WHAT WE LEFT UNSAID out in August, a DARK CHAPTER new edition & a University position

Posted on May 20, 2025 by admin

I’m thrilled to announce my third novel WHAT WE LEFT UNSAID will be published on both sides of the Atlantic this summer. This book has been a long time coming for me: I came up with the idea for it in the middle of Covid, did my research by embarking on a 3-week road trip along Route 66 with my partner and 1-year-old in October 2021, and now, in August 2025, the book is finally coming out!

There’s a lot I can say about it. Here’s the blurb:

On an unexpected road trip, three estranged siblings uncover a startling family secret and larger truths about being Asian American in a post-COVID world—from the author of the “dazzling and devastating” (Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author) thriller Complicit.

One one hand, I wanted to explore the Great American Road Trip from the perspective of people of color. But I also want to address the issue of a nation that is divided politically, financially, ideologically, and encapsulate that in a single family – and ask: is it possible to repair that divide?

Anyway, I’ve been getting some wonderful reviews from early readers and other authors, so I can’t wait to share it with the world. You can now pre-order my book from all good booksellers in the US (out on Aug 19) and the UK (out on Aug 7). Please do – pre-orders make a huge difference!

My debut novel Dark Chapter is also being re-issued in a new edition with Datura Books in both the US and UK, out on July 15^th. This new UK edition will include two chapters which only appeared in the original US edition, back in 2017. Obviously, Dark Chapter is inspired by what now feels like a dark, even distant chapter in my lifetime – but many people tell me the book continues to resonate with them. And that means a great deal to me.

Perhaps that chapter came to a metaphorical end last summer when I finally completed my PhD at the London School of Economics. After 9.5 years of doctoral research, I submitted my dissertation on the emotional labour of rape survivors who speak out in mainstream media. I drew from my own experiences with the media, but am also indebted to the seven survivors I interviewed. Thank you! And yes, it felt good to finally pass that viva (even though some thief stole my bag in Central London that night when I was out celebrating, and got their own 200-page print-out of my dissertation).

Winnie PhD finished

Finally, I am now an Assistant Professor at the University of Birmingham! I’m in their Department of Film and Creative Writing, and it’s been a lovely experience so far. After a few years of feeling uprooted due to Covid, it will be nice to put down roots somewhere.

In the meantime, maybe I’ll see you on the book tour circuit when I’m talking about WHAT WE LEFT UNSAID. Stay tuned for a schedule of events!

The UK Paperback of Complicit is out on July 20!

Posted on July 10, 2023 by admin

It seems like I’m just catching my breath after an amazing whirlwind book tour for Complicit in the US, but the UK paperback is out on July 20! Finally, a lighter, more budget-friendly version of The New York Times book club pick, perfect for summer reading. Pre-order a copy and you can win an annual membership to the swanky Everyman Cinemas chain in the UK(worth £99 + free cinema tix). All you have to do is order my book via your preferred bookseller and visit this link to enter: bit.ly/ComplicitComp And spread the word! This is definitely a novel for filmlovers.

In the meantime, I will be in Ireland for much of July, and will be doing a few events to promote the new paperback edition of Complicit. Starting with the West Cork Literary Festival in Bantry, where I’ll be in conversation with bestselling crime author Catherine Ryan Howard (RUN TIME), about our respective thrillers set in the filmmaking world. There may also be a few author signing events in Cork, Dublin, and Belfast. Check my events page for details.

COMPLICIT US Book Tour, June 2023

Posted on May 31, 2023 by admin

COMPLICIT is coming out in paperback on both sides of the Atlantic this summer, and I’m excited to be coming to the Northeast US for a book tour in late June! This tour is very much about independent bookstores, so if you’re nearby, come out to support your local indie — and to join in the conversation about Complicit. (Which is very much a New York novel, so I’m looking forward to bringing it to its home city) All my book tour events are free to attend. For some of them, booking in advance is suggested, so click on the links below to learn more. You can even pre-order your signed copy of Complicit in advance. Hope to see you there!

