THIS YEAR'S Hong Kong Book Fair may offer a feast of high-brow political analyses and earnest cultural insights, but as far as the younger generation is concerned, Chris Patten can go jump - they're more interested in what Stephy Tang Lai-yan has to say.
In addition to being a Canto-pop star, Tang is now also an author, and an apparently successful one. Her book Don't Forget was so keenly anticipated by junior literary fans that it became one of the fastest-selling books at the start of the fair, which runs until Monday.
On Wednesday's opening day, Tang's fans rushed to the Convention and Exhibition Centre to secure a copy of the book penned by the member of former girl band Cookies, to ensure they were armed for her autograph session on Sunday.
Don't Forget features 20 or so articles and photos by Tang about Tang, who's had previous experience writing a column in a local magazine. Tang says she wanted to assemble a collection of short articles, with photos about things in her life that she's found inspirational. 'I like writing and photography,' she says. 'Publishing a book has always been a dream. People, even fans, seldom have a chance to get to know about us. Maybe they will know more about me through my book.'
However, despite her hopes that people will buy the book to know more about her, she hopes they won't just buy it because it's by her. 'Hopefully, people who buy my book do think my stuff is good enough. I don't want my book to sell only because of my name.'
Two of her fans - 13-year-old Athena Lui Hung-wai and 14-year-old Kwok Wing-sze - bought the book in a show of support for Tang and her latest endeavour. They made a special effort to buy it, rushing to get a copy as soon as they entered the fair. 'We like Stephy,' says Athena. 'This is the first book she's written and we want to buy one to support her.'