Writers from China's diaspora
Illustrator turned children's book author Gabrielle Wang says she 'sees' her books before she's even put pen to paper.
A student of design, photography and drawing, Wang spent several years living and studying fine arts in China and Taiwan. She never had a problem illustrating her thoughts, but storytelling through words proved a tougher task.
'At the Zhejiang Academy of Fine arts in Hang Zhou, I learnt the beautiful brush work skills that are applied in all types of Chinese painting from calligraphy down,' she says. 'I specialised in birds and flowers. That's where I learnt to put strength into my brush strokes and I learnt incredible depth.
'I then tried to write several books. None came to fruition, but the drawings were always fine. As far as the writing was concerned, I hadn't yet found a way to express myself.'
Four years ago, while attending a writing course in her home town of Melbourne, what would be Wang's first literary effort, The Garden of Empress Cassia, came to her in a vivid dream. It's the story of a Chinese girl growing up in an immigrant family in Australia. It's a semi-autobiographical tale, with the main character, Mimi, based on Wang, whose parents owned a store that sold bric-a-brac from China and who spent most of her childhood rejecting her Chinese heritage. It appeared to strike a chord with young readers, who are often drawn to characters struggling to fit in.
The fourth-generation Chinese-Australian recently published her second book, The Pearl of Tiger Bay, written from the perspective of a young Australian girl looking at a Chinese family.