Welcome to the 10th Edition of the Hong Kong International Young Readers Festival!
Every spring, HKILF brings writers to Hong Kong schools from around the world, creating unique opportunities for young people to meet some of the world’s greatest storytellers. To celebrate ten years of the YRF in 2021, we present a hybrid programme of virtual school visits by international authors and live events with local speakers, from 19th to 30th April. We are also delighted to launch a new partnership with Bring Me a Book Hong Kong, who have worked with us on offering Chinese language events, making the programme accessible to more students.
Chinese language authors include Dai Yun from Singapore, Lin Po Ting from Taiwan and Feng Zikai Award winners Huang Li and Yu Liqiong from China, as well as Shana Cheung from Hong Kong. The YRF is also delighted to feature Hong Kong authors Bhakti Mathur, Rachel Ip, Suzanne Younan, Martha Keswick and Mariko Jesse.
International authors offering virtual events this year include graphic novelist Jerry Craft, who will share drawings and stories from New Kid and Class Act, his funny and heartbreaking tales of fitting in at Middle School, while historian and translator Julia Lovell introduces a new generation of fans to one of world literature’s most memorable superheroes, Monkey King, in her exhilarating new translation of Journey to the West. The wide-ranging programme features several authors with books on the Hong Kong 2021 Battle of the Books List, including Dan Gemeinhart, Cynthia Kadohata, Emma Carroll and Diane Magras. Other authors and illustrators include Newbury Honor winner Victoria Jamieson, New Zealand Book Awards recipient Craig Phillips, Maurice Saxby Award winner Deborah Abela, creator of the Newsprint graphic novel series Ru Xu and ever-popular Chinese Calendar Tales author Sarah Brennan with her new book, Storm Whale. Mark Llewellyn Evans returns with his musical extravaganza, The Academy of Barmy Composers, and Hong Kong youth theatre company, Dove Tales Theatre, will offer student theatre and creative writing workshops.
The Festival continues to flourish and grow thanks to the support of our donors and sponsors, including generous ongoing grants from the Standing Committee of Language Education and Research. Thanks to them, we are able to continue to unite outstanding writers and educators with Hong Kong’s young readers. Sustained reading not only offers children the opportunity to improve their English language skills and vocabulary, it provides a crucial gateway to cultural exchange and exposes young people to diverse topics and current affairs.
If you aren’t a donor already, please consider becoming one here, and help to motivate and inspire young people to engage with all aspects of the written word.
Whether a parent, teacher or reader, we welcome you to join the Young Readers Festival and to become part of our important and growing community here in Hong Kong!
Catherine Platt, Ann Chan, Crystal Lau and the Board of Directors
Hong Kong International Literary Festival Limited