event is supported by the LRC.

Cost: $120.00

Finding a section difficult to put on paper? Intransigent characters? Simply stuck? Jan Cornall will lead you through a series of meditative exercises designed to work through the problem areas in your work. Visualization and mapping techniques show you how to link, structure, theme and layer emotional subtext. This workshop will assist in consolidating and clarifying your writing by helping you find the heartbeat of your story. Limited to 20 participants. This event is supported by the Australian Chamber of Commerce.

Cost: $600.00

Alex Kuo’s Lipstick and Other Stories won an American Book Award, a first for a Hong Kong author. In White Jade and Other Stories, he travels from playful wit and searing sarcasm in eastern Oregon, to sorrowful tragedy in Shanghai. This novella illuminates Kuo's talent for humanising historical circumstances with fiercely vivid characters. His imagination bridges oceans, cultures and generations. Jose Dalisay’s fiction, bursting with creativity, belongs to a long and rich narrative tradition of Philippine fiction written in English. Dalisay has won international acclaim with his insightful and darkly comic novels and has helped pave the way for contemporary Filipino novelists to gain international recognition. Moderated by Jane Camens. Ticket includes one standard drink and snacks. Mr Kuo appears with the assistance of The City University of Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific Writing Partnership.

Cost: $180.00

Famously described by W.B. Yeats as “the most handsome man in Britain”, Rupert Brooke, poet, campaigner and aesthete who transfixed admirers of either sex. From an idyllic childhood to a tumultuous breakdown and an untimely death while serving in World War I, Brooke’s life and poetic works have engendered intrigue and admiration. In Jill Dawson’s fictional account of Brooke, The Great Lover, she gives poignant voice to Brooke through a dual narrative that unfolds both in his own words and those of her spirited fictional character. Moderated by RTHK's Sarah Passmore.

Cost: $440.00

It is utterly impossible to sever South African literature from South African politics. And there is no doubt that censorship policies under apartheid affected South African writing. André Brink and Mandla Langa discuss how to write within a system of political oppression, how things have changed in South Africa and what the future holds. Rachel Holmes, Head of Literature and Spoken Word at the Southbank Centre, will moderate. Mr Brink and Mr Langa appear with the assistance of the South African Consulate and South African Airways. Ms Holmes appears with the support of the British Council.

Cost: $250.00

Ramachandra Guha was recently named as one of the world’s 100 most influential public intellectuals by the US magazine, Foreign Policy. Born in 1958, and educated in Delhi and Calcutta, he has taught at several universities including, Stanford, Yale, and the Indian Institute of Science. Guha is the author of India After Gandhi: The History of the World’s Largest Democracy and, most recently, Savaging the Civilized: Verrier Elwin, His Tribals, and India. Hear his controversial viewpoint on contemporary Indian politics. Dinner included; FCC members $175, non-members $250. To register for this event, please email: adminoffice@fcchk.org

Cost: $250.00

Writing it, reading it, performing it--there's a resurgence of interest in poetry these days. This literary art form uses language for its aesthetic and evocative aspects in addition to its apparent meaning. But how does a poet create these qualities? Ouyang Yu, poet, novelist and translator, whose collections of poetry include Songs of the Last Chinese Poet, and Marilyn Chin, four-time winner of the Pushcart Prize for her poetry, and author of recently published Revenge of the Mooncake Vixen, talk about the art and craft of writing poetry and prose. Moderated by Kate Rogers. Bring your lunch along and join in the discussion. Limited to 30 people. Mr Yu and Ms Chin appear with the assistance of The City University of Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific Writing Partnership.

Cost: $120.00

Robin Hemley takes that familiar wistful longing—the if-only sensation we have in regarding the past—and turns disappointment and chagrin into exhilarating time-travel between the past and the present. Join him in conversation with Janice Lee as discusses his latest work, Do Over! Mr Hemley appears with the assistance of The City University of Hong Kong and the Asia Pacific Writing Partnership.

Cost: $120.00

The success and popularity of Asian authors and Asian novels continues to go from strength to strength. The Man Asian Literary Prize highlights this by bringing exciting new Asian authors to the world literary community. The Prize has affected the lives of Jose Dalisay, Xu Xi and Justin Hill. These authors discuss their perspectives on the role of prizes in literature, and, specifically, whether Asian Literature needs a prize category of its own. To register for this event, please click here.

