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 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!
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.
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…!
Someone remarked Dark Chapter may be that rare novel to have received glowing reviews from publications as different as The Daily Mail and Wasafiri magazine!Here’s what some had to say:
The Daily Mail: ‘Brave, raw and strikingly original, it is a story that will resonate for many years.’
Wasafiri: ‘Not only highly readable but also incredibly important… deeply courageous’
Publisher’s Weekly: ‘Gripping… Li does a fine job exploring how one incident can change the course of a life in this astute psychological study.’
(If you know any other publications which should be reviewing it, please do give them a nudge!)
To be honest, feedback like this kept me going through an intense June, when I had 12 events and a load of media interviews (in addition to London falling apart politically and sociologically).Highlights in my media coverage include this piece I wrote for The Times
and this interview with Matt Barbet on Channel 5 news
There was also a fair amount of media coverage around the Belfast Book Festival, where I returned to launch Dark Chapter in the city which is the backdrop of the book’s action (as well as the city of my rape).I spoke on The Nolan Show, the popular radio chat show that features on pages 185-187 of my novel.I was also on the front page of The Andersonstown News, Q Media, Belfast 89 FM, and had this lovely long interview with Novel Ideas, a literature show produced by Northern Visions Television.
In addition to the book festival event, I also had a very meaningful lunchtime discussion group with counsellors and survivors at Nexus NI, the rape crisis centre in Belfast.And most significant for me on a personal level: I participated in a panel discussion led by Monica McWilliams, a longtime supporter and legendary women’s rights campaigner, alongside representatives from the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Women’s Aid, The Rowan Sexual Assault Referral Centre, and Nexus — organisations which are all vital sources of support for survivors.
It was especially poignant to sign a copy of my book for the forensic doctor who examined me after my 2008 assault, and whose warmth and kindness is portrayed in the novel as well.
In London, the US Ireland Alliance hosted an excellent reception for the book in the Seamus Heaney Library of The Bloomsbury Hotel, which was attended by both the Irish Ambassador and the Acting US Ambassador to the UK.Click here for some great photos.
I also had the honour of delivering the keynote speech at a symposium for the Gender and Sexualities Research Forum at City University, as well as readings at Waterstones at LSE, The Library private members club, and the truly fantastic Review bookshop in Peckham.
While things calm down for me in July, I’ll be taking the book on the road a bit more. I’m currently inNewcastle speaking at the English Shared Futures conference, and I’ll be doing signings at Blackwell’s across from the Civic Centre at 1:50pm on Thursday, July 6th and WH Smith (36 Northumberland Street) at 1pm on Saturday, July 8th. And I’m headed to Bristol and Brighton in the next few weeks!
Sad to see summer winding down, but I had a good one – hope you did too!Among other exciting news, I’m currently longlisted for the SI Leeds Literary Prize, which is awarded every two years to an outstanding unpublished fiction manuscript by a BAME woman writer. (BAME is the somewhat odd acronym used in the UK for a person of color, i.e. Black or Asian) The shortlist will be announced in late September. Of course, my entry is the as-yet-unpublished manuscript of my debut novel Dark Chapter, which will be published next June in the UK and Ireland, and September 2017 in the US and Canada, and elsewhere! I’m currently in the midst of the final edit, and have been going through draft cover designs for the UK hardcover.My agent will be selling rights to the finished manuscript at the Frankfurt Book Fair next month, to add to the four territories already sold.Big thanks to all the editors who have signed on already to bring Dark Chapter to readers around the world.This includes Lisanne Mathijssen at Harper Collins Holland, who will be publishing my book in Dutch!
One such editor, Gunilla Sondell, is a fiction editor at Norstedts, Sweden’s oldest publishing house.I had the pleasure of meeting Gunilla this summer when I spent a couple weeks wandering around Sweden.I got to stay at her rustic summer cottage, went for hikes in the forest, and picked a few mushrooms. A few days later, I got on a 21-hour train ride to Swedish Lapland, where I did some more hiking north of the Arctic Circle.Overall, it was a fantastic trip for me, and I kind of fell in love with the long days, fresh lakes, tall pine forests, and impressive mushrooms of Sweden in the summer. I’ll definitely be heading back.
