Isn't it About Time?

How lovely it was just now to pick up a copy of the International Herald Tribune just now and see Xu Xi's* face on the cover!

One of the finalists in the Man Asian Literary prize, she tells David Greenlees just how difficult it was to break into being published in the internationally, but how, as soon as she was shortlisted, three publishers, one from New York, one from London and one from Australia called her agent.

Xu Xi's reaction:

This is nice; isn't it about time?

Greenlees believes it is a sentiment many Asian authors would share but believes that:

... there are signs the Asian literary industry is starting to come of age, increasing the opportunities for many more Asian writers to gain international recognition.

International publishers and literary agents say they are seeking many more works in Asia to bring to English-language audiences. They are also looking for new voices and genres that go beyond what publishers call "scar" or "misery" literature - about life in poverty under repressive regimes - and capture the rapid social and economic transformation of the new Asia.

At the same time, they say Asia is building the infrastructure for a developed literary industry. They say it can be seen in the growth of international publishers opening regional offices to scout for talent and sell books in fast-growing English- and local-language markets; the emergence and greater importance of Asian literary festivals; and the numbers of Asian works being translated into Western languages.

Which has to be good news for authors here too.

The winner of the prize is announced tomorrow, but I hope all those short and longlisted turn out to be winners because the prize has got them noticed.

The IHT article is very sadly Nury-less. I feel for you, mate.

Postscript:

The Complete Saloon is still a little sceptical about the whole M'A'LP as it calls it.

*Xu Xi is, incidentally, a Silverfish "lapper" so there's another reason to cheer her on!

Are Asian Stories Different?

Hang on! There's something else as well!

I dropped by Nury Vittachi's blog and found that after deliberately not writing about the controversy for months

because it is important that the focus goes on the writers, not on the backstage shenanigans

he was lured out to comment once more on the choice of judges for the prize:

Not only was it racially and culturally insensitive, but it raised some massive issues ...

he said. And this seemed to be the massivest:

Asian story arcs differ significantly from Western ones.* Our narrative traditions are also totally different. And modern Asian story conventions are simply not the same as classic ones, nor Western ones, nor do they trace their roots to the Greek drama form which is the bedrock of Western tale-spinning. I failed miserably to get any of the organizers to understand these issues or take them seriously.

(*My emphasis.)

Now this question intrigues me because I must say that I hadn't given it much thought until The Stars Rise in the East panel discussion at the Ubud Writers' and Readers' Festival when Xu Xi (who is incidentally one of the shortlisted authors for the Man Asian) talked about how Asian ways of telling stories differ from western ways.

Let me quote Ann Lee's article on the festival which appeared in Off the Edge, because clearly Ann was taking better notes than me!:

Xu Xi, maintains that there are Asian ways of storytelling - a climax at the end of the story is 'very western, very Greek'. She suggested, wryly, that perhaps as in the tale of Buddha, a short story should just 'mosey along, this way and that, and then one day achieve enlightenment if it happens'.

Xu Xi slipped in a very interesting example from the work of psychologist Richard Nisbett showing how groups of Asians and westerners tended to read the same news article very differently. (I wish I had the exact quote ...).

So Nury's point, I suppose, is that because Asians think differently, this is going to be reflected in the way that Asian authors write and therefore the best people to judge the writing and understand the cultural nuances are people with the same way of perceiving the world i.e. other Asians.

The influence of different writing traditions would, I suppose, have to be factored in too.

Now all this leaves me once again with more questions than answers. Would be grateful if you could help me out, dear reader, because you are likely to have a broader perspective than I have.

The Man Asian prize remember is for a novel, that most western of literary forms.

First, do Asian stories and Asian novel (particularly for us here Malay novels, Chinese novels) have a different story arc from western novels?

Would this be true also of Asian movies vs their western counterparts?

Is good storytelling the same thing in all cultures?

Are Malaysian novelists writing in Malay or in Chinese or in English more influenced by the literary traditions of those languages, or by western writing ... or indeed by other factors?

(As British novelist Patrick Gale pointed out in another session at Ubud, the dominant form of story telling now is the computer game and probably this is even truer in Asia than in the west!)

And if one of the aims of the prize is win Asian writers greater exposure and acceptance internationally, doesn't their work also have to succeed by western standards?

I've a feeling that Nury has opened up a big can of worms with this talk about story arcs and I suspect it would take a lengthy academic thesis to even begin answering the question!

Still, the debate could be very interesting!

Man Asia's Inaugural Shortlist

The shortlist for the inaugural Man Asian Literary Award (focuses on new works as yet unpublished in English and aims to encourage the publication of more works by Asian writers) have been announced, the Guardian reports.

This is the award, of course, that writers here in Malaysia should have their eyes firmly fixed on, particularly as it offers those who write in a language other than English the possibility of much wider recognition and international publication.