Cost: Free with registration

Read the Skulduggery Pleasant novels and come meet the author, Derek Landy. Discover the inspiration for his quirky crime-fighting characters. Learn more about the skeleton detective and student adventurer Stephanie Edgley (AKA Valkyrie Caine). Hear stories, ask questions and get your books signed. Appropriate from age 9. Parents also welcome.

Cost: $90.00

Shirley See Yan Ma provides a Jungian perspective on the Chinese tradition of footbinding. Drawing on personal history, popular myths, literature and her work as a therapist, Footbinding discusses how modern women still symbolically find their feet bound through this ancient practice. With a skilful use of Jungian concepts, Ma has given us a compassionate book about Chinese culture and psychology that is fascinating to read. There will be a cash bar available from 6:00pm. For tickets and other enquiries, please email: membership@royalasiaticsociety.org.hk

Cost: $70.00

As South Africa continues to celebrate the remarkable political stability that it has achieved since the dismantling of political apartheid, André Brink reflects on the nature and significance of the literature that has been produced in this post-apartheid period. Is South African English literature focusing on the changing social conditions? Brink will discuss the themes and trends that have emerged in response to this new socio-political reality. To register for this event, please click here. Mr Brink appears with the assistance of the South African Consulate and South African Airways.

Cost: Free with registration

A stellar line-up of international poets, masters of the form, takes to the stage. Viki Holmes introduces us to poets from near and away in an evening of readings that will satisfy poetry lovers of all persuasions. Don’t miss this evening where live poetry intersects with jazz. An exciting ensemble of poets including Gillian Bickley, Kim Cheng Boey, Marilyn Chin, Jan Cornall, Tanya Hart, Jason Lee, Adam Radford and Ouyang Yu will perform on stage, bringing their poetry alive. Ms Chin and Mr Yu appear with the assistance of The City University of Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific Writing Partnership. Mr Boey's visit has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding advisory body.

Cost: $220.00

India is commonly cited as the world’s largest democracy yet the majority of its citizens continue to live in abject poverty. Many argue that a democracy in name alone is nothing to celebrate if it does not improve the quality of life of its citizens. Join Ramachandra Guha, author of India After Gandhi: The History of the World’s Largest Democracy, and Savaging the Civilized: Verrier Elwin, His Tribals, and India, and Zoher Abdoolcarim, TIME International's Asia editor, as they debate whether India’s democratic system is the most effective vehicle for enhancing the welfare of its citizens. There will be a cash bar from 7:30pm. Limited tickets are avaiable through Asia Society. For details, please email: hk@asiasoc.org or call 2103 9502.

Cost: $200.00

Writing short stories is an art form unto itself – every word must count. Award winning authors Alex Kuo and Robin Hemley discuss this most specialized literary form. Kuo’s latest collection of stories, White Jade and Other Stories, is funny and sometimes perverse; it shows extravagant imagination and sharp political perspective. Hemley’s collection, All You Can Eat, focuses on ordinary people – a family attending a church pancake social and a woman planning her husband’s wake – and explores what lies beneath the surface. Moderated by Rajeev Balasubramanyam. Ticket price includes the Pawn's delicious coffee and snacks. Mr Kuo and Mr Hemley appear with the assistance of The City University of Hong Kong and the Asia-Pacific Writing Partnership.

Cost: $200.00

Join an energetic conversation as Betty Jamie Chung, author of Life Recipes From My Mother, tries to tame cheeky columnist Nury Vittachi, a man constantly accused of opening his big mouth just a little too wide. In her new self-help book, which uses family history to teach social graces, the author delivers her late mother’s valuable life lessons in three heart-warming batches: “Recipes for the Soul”, “Recipes for Successful Relationships” and “Recipes for Agreeable Living”. Even as she shares her mother’s traditional wisdom, however, Chung also describes her as a complex woman who was well ahead of her time in 1930s China: espousing independent thinking, higher education and early feminism. Old-fashioned as they may seem, the life lessons she passed on make a case for timeless human values and codes of conduct, often gleefully ignored or simply forgotten in our fast-paced modern lives. Ticket price includes breakfast buffet, served 11:00am to 11.30am.

