City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has invited eight well-known writers from the world of Chinese literature to kick off the City Literary Festival on 25 February at the Opening Ceremony cum Literary Seminar entitled “City, Literature and Imagery”.

The City Literary Festival marks the University’s strong commitment to promoting Chinese culture and literature in the community and beyond.

The guest list reads like a Who’s Who of prominent figures in Chinese literature, authors who have published in a variety of literary genres, including novels, short stories, non-fiction prose, poetry and literary criticism.

The guests include Professor Pai Hsien-yung, who has lectured at CityU several times; Professor Liu Zaifu, an Honorary Professor in the Chinese Civilisation Centre (CCIV) at CityU; Mr John Chan, founder of City Magazine; Mr Dong Qiao, a writer and publisher of Apple Daily; Mr Chang Ta-chuan, a Taiwan-based writer; Mr Yip Fei, a poet and Deputy Editor-in-chief of Ming Pao; and scholars Professor Cheng Chou-yu  and Professor Huang Ziping.

The seminar will be a rare occasion for such an esteemed literary group to exchange ideas and to pass on valuable experiences to young writers interested in starting a new chapter in Chinese literary writing.

“This year we are expanding our previous literary activities into the City Literary Festival and we are very privileged to have these renowned writers from Hong Kong, Taiwan and the mainland to kick off the Festival,” said Professor Cheng Pei-kai, CCIV Director.

At the seminar, the eight speakers will focus on two main areas: their experience in creative writing, non-fiction prose, short stories and poetry; advice about creative writing to young people. A seminar will be held in the morning and sharing sessions in the afternoon, during which there will be a Q&A with the speakers.     

The City Literary Festival started as a writing competition at CityU seven years ago. CityU’s CCIV, the Cultural and Sports Committee and the Department of Chinese, Translation and Linguistics are expanding the 2006 event into a Hong Kong–Macao literary festival to enhance interest in Chinese literary writing among the younger generation and to nurture literary talent. The Festival is co-organized by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council.

The City Literary Award, one of the highlights of the Festival, has received an enthusiastic response from students from all tertiary institutions in Hong Kong and Macao. Entries include non-fiction prose, short stories and poetry. The eight invited writers will adjudicate the Award.

The seminar on “City, Literature and Imagery” will be conducted in Putonghua. Registration is on a first-come-first-served basis. For details, please visit www.cityu.edu.hk/ctspc/.