Some disappointing news for this year’s Bookworm Literary Festival, which launched on Friday: headline act Roxane Gay, an American writer, critic and literary figure whose books include the bestselling Bad Feminist, has cancelled her much-anticipated visit, citing “personal reasons.”

Author Roxane Gay, whose books include Bad Feminist and the novel An Untamed State

Roxane was scheduled for a solo talk today, talking about gender activism and her recent novel, as well as a forum on March 15 addressing race, gender, identity, and cultural marginality. The latter, though, will proceed as planned (The Bookworm is refunding all ticket holders for the Sunday talk, and offering the same deal for anyone not wishing to attend Tuesday’s panel).

Last week, Roxane had tweeted concerns about how she might be received in China

Also, theoretically I am going to China in 6 days. I keep hearing horror stories of how fat people are treated there.

— roxane gay (@rgay) March 5, 2016

So I am in a constant state of panic and dread about the trip.

— roxane gay (@rgay) March 5, 2016

Although… being “plus size” in China is an aspiration to many.* Subjects that might be considered taboo or tricky elsewhere – education, salary, medical history, career prospects, home ownership, whether you’re interested in investing in a third cousin’s startup – are sometimes used as ice-breakers in the PRC.

“Hi, good to meet you – are you married? Why not? Did you attend Harvard? OK, see you later” is a conversation we’ve all had, or overheard, or had a few times (by the way, if you’re ever in a desperately awkward social situation: mention that you don’t “get why people have kids, ever,” suggest all property is really theft, or boast about the cartel of Japanese nationalists you befriended last week in a Mongolian nightclub. Problem. Solved).

Big picture, though – times are tough for women. Last year, five were detained by police for handing out leaflets discussing sexual harassment – they were only released after an international media backlash. Those same women have since been sharply warned to keep their mouths shut while Beijing hosted the annual political meeting this month. Meanwhile, officials celebrated last week’s International Women’s Day with an… ethnic fashion show. And just yesterday, before the Bookworm Literary Festival’s morning event called Women’s Rights Around the World, this happened to Beijing LGBT center executive director Ying Xin (a.k.a. Xiao Tie):

An empty seat for Xiao Tie, who was intercepted by cops on her way to her event this morn at The Bookworm #BLF2016 pic.twitter.com/g6WSf5MiHy

— The Bookworm (@BeijingBookworm) March 12, 2016

To be clear: not detained, just not allowed to participate in event Women's Rights Around the World with Bidisha, Clare Wright, Lijia Zhang

— The Bookworm (@BeijingBookworm) March 12, 2016

China already has many bad, bad feminists ­– just look at the All China Women’s Federation. So be well, Roxane: you’re probably needed here. You’ll certainly be missed.

* OK, mainly men. Many men. There’s definitely a tranche of Chinese fellows who’d argue Jabba the Hutt is a jovial wealth creator, simply a KTV-loving slug who makes his own rules. When Jabs is then cruelly betrayed by Princess Leia in Jedi, the lesson becomes ever-clear: Never the trust a woman you’ve kidnapped and sexually demeaned. Right?!? These men should be avoided at all costs, but can be swiftly identified by their pompadour hairstyles, loose polo-and-slacks combo and insistence that you get blind-drunk with them at midday.

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JUE | Music + Art is an annual labor of love, a privately run, basically not-for-profit gathering of creatives in Beijing and Shanghai, with live performances, workshops, exhibitions, and talks. Founded in 2009 as a protest against “the big, homogenous mega-festivals emerging in China at that time,” JUE Festival has just concluded its 7th program, featuring acts from around the world.

Host Anthony Tao is joined by Morgan Short, editor of Smart Beijing / DJ-about-town, and JUE Festival organizers Sophia Pederson and Doris Yan, both project managers at Split Works, the China-based promotion company that puts on JUE, to talk about the challenges of organizing the festival, the highlights, and what exactly happened with the high-profile cancellation of Japanese rock band Boris (“sensitive climate”?).