Cost: $120.00

Singapore was not always the orderly and successful city-state that it appears today. Mark Ravinder Frost introduces a cast of lesser known historical personalities – from dissenting poets and radical ideologues, to patriotic factory workers and early feminists. Singapore: A Biography shows a lively and multi-layered portrait of Singapore that offers fresh insights – dramatic, complex and engrossing. Focusing on eyewitness accounts, individual life stories and media sources, Frost discusses the critical moments in the island’s past and why Singapore's history - and the path it has taken – also matters outside Singapore. Moderated by Stephen McCarty.

Cost: $120.00

It is 1904. At the age of 42 the handsome and influential George Morrison is considered the most eligible Western bachelor in China. Then he encounters Mae Perkins, the ravishing and free-spirited daughter of a California millionaire and a turbulent affair begins as war breaks out between Russia and Japan for domination over northeast China. Linda Jaivin’s novel, A Most Immoral Woman, is based on journalist George Morrison and his relationship to China. She discusses where history ends and fiction begins. Ms Jaivin has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding advisory body.

Cost: $120.00

In the Columbia University library, by chance, Vikram Chandra happened upon the autobiography of Colonel James "Sikander" Skinner, a legendary nineteenth-century soldier, born of an Indian mother and a British father. This book was to become the inspiration for his first novel, Red Earth and Pouring Rain. He left film school to begin work on the novel which was received with outstanding critical acclaim, winning the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book. Featured in the 1997 New Yorker photograph of "India's leading novelists", Chandra’s second work, Love and Longing in Bombay, proves he is a master story-teller. From fiction to film, hear more from an author who makes it necessary to re-evaluate stories from and about India. In conversation with Chris Wood, editor-in-chief of Asia Literary Review.

Cost: $120.00

Linda Jaivin shares her thoughts on the often complex relationship between literature and sex. How has the erotic domain of human experience inspired authors and readers across the centuries, and how have authors writing about sex prevailed over the mores, prejudices and taboos of their times? Jaivin, whose book Eat Me is a comic-erotic cult classic, talks with Sarah Passmore about sex and literature. This discussion will be followed by a fun pole dancing and hoops display performed by dancers from Pole Paradise Studio. A cash bar will be available for the timid! This event is supported by M1NT. Ms Jaivin’s visit has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding advisory body.

Cost: $150.00

Join four outstanding storytellers who will be paired with a different wine for each course of your dinner. Each author has chosen a reading or anecdote to complement the wine and the food and to entertain you throughout the evening. Rajeev Balasubramanyam’s debut novel, In Beautiful Disguises is the tale of a cheeky, determined heroine from a small town in Southern India who escapes from convention. Justin Hill regales us with stories about his soon to be published trilogy on the profound changes in the British Isles that surrounded the Battle of Hastings. In The Hottentot Venus, Rachel Holmes writes about London’s most famous curiosity, Saartjie Baartman, who was a symbol of the 19th-century’s attitudes towards sex, race and imperialism. Raconteur David Parker, author of The Mighty World of Eye, talks about the weirder side of academic life and how coincidence and paranoia haunt the literary imagination.Thanks go to Essential Fine Wines for generously contributing the wine. Ms Holmes appears with the support of the British Council.

Cost: $850.00

Silliness is a wonderful gift and Emily Gravett is a master of the craft. Be prepared for a laughter-filled morning. Gravett’s Wolves was published to great acclaim in 2005, winning many prizes including the Kate Greenaway Medal and marking the beginning of a stellar international career creating extraordinary books for children. Her recent books, Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears and Monkey and Me, delight children and adults alike. Ticket price admits one adult and one child and includes juice and cookies for the children. Ms Gravett appears with the assistance of Pan MacMillan.

Cost: $150.00

So many of us straddle cultural divides. Finding a sense of belonging in strange territory is a fertile subject, and it may be that distance is essential to discovering how one belongs to one’s own culture. Mandla Langa has lived in exile between Botswana and Budapest; Shamini Flint has lived away from Malaysia and travelled extensively within Asia; and Hyejin Kim was born in Korea but lives in Singapore. Yet they all write of home. Moderated by Dania Shawwa Abuali. Mr Langa appears with the assistance of the South African Consulate and South African Airways.

