The Vancouver Writers Festival, now in its 30th year, starts next week. From October 16th to 22nd, our city will be hosting an impressive range of writers: Margaret Atwood, Ruth Ware, David Chariandy, Adam Gopnik, Nicole Krauss, Barbara Gowdy, Jennifer Egan, Ausma Zehanat Khan …

The list includes Vancouver talents like novelist and poet Lydia Kwa, who has just published Oracle Bone with Arsenal Pulp Press. ‘This extraordinary magic-realist novel by Singapore-born author Lydia Kwa employs and subverts traditional tropes of Chinese mythology to tell a tale of greed, faith, and female empowerment with a wickedly modern sensibility.’

In advance of her October 21st event with Peter Darbyshire – another Vancouver writer – Kwa answers our Q&A.

i. I work as a … Writer.

ii. I do this creative work because…I can’t help myself.

iii. Personal qualities that help me in my work are…curiosity and a sense of humour.

iv. The greatest challenges around doing this work are…having one’s ego crushed.

v. Creative childhood hobbies: reading and creating stories in my imagination.

vi. Other creators who inspire you: many; like Yoko Tawada; Ken Liu; Remedios Varo; Leonora Carrington; Audre Lorde; Alice Walker.

vii. Training that has helped me succeed in this career …reading a lot.

viii. The biggest myth about this type of work is…that it’s easy.

ix. If you want to work in my field, I suggest that you…read a lot, and keep writing and learning from the feedback of competent others.

x. A professional goal I have for the future …to have some of my books made into graphic novels and films.

xi. If you want to see my work, go to…lydiakwa.com

Kwa @ the Vancouver Writers Festival

www.creatorsvancouver.com

Header Image:

近代 丁輔之 雜果圖 冊頁
Fruit
Ding Fuzhi
1945