Carmen 2025: 180 Years Young

16 July (Wed) 3pm – 4:30pm

Peter Gordon: This talk will introduce this classic of French literature, some of its striking prose, Mérimée's relationship with the Russian poet Pushkin, the transition from book to opera, and trace Carmen down to the present day.

City for Everyone?

16 July (Wed) 7pm – 8:30pm

Osamu Okamura: An architect and educator, highlights urban challenges like monofunctional zones, suburbanization, traffic collapse, and gentrification. His work focuses on enhancing city livability by addressing issues like affordable housing, public space neglect, and real estate speculation, inspiring innovative urban solutions.

Writing Life with Technology

17 July (Thurs) 7pm – 8:30pm

Rie Qudan: Qudan integrates digital culture into her writing. Her AI-assisted novel "Sympathy Tower Tokyo" gained widespread attention, spotlighting AI's role in creativity. Despite limited AI use, her work "Shadow Rain" explores human-AI language dynamics, offering insights into technology-enhanced storytelling.

The Story of 3%

18 July (Fri) 2pm – 3:30pm

Cheon Seonran: Debuting on "Brilliant Tales G" with "The Broken Bridge" in 2019, Cheon Seon-ran quickly rose in Korean literature. Winning prestigious awards, her works like "A Thousand Blues" and "Nine" emphasize environmental themes. She's acclaimed for fearless characters and imaginative storytelling.

Tales of the Origin of Species

19 July (Sat) 11:30am - 1pm

Kim Bo-Young: will recite a portion of her work [Tales of Origin of Species and Other Stories]. She will also briefly share her thoughts while writing the piece—what it means for us to create artificial life, what life truly is, and what it means to coexist within a community of living beings. Afterwards, there will be an interview about her work.

Exploring Hong Kong Culture – Through my Eyes

19 July (Sat) 2:30pm – 4pm

Lindsay Varty: will explore the many fascinating and charming aspects of Hong Kong culture that often get overlooked or taken for granted. Her work explores the people, the trades, the languages and values that make Hong Kong such a unique and captivating city. Growing up as a ‘Third Culture Kid’ in Hong Kong, Lindsay lived in between cultures, and began exploring these elements of local culture as a way to establish her sense of belonging to the place she calls home. She will discuss how her books Sunset Survivors and Hong Kong Slang celebrate local culture and inspire her to find ways to protect it.

The Reinvention Age: Identity, Aging, and Writing through Change

20 July (Sun) 2pm – 3:30pm

Marga Ortigas: In this bold and insightful session, acclaimed journalist and author Marga Ortigas shares how writing can help us navigate the complexities of life’s crossroads with clarity, courage, and creativity. Drawing on her global reporting experience and latest book on women in midlife, WTF?! Woman Turning F*fty, she explores how everyday moments can offer a space for reckoning, renewal, and radical honesty.

Blending memoir with cultural reflection and narrative insight, this session will delve into why personal narratives can resonate across borders — and how storytelling can be both deeply intimate and universally relevant. It’s for anyone interested in making sense of change and how writing can help us shape what comes next.

Writing a Fantasy Novel at School Age - A Story from the Youngest Writer of Vietnam

20 July (Sun) 3pm – 4pm

Meet Rosy Black- Nguyen Hanh Phuong, the youngest Vietnamese author to publish a fantasy novel in English. In this engaging session, Rosy shares how her love for books and imagination led her to create a bilingual fantasy series at a young age. She’ll walk us through the origin of her story ideas, the writing and translating process, and the discipline it takes to balance school and creativity. With over 1,000 books read and a strong voice in both English and Vietnamese, Rosy proves that age is no barrier to powerful storytelling. Come discover the world through her eyes — full of wonder, perseverance, and purpose.

What Does It Mean to Be or to Become Chinese?

21 July (Mon) 6:30pm – 8pm

Daniel A. Bell: will explore in Being Chinese, Becoming Chinese, we present a multidisciplinary exploration of Chinese identity, bringing together contributions from leading philosophers, historians, and legal theorists. The book examines the question of what it means to be, or to become, Chinese, and offers a rich collection of perspectives that span both historical and contemporary contexts.