Cost: $120.00

Crime fiction has risen above the formulaic. Highly accomplished writers are adopting the form to produce works that are valuable as literature and entertainment. Why does this form work so well? What attracts such a broad range of readers to the genre? How have plots and characters changed to accommodate current issues? Do place and culture matter? Vikram Chandra, Shamini Flint and Nury Vittachi discuss writing about crime.

Cost: $120.00

Tash Aw and Manreet Sodhi Someshwar play with the idea of post-colonialism, yet refuse to be constrained by it. Aw’s Map of the Invisible World, about the search of separated siblings, is set against the haunting backdrop of Indonesia and Malaysia in the decades after independence. In The Long Walk Home, Someshwar’s protagonist journeys through the tumultuous 20th century of Punjab, from pre-partition India to independence and beyond. Moderated by Chris Wood, editor-in-chief of Asia Literary Review. Mr Aw appears with the assistance of the British Council.

Cost: $120.00

Murong Xuecun, one of contemporary China's most famous authors, took China by storm in 2002 with the publication of Chengdu Please Forget Me Tonight. The author of five novels, Leave Me Alone: A Novel of Chengdu is his first novel to be translated into English. With his translator, Harvey Thomlinson, he discusses the political and social corruption inherent in modern urban relationships. Despite the aspirations of his characters, their lives are mired in drinking, drugs and whoring, and beset by boredom, disillusion and gambling debts. Leave Me Alone: A Novel of Chengdu is an unflinching and darkly funny novel that uncovers the pressures of life in modern China, where riches and sex abound but not for all. Moderated by Marysia Juszczakiewicz, head of Peony Literary Agency. Please note this event will be in English and Putonghua.

Cost: $120.00

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." Perhaps not altogether true as words can hurt, but words do have the power to heal, cause change, quicken the heart and lay bare feeling and experience. End your weekend in the calm setting of St John’s Cathedral with works full of hope, at times angry, but always inspirational. Music provided by Soho Collective (Musical Director: Bethan Greaves). This event will follow a Choral Evensong, welcoming the Literary Festival to St John’s Cathedral with a celebration of the masterly English styles of Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury 1532 – 1556, as expressed in the Books of Common Prayer (1549, 1552 ff), and George Herbert (1593 – 1633), English poet and divine.

Cost: Free with registration

In the Columbia University library, by chance, Vikram Chandra happened upon the autobiography of Colonel James "Sikander" Skinner, a legendary nineteenth-century soldier, born of an Indian mother and a British father. This book was to become the inspiration for his first novel, Red Earth and Pouring Rain. He left film school to begin work on the novel which was received with outstanding critical acclaim, winning the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book. Featured in the 1997 New Yorker photograph of "India's leading novelists", Chandra’s second work, Love and Longing in Bombay, proves he is a master story-teller. His latest novel, Sacred Games, is an acclaimed literary crime thriller. From fiction to film, hear more from an author who makes it necessary to re-evaluate stories from and about India. To register for this event, please click here.

Cost: Free with registration

Good translation is as much a work of art as the piece being translated. Yet often the subtleties and nuances of language--the things that make a work original--are missed in the process. Is it possible to create a mirror of the original? To what extent does a translator have the opportunity to discuss a work's nuances with the author? Join Murong Xuecun and his translator, Harvey Thomlinson, as they shed some light on these questions. Please note that this session will be in English and Putonghua. To register for this event, please click here.

Cost: Free with registration

In Botswana, meet Precious Ramotswe and friends; in Edinburgh, be introduced to amateur sleuth Isabel Dalhousie; hear the latest hanes from 44 Scotland Street; and at the Institute of Romance Philology at Regensburg make the acquaintance of Professor Doctor Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld. This is the world of Alexander McCall Smith. This literary repast is sure to satisfy your appetite in more ways than one. In conversation with RTHK's Sarah Passmore. Ticket price includes a three course meal in the Helena May's Main Lounge. Mr McCall Smith appears with the assistance of the British Council.

