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had the honour of being a judge for the SI Leeds Literary Prize 2018, for which I won 2nd prize in 2016, for the unpublished manuscript of Dark Chapter. This time, I got to read the unpublished manuscripts of some very promising women of colour writers in the UK.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!
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, 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:
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…
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.
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!
YES – it’s finally, actually happening! I am absolutely beyond thrilled (and relieved) to announce my debut novel, Dark Chapter, will be published worldwide next year — in North America by Polis Books and in the UK/Ireland by Legend Press. Both are dynamic independent publishers, which have been going from strength to strength in recent years. So I am very pleased to be part of these teams on both sides of the Atlantic, and to work with them on finding innovative ways to connect with audiences. After all, one main reason I wrote this novel was to start a more public conversation about the many angles to sexual assault — and I’m glad to have two fantastic publishers make that possible in my home countries. My agents were thrilled to close these deals – here’s their announcement!
And here’s the Polis Books announcement. They call my novel ‘bold, riveting, and above all, human.’ I’m liking those words! I was very lucky to have these words of praise from New York Times-bestselling author Marti Leimbach:
Marti’s novel Age of Consent is out now, and the encouragement of other authors and advocates on this issue has been vital for me.
In Sweden, Norstedts (publisher of Stieg Larsson, Margaret Atwood, and Elena Ferrante, among others) have already signed up to publish Dark Chapter. So watch this space for news on publication dates and more publishers!
On June 23 and 27, I’ll chair the Q&A following performances of Foreign Body, a work-in-progress piece of physical theatre, which explores a woman’s memory of sexual assault and her interview with her perpetrator.The Q&A will be with Imogen Butler-Cole of The What Works (the theatre-maker who created and performs Foreign Body) and Marina Cantacuzino and Anne-Marie Cockburn of The Forgiveness Project. Marina founded the well-known project, and Anne-Marie’s own restorative process with the young man who supplied a fatal overdose of MDMA to her 15-year-old daughter is a remarkable journey, You can watch her story here. We’ll be discussing trauma, recovery, and restorative justice among other things — and do join us at either of the performances: at the Off Beat Festival in Oxford at 7:45pm on Thursday, June 23 (tickets £8/6) and at the RADA Festival in London at 4pm on Monday, June 27 (tickets £10/5).Hope to see you there!
Last month, I had the pleasure of attending the 2016 Asian Women of Achievement Awards Dinner, where I was shortlisted in the Social and Humanitarian category.Although I didn’t win, it was truly inspiring to be among so many fantastic women, who have made such a difference in their work across a range of industries.Here’s me and the delightful Harleen Kaur, winner in the Sports category, who at 17-years-old is an international World Martial Kombat champion. It’ll be an honour to be part of a growing network of accomplished Asian women recognised by the Women of the Future Foundation — and I look forward to seeing our collective positive impact on society continue!
This week is the inaugural Sexual Abuse & Sexual Violence Awareness Week in the UK, and I’ve been part of an active social media conversation at #ItsNotOk. I’ll also be chairing the opening panel at the One Billion Rising Festival on Sunday, Feb 7th. We’ll discuss the importance of the One Billion Rising campaign and other activism movements against gender-based violence. The talk is free (taking place right after The Vagina Monologues) and you can book tickets in advance here. There’s also loads of other performances and workshops during the 7-day festival — be sure to check it out!
Other than that, I’m plugging along on my PhD work at the LSE and continuing to collaborate with other artists, thinkers, and activists on the issue. Here’s a video of me speaking at last year’s Clear Lines Festival on media representations of sexual assault and what it’s like to have your own attack reported in the press:
Happy 2016! This update is very overdue, but I haven’t had much spare time these past few months, ever since starting my PhD. But more on that later…
The first bit of exciting news is that my debut novel Dark Chapter has its first publication deal — it’ll be coming out in Sweden in Spring 2017 thanks to Norstedts, one of Sweden’s most prestigious publishing houses. They also publish Margaret Atwood, Elena Ferrante, Colm Tóibín, and they discovered Stieg Larsson, so it’s not bad company to be in! The deal was listed at the top of Publishers Weekly Hot International Book Properties in November. I’m looking forward to publishers making the book available in other countries… I hope you are, too!
