East and South East Asian author festival to return in September

The East and South East Asian Author (ESEA) festival is to return in September after a successful first outing last year. The festival will feature a hands-on workshop, interactive panels, lively discussions and more. Authors taking part in this year’s festival include Maisie Chan, Anne Chen, Tania Tay, Lui Sit, Natelle Quek, Eva Wong Nava, Eliza Chan, Nadia Mikail, Sojung Kim-McCarthy, Callie Kazumi, Winnie M Li, Candy Gourlay and Ivy Ngeow.

Children’s author Chan will deliver the keynote speech, discussing her journey from a scared, aspiring writer to a multi-award-winning children’s author, and how the power of community can lift us all. 

The event is to be held at SOAS in London on Saturday 14th September during ESEA heritage month. 

Wendy Shakespeare will discuss the power of inclusion in children’s books, sponsored by the charity Inclusive Books for Children and will discuss how diverse representation fosters empathy and enriches young minds, alongside Quek, Mikail, Kim-McCarthy and Gourlay. 

Chen, Mina Ikemoto Ghosh, Wong Nava, Maisie Chan and Eliza Chan will explore ESEA mythical creatures from water dragons, headless horses and white snakes that reside on mysterious islands. 

Li will chair a panel on ESEA Woman in Crime, with female thriller writers Tay, Kazumi and Ngeow. They will discuss how their page-turners, which are set in Hollywood as well as closer to home, can allow people to talk about real issues.

Ghosh will chair a discussion on multiple and mixed heritages in storytelling.

The ESEA author collective comprises Gourlay, Tay, Wong Nava, Sit, Chen, Quek and Lucy Tandon Copp.

Organiser Wong Nava said: "This is a very exciting festival that celebrates British ESEA talent. Organised as a grass-roots initiative, it has come to represent East and Southeast Asian creatives and their work from various genres across children’s and adult literature."

Entry to the festival is free to ensure the collective can continue to operate and run the festival. In exchange for a donation, the authors are offering signed books and art work, characters named after readers in future books, bespoke virtual sessions with literary agents and more.