The spector of professionalism

Streaming video - 2022

A conversation between four IWP 2022 Fall Residency writers on the theme of "The Specter of Professionalization." About the authors: Kang Byoung Yoong (fiction writer, essayist, translator, scholar; South Korea) is currently the Korean Studies Program Chair at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; previously, he has taught in Korea and in Russia. His stories and his 10 novels—most recently [I Am Victor Choi]—often engage parodically with classics of world fiction. He is also and essayist and the author of scholarly works on modern Korean and Russian fiction, and on philosophy. His participation was made possible by Arts Council Korea (ARKO). Chu He-Chih (fiction; Taiwan). The author of eight novels, largely concerned with his...tory and Taiwan's colonial legacies, Chu He-Chih is the first recipient of the Romain Rolland Prize for his novel [Aura of the South] (2021) given by Taiwan's Ministry of Culture. He has also been twice awarded the Hsing Yun Award for Global Chinese Literature, for [The Land of Paradise] (2016) and for [Chiang Wen-Ye, the Singer of No Homeland] (2020). He participates courtesy of the Ministry of Culture of Taiwan. Hien Trang (fiction writer; critic; translator; Vietnam) is an author of two novels, two collections of stories and one of literary essays. Her most recent titles, both award-winning, are [Chopin vanishes] (2022) and [Dreams of wandering in withered fields] (2018). She works as a book, music, film, and pop culture critic, with columns in major newspapers and magazines, and regularly translates from English. Her participation was made possible by a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the US Department of State. Qi Jin Nian (fiction writer, non-fiction writer, translator, PRC) has published a dozen titles, ranging from travel literature to speculative fiction, most recently [The Eye Phone Age] (2018). Her 2013 novel [The Ember of Time] won the Peoples’ Literature Award for Best Novel; her stories have appeared in China’s top literary magazines. She has also edited literary journals and translated from the English. Her participation was made possible by the US Embassy in Beijing. more