Alongside my creative writing, I’ve begun my PhD at the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics. I’ll be researching the impact of social media on the public dialogue about rape and sexual assault — a very topical subject, and obviously, one which I feel strongly about, given my own experience and exploration of the issue. You can watch a video and read an article on my research here:
At the end of October, I spoke at the Feminism in London Conference, as a nominee for the annual Emma Humphreys Memorial Prize. I didn’t win in the end, but it was an honor to be at the awards ceremony, both as an Individual Award nominee and as a representative of the Clear Lines Festival (nominated for the Group Award). To have the chance to meet the other shortlisted women — and hear about their collective efforts working against gender-based violence — was nothing short of inspiring.
So the festival I decided to launch in April ended up happening July 30 – Aug 2 — and I’d say it was a success! The Clear Lines Festival had an estimated 500 people involved over the four days, including 60+ speakers and artists who wanted to help us start a new conversation about sexual assault and consent. People cried at our Theatre Night and laughed at our comedians, including the brilliant Tiff Stevenson, Josie Long and Bridget Christie — and there were heated discussions at many of our panels. A number of events were filled to capacity, and Channel 4 News even aired this nifty segment on us:
Overall, there was a lot of press generated about the festival. We were covered by The Telegraph, the Daily Mail, Time Out London, The Huffington Post, among others. And I had a live television interview on London Live and some live radio interviews on various local BBC stations. Check out our press here and you can read our wrap-up blog post on Clear Lines here.
A special shout-out to my festival Co-Founder Dr. Nina Burrowes, to our sponsors On Road Media and McAllister Olivarius, a dedicated Planning Committee, a great team of volunteers, and our 138 Crowdfunders… without whom the festival could not have happened!
After two months of hard work and a lot of enthusiasm, I’m very pleased to announce the launch of the Clear Lines Festival, the UK’s first-ever festival dedicated to talking about sexual assault through the arts and discussion. It’s something I co-founded in April (coincidentally, on the anniversary of my own rape) — over coffee with Dr. Nina Burrowes and a group of other amazing women, all of whom are passionate about wanting to change the public conversation about sexual abuse and assault. I personally believe the arts are one of the best ways to approach the issue, by bringing to light the human stories that underpin these experiences. So we’re putting together an exciting programme of artists, writers, comedians, performers, and filmmakers, who will be exploring the topic through their art — along with panel discussions and workshops featuring psychologists, experts, social workers, journalists, and survivors, among others. Nearly all events will be free to the public. The festival will run July 30 – Aug 2 in Central London.
At the moment, we’re busy crowd-funding so we can have enough funds to make the festival possible. We’ll need £3,500 for that — and if we reach our stretch target of £9,000, we’ll be able to film the events and post them online so others around the world can access them. So please do consider pledging if you can! You can watch a video of me talking about the festival here. Join us and together, let’s see if we can replace the silence and stigma that cloud this issue with insight, understanding, and community.
I’m pleased to say the London performance of my short play “Everything’s Normal” was sold-out! Thanks to everyone to came, and especially to a great cast and to Tessa Hart at Goblin Baby Theatre Company for making the whole thing possible. Here’s a few photos from the night at the Bread and Roses Theatre:
Photographer: Kenneth Jay
My play was part of the UNHEARD 2015 Festival, exploring themes of sexual abuse and violence through performance. Proceeds from ticket sales went to nia, a non-profit dedicated to ending violence against women and children. More importantly, it was great to meet other artists committed to exploring the many angles and human aspects of this issue through storytelling. The various plays were
Photographer: Kenneth Jay
diverse, funny, often heart-wrenching, and powerful — and I hope to see more theatre like it. For my HuffPost article on the creative process behind the festival, click here.
Another short play of mine will be performed on Saturday, March 21 at The Space Arts Centre in London. This one’s just a silly exercise I knocked off during the 28 Plays Later Challenge, which kept me occupied in February. Yes, me and a bunch of other ambitious/insane writers decided to a write new play every day in February (hence the 28 plays). A creative prompt was emailed out every night, and 36 hours later, we had to send in a new play responding to that. Needless to say, my play on March 21 is a response to: ‘Write a play that rhymes.’ Actually, that one was pretty fun to write!
Anyway, enough with theatre for now (though I hope to do more with writing drama in the future). I’m back to re-drafting my novel at the moment…
