Kevin Kwan, Benjamin Law, Jonathan Kaufman: Hong Kong International Literary Festival 2020 highlights preview
- Spread across 76 online, in-person and hybrid events, this year’s 20th edition of the Hong Kong International Literary Festival will be the biggest ever
- We’ve picked out some highlights featuring a mixture of local and international authors
The Hong Kong International Literary Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary this year with its biggest line-up of authors ever, covering 76 events including 20 that are free.
The 11-day festival, which begins on November 5, has responded to the challenge of the pandemic with bold and creative programming thanks to new festival director Catherine Platt.
While many of the world’s leading literary festivals have gone 100 per cent online – including those in Singapore, Melbourne, Sydney and Edinburgh – the Hong Kong festival has created an event that will see 31 events take place online, 15 in-person and 21 hybrid affairs. The hybrid events will feature a moderator or other speaker take to the stage in front of a live audience accompanied by a live steam of an overseas author on a big screen. In addition, there are nine writing workshops.
“I wanted to make this festival more accessible and flexible in terms of choice, format and price,” Platt says. “There’s a wide range of genres [covered], so no matter who you are, you should be able to pick up the programme and find something that interests you.”
Alongside the English-language events are eight in Cantonese or Mandarin. All the online events will also be available with subtitles 24 hours after they take place.
While the pandemic has posed challenges, there is a silver lining in that going online has meant there are more big-name international authors in the line-up than usual.