A selfie with Gunilla, my Swedish editor, and my haul of freshly -picked chanterelles
Other trips include a few days visiting friends in Madrid, enjoying both cityscapes and countryside, and an upcoming trip to Germany.In the meantime, must get back to the grindstone and finish my work on Dark Chapter.Here’s the exciting post from my agent’s September newsletter!
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!
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!
Another surprise recognition in the genre world… I’m thrilled to have been long listed for the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Debut Dagger Award 2015. This is for the opening of Dark Chapter, my debut literary novel which I’ve been working on for…oh, a year and a half now. (The re-draft is 85% finished.) So it’s good to be getting some recognition for all my work on it! You can read more about the long list here. The CWA is perhaps best known for the Gold Dagger, which in the past has been awarded to Val McDermid, Sara Paretsky, and Ian Rankin, among others. Anyway, the shortlist will be announced May 15th at CrimeFest. Fingers crossed…
Also, a flash fiction piece of mine is now available to download on the nifty Quick Fictions app. I wrote ‘Nabateans’ after my trip to Jordan last summer, and it’s now one of the many bite-size stories you can download and read while commuting, waiting, or for random in-between time. Each story is 300 words or less! Quick Fictions is supported by Myriad Editions, and can be downloaded for only 79p here. (Apparently, it’s ranked No. 5 among the UK’s paid apps.)
Ah, so the exciting news is that in two days (on Sat, Feb 21), my short play “Everything’s Normal” will be performed as part of the UNHEARD 2015 Festival, exploring themes around sexual abuse and violence through performance. No, not the most feel-good of themes, but very important, given how many people are affected by such crimes. It’s been quite intriguing for me, especially to sit in on rehearsals and hear some very talented actors speak lines I’ve written. Anyway, I’ve written an article for The Huffington Post here on the creative process involved and the background to the festival.
Do come if you can! Tickets are only £ 7 and proceeds will go to nia, a non-profit in London dedicated to ending violence against women and children. There’s also lots of other great events at UNHEARD, taking place at The Bread and Roses Theatre in Clapham. This includes a poetry/spoken word night and several performances of The Vagina Monologues. My play will be the closing piece in Scratch Night One on Saturday, Feb 21, starting at 7:30 and finishing around 8:45. There will be one performance only, so hope you can make it!
I’ll be reading at a few upcoming events here in London!
On Sunday, June 22, you can come to the free Quick Fictions event on the final day of the fantastic Literary Kitchen Festival. It’ll be 2-3pm at the Peckham Pelican in South London, but get there on time – Quick Fictions short stories are very brief (300 words or less)! I’ll be reading my short story ‘Nabateans,’ which should later show up on the very nifty Quick Fictions app from Myriad Editions – rated one of the Top 10 Apps by The Sunday Times last year.
On Wednesday, July 2, I’ll be performing at L A Noble Gallery in Dalston, East London. It’ll be an evening exploring their current exhibit on Johanna Ward, whose art “draws upon myth, fairy tales, private emotions, and environmental destruction” (i.e. right up my alley). Johanna herself will give an artist talk, followed by spoken word performances from myself and some of my fellow writers at Goldsmiths. Only 5 pound entry, from 6:30-8pm!
Other than these bits, I’ve been traveling a lot recently (Paris, Newcastle, Jordan, Cumbria, and Belfast). In Newcastle, I was a guest at the fantastic Thinking Digital 2014 conference, where I learned a great deal about a whole load of things I don’t normally think about (i.e. the design of the new XBox system and other techie things). Later, I tromped around Hadrian’s Wall on my own, and a few days later continued haunting Roman ruins on a much-needed holiday in Jordan. I also went to Petra, which has been on my must-visit list ever since I saw Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. GO TO PETRA if you get a chance.
In fact, I wrote the short story ‘Nabateans’ while on the flight back from Jordan, inspired by my trip to Petra. So you can hear my take on it at the Quick Fictions reading on June 22 and later on their downloadable app!
Petra selfie! Me in front of the Treasury building, rather sweaty from trekking down the Siq
