Best-selling author to wow Dundee audience
Published On Wed 8 Oct 2014 by Grant Hill
Jung Chang, who has sold more than 15 million books worldwide, will talk about her career and new book next week at a special event jointly hosted by Dundee Literary Festival and the Saturday Evening Lecture Series (SELS).
She will be discussing ‘Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China’ at the University of Dundee’s Dalhousie Building on Saturday, 18th October. The talk is one of two extension events to this year’s Festival, and also helps celebrate the 90th anniversary of SELS.
Literary Festival Director Anna Day said, “Jung Chang is a wonderful writer, taking her readers to places and times in history that we've had little access to previously. She's a great speaker and I'm delighted to welcome her back to Dundee.
“This is a fantastic way to lead in to this year’s Literary Festival, which will see us bring some of the world’s best writers and most exciting new voices together in a programme with something for everyone on offer.”
Chang was born in China in 1952 and came to Britain in 1978. She is the bestselling author of the thought provoking books, ‘Wild Swans’ and ‘Mao: The Unknown Story’. Her books have been translated into more than 40 languages and sold more than 15 million copies worldwide, although Wild Swans was banned in China.
In her lecture, Chang will discuss her new book, which tells a dramatic story of rebellions, battles, plotting, rivalry, foreign invasion, punishment and forbidden love. This groundbreaking biography vividly describes how Cixi fought against monumental obstacles to change China.
Jung Chang is just one of the big names appearing at this year’s Dundee Literary Festival, which takes place from 22nd to 26th October. More than 60 workshops, talks, book signings, readings, walking tours and other events will be held over the five-day run.
As a result, 2014 will be the biggest Dundee Literary Festival to date, with sports, crime, comics, translation, poetry, comedy, music, politics, history and children’s books all be covered as the Festival spread beyond the University campus and to libraries, pubs and other venues across the city.
The winner of the Dundee International Book Prize will also be announced at the Festival, underlining Literary Dundee’s commitment to new talent. Punk legend and feminist icon Viv Albertine will share the stories from her best-selling memoir, ‘Clothes Clothes Clothes Music Music Music Boys Boys Boys’, on Friday, 24th October, while world-renowned author Michel Faber will read from his new novel, ‘The Book of Strange New Things’, the following day.
The Sunday line-up includes broadcaster James Naughtie, who will be discussing his debut novel, ‘The Madness of July’, as well as some of the biggest names in the comics world who will be descending on the city for this year’s Dundee Comics Day.
‘Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China’ takes place at the Dalhousie Building, Old Hawkhill, from 6pm on Saturday, 18th October. Free tickets are available from the University’s Tower Reception, by calling 01382 385108, visiting www.dundee.ac.uk/tickets or by emailing events@dundee.ac.uk.
A drinks reception and book signing will follow the lecture. Please note that overflow theatres may be in operation.
More information about this year’s programme, including the full line up and how to obtain tickets, can be found at http://www.dundee.ac.uk/literarydundee/.
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Grant Hill
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