Also, the story of Sontag Shogun, a Brooklyn ambient piano trio that was thrice cancelled: at Club XP (after Acid Mothers Temple lead singer Kawabata Makoto, who is banned in China, was unsuccessfully booked to play a show there), Zajia Lab, and another place. They did play, however, at School Bar and Bookworm; you can listen to a snippet of their performance in the interview below:

Toward the end of this week’s podcast, we preview another independently run, privately funded festival, the Bookworm Literary Festival, which is entering its final weekend of events.

The Creamcast would like to thank Popup Chinese for letting us use their studio and Great Leap Brewing for their generous support.

Download Episode 18 of The Creamcast here, or listen to it on iTunes.

Related Episodes: Episode 16, Bookworm Literary Festival preview; Episode 17, The Female Voice In Contemporary Chinese Art

|The Creamcast Archives|

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On February 5, 1989, at the opening of the China Avant-Garde Exhibition at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, a young performance artist by the name of Xiao Lu fired two gunshots at her work, two telephone booths with figures engaged in conversation inside. Her act — part of the performance piece titled “Dialogue” — became synonymous with the exhibition, caused the entire show to be temporarily shut down, and contributed to her and her boyfriend’s arrest.

Madeline Eschenburg and Ellen Larson, both curators and students of Chinese contemporary art (and editors Open Ground Blog), are with us today to discuss this seminal moment in Chinese contemporary art. They are also the moderators of a Bookworm Literary Festival event on Sunday, March 29 called The Female Voice in Chinese Contemporary Art, a panel discussion featuring Philip Tinari, director of the Ullens Center of Contemporary Art in Beijing; Sun Shaokun, who explores her body in relation to nature; and the aforementioned Xiao Lu.

The panel was assembled by Mojdeh Shiek, a Bookworm Literary Festival organizer and special cohost of this episode, joining regular host Anthony Tao (disclosure: also a Bookworm Literary Festival organizer).

Together, they discuss issues ranging from live sex performances (art?) to the evolution of contemporary Chinese art (meaning?), from the “apartment art” of the 1990s to commercial art to art’s response to commercialism, and how the cycle is ever-fluid.

The Creamcast would like to thank Popup Chinese for letting us use their studio and Great Leap Brewing for their generous support.

Download Episode 17 of The Creamcast here, or listen to it on iTunes.

Related Episodes: Episode 16, Bookworm Literary Festival preview; Episode 18, JUE Festival

|The Creamcast Archives|

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The 9th annual Bookworm Literary Festival kicks off on Friday, March 13, and this year’s lineup looks to be one of the most interesting ever. The guests on this week’s Creamcast certainly think so — they’re festival coordinators, after all — but don’t let their bias stop you from checking it out yourself.

Download the PDF of the full BLF program here.

Chang-rae Lee, Yasmina Khadra, Tahar Ben Jelloun, Willis Barnstone, Victoria Hislop, Michael Meyer… art, environment, journalism, comedy, trivia… and so much more. Where do we start?

May we suggest… with this episode? Host Anthony Tao and his Bookworm Literary Festival colleagues Thomas Price, Mojdeh Shiek, and Julia Lobyntseva offer a run-down of the program, point out events that shouldn’t be overlooked, and muse on what makes the Bookworm Literary Festival — one of the world’s few international literary festivals run mostly out of a bookshop — so special.

The Creamcast would like to thank Popup Chinese for letting us use their studio and Great Leap Brewing for their generous support.

Download Episode 16 of The Creamcast here, or listen to it on iTunes.

Related Episodes: Episode 17, The Female Voice In Contemporary Chinese Art; Episode 18, JUE Festival

|The Creamcast Archives|

Ed’s note: Tickets to the Bookworm Literary Festival went on sale on Saturday. This year’s program — here’s a downloadable PDF of it – is impressive for both its diversity of content — two journalism panels, stand-up comedy, art, environment, tech, trivia – and the strength of the visiting authors — Chang-rae Lee, Yasmina Khadra, Tahar Ben Jelloun, Willis Barnstone, Victoria Hislop, Michael Meyer. Many events will probably go overlooked. They shouldn’t be.