Cost: $450.00

Rachel Kushner’s debut novel, Telex from Cuba, nominated for the 2008 National Book Award, is a lush evocation of the life of American expatriates in 1950s Cuba. What the two child narrators witness is not pretty; the adults drink excessively, men and women have affairs and the inevitable race hierarchies play out between Americans, Cubans, Haitians and Jamaicans. Join Janice Lee, author of The Piano Teacher, as she discusses this stunning work with Kushner. Ticket price includes a three course lunch at The Press Room. Ms Kushner appears with the assistance of Delta Airlines.

Cost: $450.00

Award-winning journalist and author, Claire Scobie, will teach aspiring travel writers - or writing travelers – how to develop an idea and turn it into a polished piece of work. While it reads like money for jam – exotic locations and luxury hotels – travel writing is no holiday! This is a general workshop and will give participants a broad understanding of travel writing genres in magazines, newspapers and blogs with plenty of practical exercises. Topics include: how to impress an editor with good ideas; ways to evoke a sense of place; using photographs as “eye candy”; and how to turn a destination into a sellable story. Revising, structure and editing will also be covered. Limited to 20 participants. This event is supported by the Australian Chamber of Commerce.

Cost: $600.00

Have you ever finished a book that captivated you in every respect - it was well written, the plot was engaging and you couldn't put it down - but you disliked, or even loathed, the characters? In Novel About My Wife, a chilling portrait of a marriage beset by paranoia and obsession, Emily Perkins's male narrator, bitter and disaffected Tom Stone, is dysfunctional, selfish and unlikeable, yet she handles his character so deftly that you love the book despite him. Join this award-winning author in conversation with Festival Manager Amanda Hayes. Ms Perkins appears with the assistance of Creative New Zealand and the New Zealand Book Council.

Cost: $120.00

Often considered the outstanding Australian poet of his generation, Les Murray has written over 30 books since the 1960s. He is the recipient of the T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry, the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry and the Mondello Prize. Killing the Black Dog is his most recent work. He reads from his work and talks about writing with Professor Simon Haines. To register for this event, please click here. Mr Murray’s visit has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding advisory body.

Cost: Free with registration

Junot Díaz is the author of two bestselling books: Drown, a short story collection published in 1996, and the Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. His fiction spans countries and continents; he bridges the gap with an immigrant story that jockeys two cultures, two languages, two homes, two families, street slang and social mores. Join him in conversation with Xu Xi, the first Writer-In-Residence at the English Department of The City University of Hong Kong. They will discuss Diaz's unique fictional voice as well as the social commentary inherent in the settings he uses and the lives of the characters he portrays. To register for this event, please click here. Mr Díaz appears courtesy of The City University of Hong Kong.

Cost: Free with registration

Join Darren Shan as he shares chilling stories about his screamingly popular books: The Saga of Darren Shan and The Demonata series. Find out the nightmares that inspire him and get tips on how to become a successful vampire assistant. Don't forget to get your books signed! The Master of Horror awaits you. Come if you dare! Appropriate from age 11. Parents also welcome.

Cost: $90.00

How does literature affect art? How do political and other ideas filter through culture, and how, in turn, do the arts influence politics and society? Join award-winning author Rachel Kushner, whose debut novel, Telex from Cuba, was a finalist for the 2008 National Book Award, a finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and winner of the California Book Award as she contemplates these issues surrounded by the art of Karin Weber's art gallery. Kushner is co-editor of the art, theory and literature journal, Soft Targets, and has written widely on contemporary art, including numerous features in Artforum.

Cost: $120.00

At the time of the publication of Last Seen in Lhasa, Claire Scobie may have been the only English woman to have set foot in Pemako, “hidden lotus-land” in Buddhism, on the border of East Tibet. Join Scobie as she talks about her demanding physical and spiritual journeys into Tibet, chronicled in her book, which begins with an expedition in search of a rare red lily and follows her extraordinary, blossoming friendship with Tibetan Nun Ani. Drinks reception and book signing from 6:30pm; the talk will begin at 7:30pm. Please note that advance bookings are not possible. For details, please email: admin@rgshk.org.hk In partnership with the Royal Geographical Society.

