The word from Shanghai
More than 50 authors from nearly 20 countries will gather in Shanghai and share their ideas about books and how they shape and enrich people's lives at the 8th Shanghai International Literary Festival, from Friday to March 21.
Starting with just one author in 2003, the annual festival has grown to attract such heavyweights as Junot Diaz, Dominican-American Pulitzer Prize winner for the novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, and David Grossman, multi-award winning Israeli author. Increasingly, the festival is bringing in less-known authors from less-familiar countries.
"Most of the participants are expatriates, and they enjoy learning about new countries and culture," says Tina Kanagaratnam, who has been organizing the festival with Tim Murray since Michelle Garnaut, owner of M Restaurants in Shanghai and Beijing, founded the festival at M on the Bund.