Tu, June 20: Kew & Willow Books, 7pm – Queens, NY with Alex Segura

Th, June 22: Norwich Bookstore, 7pm – Norwich, VT with Susan J. Brison

Sun, June 25: Newtonville Books, 4pm – Newton, MA (Boston)

Mon, June 26: Katonah Reading Room, 1:30pm – Katonah, NY

Mon, June 26: J. Anderson Books, 7pm – Larchmont, NY

Tu, June 27: Barnes and Noble, 1708 Chestnut Street, 6pm – Philadelphia, PA

Wed, June 28: Yu & Me Books, 6pm – Manhattan, NY with Ed Lin

Th, June 29: Watchung Booksellers, 7pm – Montclair, NJ

In other good news, COMPLICIT has been shortlisted for the Encore Award by the Royal Society of Literature for outstanding second novel. This is a prestigious award that I was very surprised to be nominated for. Past winners of this prize include Sally Rooney, Ali Smith, and Anne Enright, so It’s a true honour to be recognised in this way!

Incidentally, you might have noticed COMPLICIT is getting a new look for the paperback. My publishers have decided to move away from the red hardcover designs, to blue paperback covers which are a little darker and edgier. It’s the same book inside — and the US paperback even includes a teaser of my upcoming third book at the back. You can pre-order the US paperback here and the UK paperback here.

COMPLICIT is The New York Times’ monthly book club pick!

Posted on August 31, 2022 by admin

Hello everyone!

My second novel COMPLICIT is now out in the world — and in the US, it was recently selected by The New York Times for their monthly ‘Group Text’ book club! Over on Instagram, you can tune in to my IG Live chat with The New York Times Book Review on Aug 31! (And if you miss it, you can still watch it on their Instagram Reels)

I’ve had the pleasure of chatting with loads of journalists, activists, and fellow writers about Complicit and the issues it explores — at a series of events and media interviews. I’ll continue to update my Media pages with some of the key interviews and event recordings here. And so many wonderful readers and book bloggers have been in touch to say the book has been unputdownable, thought-provoking and authentic. So thank you for that. This is the stuff writers dream of.

In the meantime, I hope many more of you get the chance to read Complicit, reflect upon it, talk about it. (And don’t forget: one of the best ways you can support a book you like is by posting a rating or review of it on Amazon, Goodreads, or any number of bookselling sites. Authors always appreciate that!) I gotta go finish writing a screenplay now and prepping for my New York Times interview !

COMPLICIT is out this summer!

Posted on May 24, 2022 by admin

Just a quick update to let you know that my second novel COMPLICIT will be hitting bookshelves this summer! You can pre-order the UK edition from Orion Fiction here (out on June 23), and the US edition from Emily Bestler Books / Atria Books (out on Aug 19) here. There’s even a very special limited UK edition (numbered & signed, with fancy sprayed edges), which you can get from Goldsboro Books in the UK here!

If you’d like to pre-order it, I’d be incredibly grateful. Pre-orders help both authors and booksellers immensely — and count towards a book’s crucial first week of sales. So any advance support will make a difference.

You are also very much invited to our special public launch event of COMPLICIT, which you can attend either online or in person at Birkbeck College, London on June 22 at 6:30pm. I’m especially thrilled to be in conversation with a distinguished panel of activists, writers and researchers about my novel: Marai Larasi, Professor Liz Kelly, Rowena Chiu, Katherine Angel, with the eminent historian Professor Joanna Bourke chairing. Reception and book signing to follow! For more information and to book tickets click here. (Book your ticket ASAP, as our bookseller needs to know how many copies of COMPLICIT to stock on the night!)

And if you live near Frome, Somerset, there’s also a nice in-person launch event there on June 23 where I’ll be in conversation with bestselling author Libby Page. In fact, I’ve got a busy line-up of events (both online and in person) this summer, so check out my events page if you’d like to come to one!

A mystery set in the world of filmmaking, COMPLICIT owes much to the stories that emerged in the #MeToo movement. But I also wanted to channel my own experiences working in the film industry as a young woman — and as a sexual violence survivor, who has done a lot of thinking and consulting on how we tell these kinds of stories in the media. While capturing my own passion for cinema, and the supposed fun and glamour of Hollywood, COMPLICIT questions how much our individual ambitions affect our moral decisions, when our workplaces are already such an unequal playing field.

