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!

Dark Chapter is available to buy now!

Posted on June 2, 2017 by admin

Well yes, it’s happened. Dark Chapter is out! In stores! Online! Do go buy it, as soon as you can, as first-week sales can provide a huge momentum boost for authors. You can get in the UK and Ireland at most major booksellers like Waterstones, WH Smith, Blackwell’s, Foyles, the Hive (to support your local high street bookshop), and yes, Amazon. In fact, the Kindle version is currently Amazon’s No. 1 bestselling title for ‘Northern Irish Crime’!

Our official publication day was yesterday, and I’ve been caught up in a flurry of media coverage and events for the past few weeks. I did a live TV interview with Nuala McGovern on BBC World GMT and here’s a few shots from it — you’ll be able to watch the interview once I figure out how to get the file up on this website (not the most tech-savvy over here…!)

Other media highlights include this radio interview with Jayne McCormack on BBC Radio Ulster, another radio chat with Sean O’Rourke on RTE Radio One, and these interviews with The Irish News and The Irish Sun. And I’ve especially relished the opportunity to write on the issue of rape for a number of outlets, including this 4-page spread for YOU Magazine and the Mail on Sunday, alongside smaller pieces like this one for The Pool and The Metro.

While most of the media interest has been about my real-life journey towards writing the book, it’s also been very gratifying to see people engaging with Dark Chapter as a novel in its own right. Here, book blogger Scott Manley Hadley has written a lengthy (and fantastic) review (also for The Huffington Post), and here’s a fascinating podcast I did with Rob Sharp for English PEN about freedom of expression and self-censorship around the issue of sexual assault. My launch event at Daunt Books Holland Park was really energizing (yes, we sold 100 hardbacks in one night!), and I have a very busy June ahead of me. In fact, I’m speaking at Byline Festival tonight, the London School of Economics on Wed, June 7th, and well… you can see the book tour schedule below for more details. Most importantly for me, I’m returning to Belfast on June 15th to present at the Belfast Book Festival — this event in particular will mean a lot to me, given that my rape took place in Belfast. Hope to see you at one of these events, and I’m always interested in speaking and fostering a more open conversation about sexual assault.

US Cover reveal & some exciting buzz for DARK CHAPTER

Posted on February 16, 2017 by admin

New year, new cover for my novel. Here we go with the cover reveal for the North American edition of DARK CHAPTER:

Similar in feel to the UK edition (Legend Press), but with a bit more emphasis on the human element. I’m a fan of both. Hopefully, readers will like them, too! In the US and Canada, DARK CHAPTER will be out with Polis Books in September 2017.

BUT the UK/Irish edition will come before that — in fact, it’s out on June 1st! We’ve already been getting some really strong endorsements from other authors, thinkers, and activists who’ve gotten advance copies of the book. Most excitingly, DARK CHAPTER was included on Cathy Rentzenbrink’s list ‘Ten Smashing Debut Novels to Look Out For in 2017’ for Stylist Magazine in the UK. It’s up there along with George Sanders’ debut novel LINCOLN IN THE BARDO, BROOKLYN by Yaa Gyasi, and a number of other titles which have gone on to become bestsellers already. A screenshot of our listing is below (although they got the publication date wrong), and the full list is available here.

DARK CHAPTER was also included in another list of ‘Tremendous Books to Look Forward To in 2017’ on Bookwitty. There, it’s listed alongside the latest by Mohsin Hamid (THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST), Bernhard Schlink (THE READER), and Pulitzer Prize winner Viet Thanh Nguyen (THE SYMPATHIZER). So no pressure or anything…

Watch this space for more buzz about DARK CHAPTER as the year rolls on!

US & UK book deals for my debut novel!

Posted on July 13, 2016 by admin

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!

Shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger

Posted on June 4, 2015 by admin

A quick update, which is that I’ve now made the shortlist for the Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger 2015, for my upcoming novel Dark Chapter. Which means I can now officially use that nifty logo you see right here. Other authors shortlisted for the Daggers this year (albeit, not the Debut Dagger) include Dennis Lehane, Kate Mosse, and Dashiell Hammett… so overall, not bad company to be in! (Yes, Dashiell Hammett’s been dead for a while, but some short stories of his were recently discovered and published for the first time.)

You can read the full shortlist here. The winners will be announced at the CWA Dagger Awards on June 30th in London, to mark the the end of National Crime Reading Month. Which reminds me, I should probably read a crime novel this month… Does Crime and Punishment count? I THINK SO.

Longlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger!

Posted on May 7, 2015 by admin

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.)

Winnie M Li

author & activist

Tag Archives: crime writing