In a rapidly changing China, traditional ways of life are threatened by modernisation. Two debut authors whose novels are built on these conflicts will talk about the struggles of individuals and families as the world changes around them.

Chiew-Siah Tei was born and raised in southern Malaysia and now lives in Glasgow. Little Hut of Leaping Fishes, her first novel, was longlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize 2007. Set in the dying day days of Imperial China - the era of the Opium Wars - it is a sweeping tale of sibling rivalry, cultural upheaval and the indelible power of family ties.

Ci Zijian's best-selling novel, The Right Side of the Argun, set at the end of the 20th c., is inspired by the life of the last Evenki woman chieftain. It has been described as One Hundred Years of Solitude re-imagined for Northeast China.
Isabel Hilton is a journalist, broadcaster and the editor of chinadialogue.net, a Chinese English website on climate change and the environment.

This event is supported by the British Council in collaboration with the Chinese organising committee as part of the China Market Focus 2012 cultural programme at The London Book Fair and produced in partnership with the Pan Asian Women's Association and British Malaysia Society.