TALK | The South: A Tale of Family, Love and Legacy

Speakers: Tash Aw

Moderator: Maureen Tai

Date: March 1, Sun

Time: 11:30am - 12:30pm

Venue: Fringe Club - Fringe Underground

Address: 2 Lower Albert Rd, Fringe Club, Central

Price: HKD298

Language: English

Format: Talk

Description:
Join acclaimed novelist Tash Aw for an intimate conversation reflecting on a career that has helped shape contemporary Asian literature. From The Harmony Silk Factory to Five Star Billionaire and We, the Survivors, Aw’s fiction explores ambition, class, migration, and the moral compromises of modern life. The discussion will centre on his latest 2025 novel, The South, a return to rural Malaysia that deepens these themes through family, land, and belonging. Ranging across his body of work, this event offers a rich introduction to Aw’s ideas, influences, and evolving literary vision.

About the Speaker:

Tash Aw is the author of five novels, including, most recently, The South, and a memoir of a Chinese-Malaysian family, Strangers on a Pier, finalist for the Los Angeles Book Prize. His work has won the Whitbread and Commonwealth Prizes, an O. Henry Award and been longlisted three times for the MAN Booker Prize. His novels have been translated into 26 languages and been longlisted for the Prix Médicis Étranger, Prix Inrocks and Premio Gregor von Rezzori. As an essayist and critic, he has contributed to The Paris Review, New York Review of Books, New York Times, and the Guardian, among many other publications. He lives in Paris and Kuala Lumpur.

Don’t miss our special offer: Buy 3, Get 1 Complimentary!

Purchase 3 tickets to any events under HKILF 2026 and claim a complimentary seat at one of these exciting talks at Central Library:

•⁠ 3rd March (Tue): On Muscle: The Stuff that Moves Us and Why It Matters (7:00-8:30pm)

⁠•⁠ 4th March (Wed): I Deliver Parcels in Beijing (7:00-8:30pm)

•⁠ ⁠5th March (Thu): Amitav Ghosh: Ghost-Eye (7:00-8:30pm)

To redeem your complimentary seat, email us at [email protected] with:

•⁠ ⁠Your 3 ticket order numbers

•⁠ ⁠The event you’d like to attend

•⁠ ⁠Subject line: Buy 3, Get 1 Complimentary!

Hurry! Offer valid until ticket lasts

ABOUT HKILF

The Hong Kong International Literary Festival (HKILF) inspires the joy of reading by bringing the world’s writers and stories to Hong Kong’s diverse communities. A dynamic year-round programme and an annual festival offer dialogue, entertainment and perspective, while the Young Readers Festival (YRF) motivates students to engage with all aspects of the written word, improving communication skills, while nurturing the art of writing and storytelling.

The annual festival features established and emerging writers from around the world, alongside local literary talents, in a programme that includes panel discussions, book talks, readings, workshops, walks, school programmes, performances, and more.

We are a registered charity non-profit organisation dedicated to bringing the best in the literary arts to Hong Kong. To find more, please visit our official website: https://www.festival.org.hk.

Please note that:

*We are unable to process refunds, please consider your ticket purchase a donation to the festival.

*Photos and videos of participants may be taken during the activities,which may be used by the organiser and the major sponsor for educational and promotional purposes in any way deemed appropriate, including disseminationthrough printed and online channels. Participation in the programme will constitute the participants’ consent to the above arrangement.

*The views and opinions expressed by the speakers do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Hong Kong International Literary Festival. HKILF disclaims any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the information shared by the speakers.

*If the Black Rainstorm Warning or the Tropical Cyclone Signal No. 8 or above is in force 3 hours before the start time of an event, the event will be cancelled and participants will receive a refund. If the Red or Yellow Rainstorm Warning or the Tropical Cyclone Signal No. 3 is in effect, the event will be held as scheduled.

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