So a great deal has gone into the writing of COMPLICIT. And it means a great deal to me that so many other authors — across a range of genres — have enjoyed it. COMPLICIT is included in The Irish Times’ List of Books to Look Out For In 2022, and book connoisseur Simon Savidge has tipped it as ‘one of the most talked-about books of the year.’ See below to see what other authors have been saying!

My next novel COMPLICIT – available for pre-order!

Posted on September 14, 2021 by admin

It’s been a while since I posted on here, but uhh…. let’s just say the last two years can be summarised by five words: ‘pregnancy-baby-pandemic-second novel.’ So a lot has happened, but the good news is that my second novel COMPLICIT is now available to pre-order in the UK and Ireland, where it will be published as a super-lead title from Orion Fiction in June 2022! Click here to order from your bookseller of choice! I am always especially grateful for any pre-orders, as they really can help a book get noticed in the early stages of publication.

The rest of the world, you’ll have to wait a bit longer. In the US, it will be published by Emily Bestler/Atria Books at Simon & Schuster, later in Summer 2022. But the pre-order link isn’t up yet. So in the meantime, watch this space…!

Here’s my TEDx talk!

Posted on September 14, 2018 by admin

So sadly, summer’s over, and I’ve started working on Novel No. 2, which will keep me occupied for much of the autumn. But first, here’s the video of my TEDx London talk, which was a rousing finish to my book tour for Dark Chapter earlier this summer. I got a standing ovation!

In other news, the German edition of Dark Chapter recently came out — it’s been retitled Nein and given a fantastic new cover. Media coverage has been great. Here’s a full-page review in the Neue Zuercher Zeitung (Switzerland’s most prestigious newspaper, I’ve been told), and an interview with me in Jetzt, the youth-oriented magazine that is part of the Sueddeutsche Zeitung. That makes eight editions of Dark Chapter so far (the Icelandic version is missing from the photo below):

A growing collection of foreign editions…

I recently had the honour of being a judge for the SI Leeds Literary Prize 2018, for which I won 2nd prize in 2016, for the unpublished manuscript of Dark Chapter. This time, I got to read the unpublished manuscripts of some very promising women of colour writers in the UK. Many of them will be excellent books one day, and it was truly a pleasure to work with my fellow judges Susheila Nasta, Kadija George, and Sharmaine Lovegrove. Here’s to more diversity in the arts, and all the talent that’s out there!

I have a few events coming up this autumn, in London, Scotland, and Ireland — notably I’m a speaker at the Safe World Summit 2018 in Dublin. And there is very exciting news coming in the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

My 13-month book tour is coming to a close with TEDx London!

Posted on June 30, 2018 by admin

So I’m writing this on the eve of my 13-month, seemingly never-ending book tour for Dark Chapter FINALLY coming to a close. If you told me a year ago, that I’d still be at public events talking about my first novel on July 1st, 2018… well, I’m not sure I’d have believed you. But some 80 or so public talks later, I think I’m finally at the end.

Quite fittingly, I’ll be finishing with TEDx London at the SouthBank Centre, where I’ll be speaking in the 4-6pm section on social justice. This is live in front of an audience of 2,000 with no notes or teleprompter… so it’s a bit terrifying and definitely a step up from any of my previous talks! But at least a way to finish in style. You’ll be able to watch the live-stream on the TEDx London social media channels, like Facebook Live.

Since my Korean promotional tour, I’ve been back to the US twice: for the Edgar Awards and the Bay Area Book Festival in April, and more recently for a three-city US book tour in Chicago, Washington, DC, and New York/New Jersey. At the Edgars, I had the pleasure of meeting fellow crime writers in the Mystery Writers of America, including MWA President Jeffery Deaver, who now has his own signed copy of Dark Chapter.
Sadly, I didn’t win in the Best First Novel Award category, but it was certainly an honour to be nominated. Literally hours after the awards dinner ended, I caught an early morning flight to San Francisco, where I was in Berkeley for the glorious Bay Area Book Festival. I had the pleasure of speaking there at three different events, and meeting lots of amazing authors.

You know who else now has her own signed copy of Dark Chapter? JOYCE CAROL OATES. Yes, that’s right. I did the fan-girl thing and handed her a copy after her talk. And she TWEETED ABOUT MY BOOK FOUR DAYS LATER. So yes, that kind of made my year.

