The Beijinger Gets a Sneak Peek at the Bookworm Literary Festival Schedule

Everyone's favorite Beijing book nook The Bookworm will be announcing the full schedule for the Eighth Bookworm Literary Festival this week, but the Worms were kind enough to give us a sneak preview of some of the main events confirmed for the March 7-21 event.

The festival kicks off on Friday, March 7, with "Why We Write," with three prominent authors discussing their motivations and reasons for writing. Multi award-winning American novelist David Vann, Man Asian short-listed Pakistani-Canadian author Musharraf Ali Farooqi, and leading Chinese novelist Ren Xiaowen will bring their different perspectives to bear on the most crucial questions for any author.

The following evening, March 8, in honor of International Women's Day, Leta Hong Fincher, author of the upcoming book Leftover Women: The Resurgence of Gender Inequality in China, will talk to New York Times journalist Didi Kirsten Tatlow about how the gains made in women's rights and gender relations are being eroded.

History buffs will want to mark Wednesday, March 12 on their calendars, as Jonathan Fenby returns to The Bookworm to discuss his forthcoming work Will China Dominate the 21st Century with former Beijinger columnist Kaiser Kuo. Fenby examines the enormous internal and external challenges – water shortages, apocalyptic pollution levels and dramatically skewed demographics to name just a few – that China will have to face over the coming decades.

On Sunday, March 16, Jeff Brown recounts his story of 44 Days Backpacking in China, in which he covered 12,000 kilometers during that period. In his talk with The Wall Street Journal's William Kazer, Brown will take an enlightening look at the China of the early 21st century, and speculates on its future and what that means for Europe and the United States.

This is just a sample of the events featuring literature, poetry, journalism, translation and more during the two-week event. Other luminaries scheduled to participate include award-winning Icelandic author Sjon, lyricist for Bjork and Oscar nominee for his work on Dancer in the Dark, and Chinese author Sheng Keyi. Tickets for the festival go on sale February 15 and if past festivals are any indication, events will sell out quickly, so book early and don't procrastinate.

-- Nick Richards contributed to this report.

Photo: The Bookworm