British Council brings Booker Prize-winning author Ben Okri and acclaimed teen fiction author Keith Gray to Hong Kong
A series of talks and events presented by the UK authors will be held at the Hong Kong Book Fair 2015
With the aim of promoting UK culture to the local community, the British Council will bring two renowned UK authors – Ben Okri, winner of the Booker Prize, and Keith Gray, an award-winning novelist for teen fiction – to the Hong Kong Book Fair 2015. Under the theme of this year’s fair, ‘Reading the World ･ Love at First Book’, the appearance of these two UK writers will ignite people’s interest on UK literature.
As the winner of the Booker Prize for Fiction, Ben Okri is among the headlining authors at the Book Fair. Living in the UK, the Nigerian-born poet and novelist was awarded for his 1991 novel The Famished Road. Ben will be leading a creative session themed ‘Journey into the imagination: A Dialogue with Ben Okri’, in which he will bring participants to the imaginary world with a paper, a pen and an open mind.
Details of the ‘Journey into the Imagination: A Dialogue with Ben Okri’:
Date: Sunday 19 July 2015
Time: 14.30 – 16.00
Venue: Theatre 2, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai
Language: English
Moderator: Juliana Liu (BBC News Hong Kong Correspondent)
Remarks: Suitable for adult and teenage readers
Keith Gray grew up in a house without books and during his early school years was labelled by teachers as a 'reluctant reader'. These days, however, he's an award-winning young-adult novelist whose books are published worldwide. At the book fair, Keith is going to hold a dialogue session with readers called ‘Love at 8th Book: Confessions of a Reluctant Reader — A Dialogue with Keith Gray’ and share how this transformation came about, as well the importance of allowing young people access to thoughtful, challenging and exciting fiction. He will share his experiences of visiting schools and libraries across the UK talking about books, encouraging teenagers to read, inspiring them to write, despite the fact that he still thinks of himself as a 'reluctant reader' even now.
Details of the ‘Love at 8th Book: Confessions of a Reluctant Reader — A Dialogue with Keith Gray’:
Date: Thursday 16 July 2015
Time: 18.00 – 19.30
Venue: Meeting Room S222-223, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai
Moderator: Chip Tsao (Multilingual Hong Kong-based columnist, broadcaster, and writer)
Language: English
Remarks: Suitable for adult and teenage readers
In addition, the British Council will host a fully interactive workshop titled ‘Characters in Conflict: A Creative Writing Workshop by Keith Gray’ will explore how Character and Conflict are essential to writing compelling fiction. Readers love stories about characters with problems, characters with secrets, characters full of ambition, and characters in crisis. Keith will help students create their own characters then lead them through several writing exercises aimed at developing structure, style and reader engagement, proving that strong characters should always be at the heart of any good story.
Details of the ‘Characters in Conflict: A Creative Writing Workshop by Keith Gray’:
Date: Friday 17 July 2015
Time: 14.30 – 16.00
Venue: Room 307-308, British Council, 3 Supreme Court Road, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Language: English
Remarks: Suitable for emerging writers and the general public
All activities are held in English, and are free of charge. Register is required at http://www.britishcouncil.hk/en/events/hkbookfair2015 on a first-come, first-served basis.