Festival coordinator Thomas Price picks 13 events — 13 because opening night is Friday the 13th — that deserve a little more attention.

Disclosure: I am also a Bookworm Literary Festival coordinator. If you’d like to see my picks — of 13 “highlights” — pop on over to LumDimSum. [A.T.]

The Queen of Statue Square: New Short Fiction from Hong Kong

Xu Xi | The Bookworm, Sat March 14, 4 pm | BW14D 80 RMB

Thomas says: All eyes were on Hong Kong for much of last year, and for good reason. But while this eclectic cultural hub has long been a global treasure on the cinematic scene, its literary contributions have long gone overlooked — don’t be party to this criminal neglect, and go see one of the most active of Hong Kong’s literati in her element.

Event description: The past year has been one of the most eventful and turbulent in Hong Kong history since the handover. In this event, Xu Xi presents short stories from a new anthology of contemporary Hong Kong fiction, which she edited with Marshall Moore. The stories relate to the ever-relevant issue of Hong Kong identity, written by Hong Kong residents from several walks of life, and cuts to the heart of what it means to be a Hong Konger at a time when such definitions are fluid at best.

Writing Between the Sheets

Faramerz Dabhoiwala, Jemimah Steinfeld, Lijia Zhang | The Bookworm, Sun March 15, noon | BW15B 80 RMB

Thomas says: Hopefully the topic won’t scare too many squeamish readers away — we have some authorities on the topic to talk about defying the taboos and writing about sex.

Event description: Sexual openness is still perceived by many in China as a toxic Western influence, or a flaw in moral character. Yet, increasingly, people are risking disapproval to embrace sexual liberty in its many forms. Why, and how? Join us for a discussion featuring Faramerz Dabhoiwala, author of The Origins of Sex; Lijia Zhang, whose novel Lotus focuses on prostitution in modern China; and Jemimah Steinfeld, whose book Little Emperors and Material Girls examines China’s sex and youth culture. This event is in English and Chinese.

Rainbows in the Night: Chinese Contemporary Queer Writing and Filmmaking

Elisabeth Lund Engebretsen, Popo Fan, Shou Juan; moderated by James Yang | The Bookworm, Sun March 15, 4 pm | BW15D 80 RMB

Thomas says: Always relevant, and never clear-cut, LGBT issues in China remain a talking point the world over. This year’s festival event looks at the state of queer literature and film in the Middle Kingdom, offering insight on one of the most interesting microcosms of Chinese arts today.

Event description: China has a long history of queer literature and culture, from Long Yangjun to Jia Baoyu, the opera The Fragrant Companion to the movie Beijing Story. Recently, many works with strong LGBT themes have emerged, but few have entered the mainstream due to China’s publishing standards. How do authors and filmmakers in this genre push back against institutional challenges? What is their creation process, and how do they obtain feedback for their – as panelist Popo Fan puts it – “rainbows in the night”? Join our distinguished panel of writers and filmmakers for an eye-opening discussion on these and other issues. This event is in English and Chinese.

Evident: Spoken-Word Poetry Performance

Zohab Zee Khan | The Bookworm, Sun March 15, 8 pm | BW15F 80 RMB

Thomas says: Poetry is getting more and more popular among youth in Beijing (thanks in part to regular poetry events, including those at The Bookworm). Here we have the opportunity to witness young, raw talent at its sharpest. Zohab won the Australian Slam Poetry championship last year, and so mustn’t be missed by poetry fans or those wondering what it’s all about.

Event description: In a rousing set, Zohab Zee Khan combines poetry with hip-hop to enthrall and entertain, giving listeners a new outlook on the possibilities of the spoken word. Khan is the 2014 Australian Poetry Slam champion and 2014 International Poetry Slam finalist. He is also a proficient didgeridoo player, harmonica beat-boxer, and percussionist.