Cost: $150.00

Book-lovers can get up-close-and-personal with the prolific novelist Alexander McCall Smith who wrote over 60 mesmerising books which can be read in 42 languages! Enjoy an eight-course Chinese dinner with McCall Smith who will share his experiences with “Tales and Anecdotes” and take your questions. The session will be moderated by Rachel Holmes. Born and educated in Zimbabwe who later became Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh, McCall Smith achieved global recognition for his No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series, bringing his readers writings that filed with warmth, wit, explorations and a canny eye for details in life other people miss. Ticket Price: HK$14,880 per table (for 12 people) / HK$8,000 per half table (for 6 people). Mr. McCall Smith's visit is supported by the British Council and the dinner is organised by Friends of the British Council. This is an independent event held during the Festival. To register for this event, please email: friends@britishcouncil.org.hk

Cost: $14,880.00

Australian Aboriginal culture is intrinsically linked to the landscape; the land and its people are inseparable. Alexis Wright’s novel, Carpentaria, starts before time began and explains how the land came to be. As the identity of Australia’s Aboriginal people has been shaped by land, so it has by politics. Moderated by Wendy Herbert. Come early and view the exhibition of contemporary Indigenous Australian art from the Balgo Hills on display before the talk. Ms Wright has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding advisory body.

Cost: $120.00

*Please note that the venue and price have been changed. Maps, above all, are symbolic depictions that reveal territorial borders – borders that arrange the world in a manner that can often seem arbitrary, dividing and rearranging people irrespective of common histories, languages and customs. Newly independent Malaysia and Indonesia are two such examples. Tash Aw's Map of the Invisible World, set in the mid-1960s, follows the lives of two orphaned brothers, separated because of adoption, as they search for their identities in these two countries, themselves struggling to find their own post-colonial identities. Join Aw in conversation with Nigel Collett. This event is supported by the Press Room Group. Mr Aw appears with the assistance of the British Council.

Cost: $180.00

Les Murray is sometimes called the outstanding Australian poet of his generation. Notorious for his individualism and resistance to ideologies, he sees his writing as helping to define, in cultural and spiritual terms, what it means to be Australian. The influences and oppositions often seen in Murray's work - love of the land, tensions between rural and urban life and the struggle for more exact expression - are forces that have also shaped modern Australian culture. In conversation with Karen Koh. Mr Murray has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding advisory body.

Cost: $150.00

*We regret to inform you that this event has been cancelled. Peter Hessler, author of the critically acclaimed River Town which won the Kiriyama Prize, returns with his latest book: Country Driving. In conversation with fellow travel writer Claire Scobie, author of Last Seen in Lhasa, he shares insights about changes in China. Having repeatedly visited Lishui, a growing factory town in Zhejiang province, he watched the city change with the building of a new highway linking the town to the coast. Witness to the complicated relationships between management and labour, he shares how the people responded to the environment of a new factory town. Ticket price includes Chinese afternoon tea in the Man Wah restaurant. Mr Hessler appears with the assistance of Delta Airlines.

Cost: $440.00

The recent financial crisis accentuated China's rapid emergence as everyone's favourite lender of last resort. But does China have the political will to assume a global role as banker and sheriff? Will any of the BRICs be ready to step up to the first tier in the new decade? The Financial Times presents a debate with pundits John Authers, James Kynge, Richard McGregor and Mure Dickie. David Pilling, Asia editor of the Financial Times, will moderate. Registration and cocktails from 6:00pm, the debate from 6:45-8:00pm. The authors and the event are sponsored by the Financial Times. This event is supported by the Island Shangri-La Hotel

Cost: $250.00

His story collection Drown reached exalted heights over a decade ago, and then he states that he seemed to have lost the ability to write. "It was like I had somehow slipped into a No-Writing Twilight Zone. I started becoming convinced that I had written all I had to write, that maybe it was time, for the sake of my mental health, for me to move on to another profession." Fortunately, Dominican-American writer Junot Díaz stubbornly kept at it: scribbling at the dinner table, in bed, on the toilet, on the No. 6 train, at Shea Stadium -- and The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Enjoy a four course dinner at The Pawn and hear him in conversation with Stephen McCarty. Mr Díaz appears courtesy of The City University of Hong Kong.