The five selected titles are:

Nu Nu Yi Inwa (Burma) Smile as They Bow

(The Rangoon based author sets her fiction among the rural poor and social outcasts. This book was apparently with the censors for a year before it was permitted to be published and then translated, and nowl will be published in English by Hyperion Est in September 2008.)

Reeti Gadekar (India) - Families at Home

(The suicide of a young woman from one of New Delhi's leading families turns out to be not all that it seems.)

Jiang Rong (China) - Wolf Totem

(Based on the author's experience living with nomadic communities on the Chinese border of Inner and Outer Mongolia, and due to be published by Penguin in March 2008.

Xu Xi (Chinese-Indonesian native of Hong Kong!) - Habit of a Foreign Sky.

("Set during the Asian financial crisis (it) provides a snapshot of that tumultuous era, and of the Sino-American relations of the time, in the story of a woman who loses both her mother and son in a single day.")

Jose Dalisay Jr (Philippines) - Soledad's Sister

("... a casket arrives at Manila airport bearing the body of someone called Aurora V Cabahug - who is very much alive.")

Sadly, Malaysian author Chiew-Siah Tei did not make the shortlist, but I am very much looking forward to reading her novel.

Am happy for Xu Xi, whom I met at Ubud last month, and about whom I can boast "I once published her!".

The winner will be announced on November 10 at a ceremony in Hong Kong.

Developing Asian Literature

The Stars Rise in the East panel discussion. (From left) Nury Vittachi (moderator) Xu XI, Nicholas Jose and Madeleine Thien considered what kind of animal Asian Writing is, whether writers find the label useful, and where and how it's best for Asian writers to get published.

I was so pleased to finally meet Xu Xi because I chose one of her stories for the Collateral Damage anthology and we exchanged e-mails at the time. (Had I known what an impressive track record of publications she has, I think I would have held back from suggesting "improvements" to her story! Haha.)

Immediately after the session there was a launch party for a new regional support network: the Asia Pacific New Writing Partnership, which sounds incredibly exciting and is surely something that can be used to help our own writing community here grow. (Please do check it out here, and on the Sydney Morning Herald's blog.) I later had a chat to (Asia Pacific) Executive Director, Jane Camens and we exchanged contacts. I really hope something comes of it - funding, events, courses.

Asia was also the topic of another panel the following day, not surprisingly, with Korean author Lee Hye Kyung, Singapore's Catherine Lim, and Indonesia's Deborah Yatim. The women shared what had influenced their writing.

I had read some of Catherine Lim's short stories and very much enjoyed them. Nothing though had prepared me for what a lively woman she is. The stories just spill out, and they're all fascinating. (I hope they get written!) I invited her up to KL to do a reading and she said she'd love to come, but she doesn't read, she only wants to talk to her audience!

Next time someone asks me who my ideal dinner party guest would be - i think I'll choose Catherine!

Ubud Early Birds

From Ubud Writers' and Readers' Festival director Janet de Neefe:

Greetings,

There is a buzz in the air as the residents of Ubud start gearing up for the 4th Ubud Writers & Readers Festival. But don't think the chatter ends in our little village. Apparently the literati-glitterati, from as far away as London, have been talking up our next Festival. They must know that this year promises to be even more dynamic, stimulating and magical than ever.

For those who are willing to take a leap of faith and trust that this year's program will be better than ever, Early Bird Specials are available on the 4-Day Festival Pass. Purchase a 4-Day Pass from now until when the program is released on the 13 August and receive 10% off [that's a AUD$30 discount!]. With less than a month to take advantage of this special offer we encourage you to throw caution to the wind and head to the Booking page on our website to get your ticket or for more information.

Although the full Festival program won't be released until mid-August, we have released our Adult Workshop and Feature Events Programs to sate your curiosity. Tickets for these are on sale now and we recommend that you book early.

Once again, our fabulous Feature Events will take transport you into the worlds of some of our most fascinating Festival guests, whose writing and experiences are as diverse as their countries of origin. Set in some of Ubud's most elegant hotels, these unforgettable feasts of flavour, mind and soul are always quick to sell out. So book now!

It's no wonder that the Festival was named among the world's top six literary events! Join us and see what all the talk is about. You wont be disappointed!

This year will see more Malaysian participation in the festival than ever before with our Tan Twan Eng, Farish Noor, Kam Raslan and playwright Ann Lee taking part.

But some of the other invitees have a strong Malaysian connection.

There's Catherine Lim, a Malaysian-born author resident in Singapore, and Madeleine Thien, an Canadian author with Malaysian-Chinese parents whose novel Simple Recipes was a regional Commonwealth Writers' Prize finalist.

Then there's a couple of Hong Kong based authors I know because I included their stories in the Silverfish volume I edited (Collateral Damage) : Xu Xi, and Mohammad Cohen.

I hope that there will be more Malaysians attending the festival too, because, despite what Mr. Raman says, you really aren't going to feel out of place.

Check out the guestlist to know who else will be coming.

(I'm sure I've heard of this Kiran Desai somewhere ...)