Dogs at the Perimeter

Madeleine Thien | iQiyi, Sun March 15, 8 pm | IQ15A 60 RMB

Thomas says: Madeleine Thien is one of those brilliant writers whose works become critical darlings but fail to grab too large a foothold in the popular consciousness. Here she talks about her latest book, a haunting novel set in Cambodia after years of conflict and horror.

Event description: Award-winning Canadian novelist Madeleine Thien has written a powerful and starkly beautiful novel about Cambodia, Dogs at the Perimeter, which was a finalist of the 2014 International Literature Prize awarded in Berlin. Investigating the long-term damage of conflict and grief on life and on the mind, she weaves these ideas into luminous prose. She talks about her deeply moving new novel.

The Unbearable Dreamworld of Champa the Driver

Chan Koonchung | iQiyi, Mon March 16, 8 pm | IQ16A 60 RMB

Thomas says: While it’s impossible to pick favourites, this book has been a surprise hit amongst the Bookworm staff, who got to preview this year’s festival books ahead of time. At first unassuming and not too attention-grabbing, those who take the plunge and pick up the book are unlikely to be disappointed. This event promises the chance to hear and converse with the author of this and The Fat Years.

Event description: Chan Koonchung, whose first novel, The Fat Years, was a dystopian sci-fi thriller about a society enslaved by consumerism, has returned with another work to test the boundaries. The Unbearable Dreamworld of Champa the Driver follows the life of a young man from Lhasa who takes a driving job for a Han businesswoman. Cosmopolitan, car-loving, and Mandarin-speaking, he embarks on an affair with his older, status-conscious employer. When he leaves for Beijing, the relationship unravels along with his boyish dreams, which crack under the weight of endemic racism.

Child of War

Kim Thúy | iQiyi, Tues March 17, 7 pm | IQ17A 60 RMB

Thomas says: In a festival stuffed with unique multicultural voices, Kim Thuy’s is one that still demands attention. The Vietnamese Quebecois author has seen both success critical and commercial in French, and her works translated into a variety of languages. Her novels Ru and Man are available at the Bookworm, and the woman herself will be here to discuss her works, her themes, and what her unique voice offers us as readers.

Event description: Born in 1968 into war-torn Vietnam, Thúy was one of the boat people who fled the country when she was 10 years old. A former seamstress, restaurant owner, interpreter, and lawyer, she now resides in Montreal as a full-time writer. In the prologue of her first novel, Ru, Thúy wrote: “In French, ru means a small stream and figuratively, a flow, a discharge – of tears, of blood, of money. In Vietnamese, ru means a lullaby, to lull.” Find out what she feels it means to her in this talk about displacement and identity.

Research, Inquiry, and the Writer’s Work

Faramerz Dabhoiwala, Stephen Mooser, Steven Schwankert, Simon Denyer | The Bookworm, Tues March 17, 1 pm|BW17B 80 RMB

Thomas says: At first it sounds like the kind of lecture first-year undergraduates dread — but on second look, this might be one of our most fascinating and insightful panels. So much of a writer’s work is research, to help fiction ring true or keep non-fiction honest, and our writers for this event are old hands at the process. This event sheds light on perhaps the least-known part of the writer’s work.

Event description: Contrary to what some might think (or hope), a writer’s story rarely emerges from the mind fully formed. Indeed, it’s often pieced together through research, requiring patience, resourcefulness, and painstaking attention to detail. In this talk, four writers known for pursuing very different subject matters discuss their working process.

I Am China

Xiaolu Guo | The Bookworm, Fri March 20, 1 pm | BW20B 60 RMB

Thomas says: Xiaolu Guo is a story-weaver comfortable on both the page and the screen. Her fascinating A Concise Chinese Dictionary for Lovers captivated audiences the world over, but especially in the Chinese expat scene, given its cross-cultural relationship subject matter. Her latest book is her largest and most ambitious to date, and attendees shouldn’t miss this talk by the engaging and vivacious author.