Cost: $600.00

A truly international-spirited writer, Louis de Bernières was twice shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize before winning it in 1995. Playwright, poet and novelist, he is perhaps best known as the author of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. However, he is also an impressively accomplished musician who plays many instruments, including the flute and the mandolin, and often plays with his band, The Antonius Players. Recently, the best-selling author of The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, Alexander McCall Smith, created the opera, The Okavango Macbeth as a contribution to the musical culture of Botswana. Music features in many of McCall Smith’s works; he himself plays the bassoon “very badly” and was prompted to found “The Really Terrible Orchestra”. Join these renowned authors in conversation with Kyoko Altman as they discuss their passions and contemplate the relationship between words and music. Mr de Bernières and Mr McCall Smith appear courtesy of the British Council.

Cost: $280.00

The success of not her real name and other stories launched Emily Perkins to literary fame. This award-winning author's latest work, Novel About My Wife, is an atmospheric psychological thriller set in a dark and sometimes desperate London. Perkins discusses how this novel is a departure from her previous works: it is more plot-driven, tightly structured and place-specific. Listen to Perkins talk about the dislocation of the immigrant experience, the disturbing consequences of diseases of the mind and the challenges of creative inspiration. Moderated by Karen Koh. Ms Perkins appears with the assistance of Creative New Zealand and the New Zealand Book Council.

Cost: $120.00

Jia: A Novel of North Korea is the first novel about present-day North Korea to be published in English. Author Hyejin Kim is a South Korean who has worked extensively with North Korean refugees living in China. After witnessing their struggles, Kim’s story, based on interviews, fieldwork and research, was born. Kim reveals a glimpse of a closed-off country, and describes what life is like for North Korean refugees in China. In conversation with RTHK’s Hugh Chiverton. There will be a cash bar from 6:30pm. Ms Kim appears with the assistance of the National Arts Council, Singapore.

Cost: $140.00

Su Tong is a prolific and provocative author of six novels including Rice and My Life as Emperor. His works have earned him a place at the centre of China's literary scene. His best-known work abroad is the novella, Wives and Concubines, which was made into the film Raise the Red Lantern. Su’s novel, Boat to Redemption, won the 2009 Man Asian Literary Prize. He talks with Marysia Jusczcakiewicz about his works and what it means to be a Chinese writer today. Please note this will be in English and Putonghua.

Cost: $120.00

Grace, an inquisitive heroine, is born into a “special” kind of Christian family (read: cult). “And talk about happy families, we were bountiful. But it came to pass that I started doing sins.” And then the problems begin! Grace may land herself in hot water but she never wavers in the knowledge that just because everybody is doing something, it does not make it right. Join Morris Gleitzman, author of Once, Then, Give Peas a Chance and Doubting Thomas, as he reads and discusses his latest book, Grace. Don’t forget to bring your books to get them signed! This event is supported by Kids’ Gallery.

Cost: $60.00

Su Tong’s most recent novel, Boat to Redemption, translated by Howard Goldblatt, won the 2009 Man Asian Literary Prize. Su is a prolific and provocative author whose works have earned him a place at the centre of China's literary scene. He talks about gender issues, specifically, the place of women in his writing, focussing on his female characters. Please note this will be in Putonghua. To register for this event, please click here.

Cost: Free with registration

In May 2007, two helicopter pilots, Jennifer Murray and Colin Bodill, set a new world record, becoming the first pilots to fly around the world via the South and North Poles. Join as she presents a stunning slideshow of their epic and courageous five-and-a-half month journey over 25 countries, flying more than 33,000 nautical miles. Almost a century before Murray’s flight to the Poles, Robert Falcon Scott led a doomed Terra Nova expedition to Antarctica in a race against the Norwegians to reach the South Pole. In his book, Death on the Ice, Robert Ryan, in conversation with Justin Hill, traces the paths that led the explorers to their deaths, bringing them to life and, without judgment, letting them tell their own stories. For those of you who are fascinated by what lies at the extremes of our planet, both geographically and environmentally, join these two remarkable authors for this double-billed talk.

Cost: $80.00

It is a universal truth that publishers hate short stories. It has nothing to do with literature and everything to do with sales figures. Louis de Bernières’s collection is an exception. After the globe-trotting of his previous works, de Bernières’s Notwithstanding: Stories of Village Life, sees a return to settings much closer to home; a small village in the South of England. The book was prompted by the half-admiring remark of a French colleague of de Bernières’s that, compared to the rest of Europe, England seemed one big lunatic asylum. The resultant stories are a celebration of quirky people; de Bernières plays with English eccentricity and individualism. Notwithstanding is not about an imagined idyll; it is about people who are worth remembering, whose lives are worth celebrating, and who would otherwise have been forgotten. In conversation with Stephen McCarty. Mr de Bernières appears courtesy of the British Council.