In June, I started another US round of my book tour at the Printers Row Lit Fest in Chicago, the Midwest’s biggest literary festival. This time I was in conversation with NYT- bestselling author Michelle Knight, one of the survivors of the Cleveland kidnapper. We had a powerful discussion about overcoming trauma and abuse.

My US book tour was a lovely (albeit busy) time to reconnect with friends from different parts of my life, some of whom I haven’t seen in decades. One of the most powerful events for me was in the private home of Mary Lou Hartman, who is the inspiration for the character ‘Barbara’ in Dark Chapter. In real life, she was the person I called minutes after my rape, and to be in conversation with her years later was truly humbling.

I also returned to New Jersey (the state I grew up in). This interview with me ran on the front page of The Wayne Today (my hometown paper) and in the digital edition of The Record, which I used to write a few articles for in high school. The past few months also saw interviews with me in The LA Review of Books, The Chicago Tribune, Ms. magazine, CrimeReads. And this personal essay of mine ran in Goop.

Back in the UK, I was shortlisted for The Author’s Club Best First Novel Award. Again, I didn’t win, but guest adjudicator A.L. Kennedy called Dark Chapter: ‘extraordinarily courageous… A remarkable book to read in this time.’ On TV, I appeared on Sky News and London Live, and wrote this piece for The Belfast Telegraph on the 10th anniversary of my rape.

While the past 13 months have been beyond anything I could have predicted, I am REALLY looking forward to a break from all this promoting. On July 2nd, I start writing Novel No. 2. I’m also one of the judges for the SI Leeds Literary Prize this year. So this summer, I’ll be doing a lot of reading and writing. Which sounds just about right, for a writer!

Edgar nomination, Korean book tour & LOTS of public speaking

Posted on April 11, 2018 by admin

So I really need to be updating this site more often, but if I thought last year was busy… the first quarter of 2018 sent me to Los Angeles (twice), San Francisco, Berlin, Cork, Seoul, and of course my home base of London. It’s been great to have the chance to talk about Dark Chapter, #MeToo and sexual violence in so many different places. I’ve just returned from an amazing (and intense) promotional tour in Seoul, where the Korean edition of Dark Chapter just launched. And next week, I’m headed to New York, where the US paperback edition will be published on April 17th.

The big news is that Dark Chapter has been nominated for the Edgar Awards for Best First Novel. These are the most prestigious mystery & crime writing awards in the US, and have been won in the past by Stephen King, Dennis Lehane, Gillian Flynn, Viet Thanh Nguyen, etc. So I completely wasn’t expecting this – in fact, I woke up one morning in January, and my Twitter timeline had exploded. Before the Edgar Awards Ceremony in New York, I’ll be participating at the Edgar Week Symposium featuring some of the country’s top crime writers — AND there will be a launch of the US paperback at the Mysterious Bookshop in Tribeca, on Saturday, April 21st. Feel free to come by! (After that, I’m at the Bay Area Book Festival April 28-29, so looking forward to being in San Francisco again.)

In the UK, Dark Chapter has also been long-listed for The Author’s Club Best First Novel Award, and I was particularly busy with public talks around International Women’s Day, speaking at the WoW Festival at the SouthBank Centre, the House of Lords in Parliament, and meeting HRH Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall among other activities. I also returned to Cork, Ireland where I studied as a Mitchell Scholar at UCC in 2000-2001 for an MA in English (Gender & Sexuality in Irish Writing). To give a talk with my former professors in the Dept of English there was very much like coming full circle! Here’s a feature The Irish Examiner ran on me, following my visit.

With Cliona O Gallchoir, Piaras Mac Einri & Pat Coughlan, my former profs from UCC!

Of all places I never expected to go, I was flown out to South Korea, which has been rocked recently by a wave of #MeToo allegations. My Korean publishers pulled out all the stops, launching Dark Chapter there with a full press conference, coverage in all major newspapers, and multiple TV interviews. (Try doing this all while jetlagged, with a translator!) I also gave a talk at Ewha Women’s University and a Sebasi lecture (the Korean version of TED). You can watch my Sebasi lecture (in English) below:

Along the way, I got to meet some of Korea’s leading feminist scholars, fellow survivors and advocates. It was a truly eye-opening experience for me — and all due to my incredible publishers at Hangilsa. (The only other foreign literary writers they publish are Karl Ove Knausgard, Elena Ferrante, and Rachel Cusk. Nice to be in that select circle!)