Event description: I Am China is the new novel from Xiaolu Guo, author of A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers, inspired by Allen Ginsberg’s poem “America” – a look at rock and roll youth living in exile. The book is “a multilayered exploration of politics and culture across three continents,” writes The Guardian. “Cultural references, from Johnny Rotten to Erik Satie, are refracted through a lens of Chinese politics.”

The Writer’s Life :: 作家生活

Will Buckingham, Zhi An | The Bookworm, Wed March 18, 6 pm | BW18C 80 RMB

Thomas says: A down-to-earth but not rose-tinted look at the reality of life for writers of many stripes, both past and present. Zhi An, biographer of Lu Xun’s brother Zhou Zuoren, joins contemporary British novelist and philosophy writer Will Buckingham to discuss the many-faced beast that is the writer’s life.

Event description: Oft romanticized but just as often misunderstood, what actually constitutes life for a writer? Chinese author Zhi An and British author Will Buckingham discuss the realities of this no-collar job. Zhi is the author of a biography about Zhou Zuo Ren, brother of Lu Xun, China’s greatest modern writer, while Buckingham writes novels and philosophy, and is the author of a guide for aspiring novelists called Write a Novel Course. This event is in English and Chinese.

Pathlight Magazine: Creation, Translation, Publication

Eric Abrahamsen, Dave Haysom, Nicky Harman, Sun Yisheng | iQiyi, Mon March 23, 8 pm| IQ23A 60 RMB

Thomas says: The process of writing a short story can itself be a tale worth telling. But throw in the subsequent journeys through translation, editing, and publication and you have a talk not to be missed. Again, this is one of those that seems like work at first glance, but is sure to be an engaging and eye-opening look at a part of the writing process we usually try not to think about. Retaining an author’s voice while communicating the same meaning is a delicate balancing act, and one that our panelists are more than qualified to illuminate for us.

Event description: This event will focus on a single short story — tracing its progress from the original composition in Chinese through the entire process of translation, editing, and finally publication — with local author Sun Yisheng, translator Nicky Harman, and Pathlight editors Eric Abrahamsen and Dave Haysom. This event is in English and Chinese.

The Reward of Complex Literature

Dorothy Tse, Xi Ni Er, Guadalupe Nettel | The Bookworm, Tues March 24, 8 pm | BW24D 80 RMB

Thomas says: Suggest sitting down with some James Joyce or Shakespeare are you’re likely to meet with groans in a teenage classroom – but for those of us who know better, young or old, complex literature is an immensely rewarding experience. Whether an avid literary bookworm yourself, or just contemplating dipping your toe into the vast sea that is Literature with a capital L, this talk is worth a second look. Our speakers are themselves old hands at delving deep into meaning and metaphor, while keeping their writing accessible even to those for whom reading is more of a fond, occasional hobby than an all-consuming passion.

Event description: A talk about the stories of humans and human societies, featuring authors who impart powerful messages and contemplate complex issues through their writing: surrealist Dorothy Tse, master of metaphor Guadalupe Nettel, and realist Xi Ni Er. Join them in a conversation about literature as message and messenger.

British Short Stories

Zoe Gilbert, Adam Marek, Rachel Trezise | The Bookworm, Sun March 29, 2 pm | BW29C 80 RMB 

Thomas says: More than a little bias went into this choice, I admit. Here we have a trinity of British short story writers whose prose is excellent, but who may fly under the radar for readers who tend to just go for bestsellers and book club choices. Literature is still something most people associate with Britain (despite a century dominated by incredible American writers), and these modern writers from across the isles are all names worth knowing.

Event description:  Superhero dictators, East German opera lovers, dreamers and hunters… a restaurant for zombies, Wales’s Rhondda Valley, a taxidermy class… these are just some of the characters and settings in the short stories of Adam Marek, Rachel Trezise, and Zoe Gilbert, who’ll share their works and introduce other imaginative, riveting, mordant works of contemporary British fiction.

Thomas Price is a Bookworm Literary Festival coordinator. Tickets for the Bookworm Literary Festival are available at The Bookworm.