Cost: $200.00

Winner of the 2009 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize Best Book Award, South East Asia and the Pacific region, Mo Zhi Hong’s The Year of the Shanghai Shark is a quirky coming-of-age novel full of eccentric and unforgettable characters: the elderly poet who writes poems in the town square with a brush dipped in a can of water, the local repair man who has ingenious ways of fixing broken things and the cousin who excels at school but discovers that he has to learn English if he is to pursue his dream of emigrating to America. Winner of the 2007 Miles Franklin Literary Award, Alexis Wright’s latest novel, Carpentaria, is a blend of myth and scripture, politics and farce that teems with extraordinary characters – the outcast saviour Elias Smith, the religious zealot Mozzie Fishman, the murderous mayor Bruiser, the moth-ridden Captain Nicoli Finn and the queen of the rubbish dump. Join them in conversation with David Parker as they discuss writing quirky and memorable characters. Mr Mo appears with the assistance of Creative New Zealand and the New Zealand Book Council. Ms Wright has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding advisory body.

Cost: Free with registration

Underground Front is a pioneering work, filled with examples of the role that the Chinese Communist Party has played in Hong Kong since its creation in 1921. Now CEO of the non-profit public policy think tank, Civic Exchange, as a democracy activist in her youth, and then as legislator, Christine Loh had a ringside seat to political events in Hong Kong in the run up to 1997 and beyond. In this talk, moderated by former CNN correspondent Kyoko Altman, she gives a personal view of her longstanding fascination with Marxism, how she went about writing the book, what was interesting, the reaction to the book and whether she was wise to touch the subject. Coffee and snacks from 10:30am; the talk will begin at 11:00am.

Cost: $120.00

Louis de Bernières is one of the foremost novelists writing in Britain at today. His first three novels, The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts (1990), Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord (1991) and The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman (1992), were heavily influenced by South American literature, and illustrate his forays into magical realism. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, won the Commonwealth Writers Prize (Best Book), became a worldwide bestseller, has been translated into over 30 languages and adapted for the stage and into a film. Although it set him firmly on the world literary map, he believes his best novel is Birds Without Wings (2004), shortlisted for the 2004 Whitbread Novel Award and the 2005 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Eurasia Region, Best Book). Although still planning to write at least one more epic, de Bernières talks about his love of poetry and how his writing style has changed over the years. To register for this event, please click here. Mr de Bernières appears courtesy of the British Council.

Cost: Free with registration

As Oliver Twist famously begged, “Please, Sir, I want some more.” Come bemoan the end of the 2010 Man Hong Kong International Literary Festival with staff, directors, volunteers, Friends of the Festival, writers and fellow readers. Share the highlights of this year and hear the beginnings of the line-up for 2011.

Cost: Free with registration

Sophie Paine moved from her native France to sunny Italy, snowy Minnesota and the monsoons of Hong Kong, and married an Englishman. She left accounting and financial reports behind, taught English to Somalian refugees and picked up paintbrushes and crayons. She launches two new titles: Sweet Words, a special book for mothers, it is also an intimate and fun way for children to learn new languages; and Oliver the Quiet Firefighter, a book about shyness with delightful illustrations by Maxim Lo. For enquiries, please call 3106-4010 or email: talktobookshop@mccmcreations.com. For further information please go to: click here. This is an independent event hosted during Festival week.

Cost: Free with registration

Sophie Paine moved from her native France to sunny Italy, snowy Minnesota and the monsoons of Hong Kong, and married an Englishman. She left accounting and financial reports behind, taught English to Somalian refugees and picked up paintbrushes and crayons. She launches two new titles: Sweet Words, a special book for mothers, it is also an intimate and fun way for children to learn new languages; and Oliver the Quiet Firefighter, a book about shyness with delightful illustrations by Maxim Lo. For enquiries, please call 3106-4010 or email: talktobookshop@mccmcreations.com. For further information please go to: click here. This is an independent event hosted during Festival week.

Cost: Free with registration