My Korean translator Byeol is herself a survivor & advocate, which means a lot to me

I mentioned Los Angeles, where I attended a pre-Oscar party for the Oscars Wilde Awards, run annually by the US-Ireland Alliance and hosted by… JJ Abrams at the Bad Robot headquarters. At one point in the party I turned around and saw JJ Abrams speaking to Ava DuVernay and I promptly freaked out. I’ve also been speaking to various film companies and producers about screen adaptation rights to Dark Chapter… if you’re interested in those, contact my agents at Pontas!

Needless to say, while this is all exciting, it’s also exhausting. I luckily squeezed in a weeklong vacation on Jeju Island in Korea, and later Coron in the Philippines. I’m leaving with this photo of me at Kayangan Lake, where I wish I still was… yes, the water really is that color!

Happy New Year! Not The Booker Prize, US Book Tour & more

Posted on January 5, 2018 by admin

Happy New Year, everyone! I’m glad we’re in 2018 now, because 2017 was a serious endurance test for me, both exhilarating and exhausting… Since I last posted here:

Dark Chapter won The Not The Booker Prize
The UK paperback came out and became an Amazon bestseller
The Weinstein scandal broke and #MeToo & sexual assault dominated headlines
I was nominated for Irish Tatler’s Women of the Year Awards
We had the 2nd edition of the Clear Lines Festival, of which I was Artistic Director

So first of all, thank you so much, those who voted for my novel in Not The Booker. I honestly wasn’t expecting a novel about rape to win, but I think recent news stories indicate how much the issue resonates with many people. #MeToo also made me reflect on my own experiences in the film industry, so I wrote this opinion piece for The Guardian, another one for The Scotsman, and this one for journal.ie

Because all I ever wanted in life was to have my photo printed right next to Harvey Weinstein’s in a newspaper spread…

I also had the pleasure of discussing #DarkChapter and the #MeToo movement on BBC Woman’s Hour with Jane Garvey and fellow novelist Anne Cassidy. Here’s me in the green room!

After Not The Booker, there was a 5-way auction for translation rights to my novel in Taiwan, where my parents come from. It’ll be coming out in November 2018 with Delight Press, who also publish bestseller Celeste Ng. Needless to say, my extended family are very happy about this one. It was also an honour to be nominated in a Special Recognition category for Irish Tatler’s Women of the Year Awards, which I attended in Dublin the day after my birthday.

In November, I spoke at Goldsmiths on the Creative Writing Programme MA course, the day the paperback edition of Dark Chapter was published. It was particularly memorable to be in conversation with my former tutor Ardashir Vakil, talking about a novel I had started writing while on that very course four years ago! Later in November, I also got to discuss Dark Chapter as a guest speaker at the annual NAWE Conference in York; at a unique evening with fellow rape survivor Madeleine Black at Waterstones in Glasgow; and in a lunchtime discussion for the Survivors’ Network conference in Brighton.

http://www.independent.co.uk/video/rape-sexual-assault-life-survivor-new-video-series-introducing-media-justice-metoo-a8062251.html

Needless to say, I was very busy this year for 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence! This video series with The Independent launched — I’d helped shape the concept for the series through The Angles Project.

And then, in December, we had the 2nd edition of Clear Lines! This year, it took place in the Rich Mix arts venue, and highlights included a Comedy Night with Sara Pascoe, Bisha K. Ali, Alice Fraser, and my dear friend Tiff Stevenson; some sterling theatre performances; and panels dedicated to the experiences of BAME (ethnic minority), disabled, and LGBTQ survivorhood. Our Film Night featured three documentary films about survivors from the UK, Norway, and Ireland, with the international filmmakers flying in to discuss their work. There is lots of discussion about bringing Clear Lines to other locations, and already a team is in place to make Clear Lines USA happen!

As for 2018 and me, my US book tour kicks off this week with an event in Los Angeles on Sat, Jan 6 and another one in San Francisco on Tue, Jan 16. Click here for my upcoming events schedule — and in the meantime, ah yes, I’ve started my next novel… Happy New Year!

Winnie M Li

author & activist