Allow me to begin on a high. The kind of high one feels when permitted to walk on a Hong Kong beach once again without fencing preventing your feet from touching sand. The kind of high one revels in when life resumes to near normalcy after claustrophobic pandemic times. And to get you more excited, please read on… “Yes, there are other highs to come!”
NEW MEMBERS
Since March, we have had 10 new members join WiPS: Gargi Banerjee, Julia Besnard, Irenee Chan, Liz Hobbs, Sarah Kwong, Jane Lo, Andy Lowe, Marria Qibtia Sikanda Nagra, Kate Wyllie and Neerja Yadav. It’s wonderful to have each one of you join us! To learn more about these talented ladies, please find their profiles in our online Members’ Directory [https://www.hkwips.com/members-directory/].
BOOK CLUB
By Gillian Kew
It’s been some years since WiPS ran a book club, so we decided to put our toes back in the water and give it another go; after all, we are about anything publishing-related! This book club had to be different, though, as we could no longer meet in person. It had to be by Zoom.
Our chosen book was Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney, a novel whose story centres around the mundane, intertwined lives of four millennials, focusing on their relationships, sex lives and the problems they face as they tried to find their “Beautiful World”.
The discussions were animated and lively as we all expressed our varied opinions, analysed the content and agreed on the general conclusion that it was more miss than hit for us, with too much focus on millennial angst. That said, we were all glad to have tried something different and we had thoroughly enjoyed the conversation and exchange of ideas.
For our next title, we have chosen The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas, to be discussed on Saturday, 21 May 2022. It’s not too late to join us! You can register through our website [https://www.hkwips.com/event/book-club-may-2022/].
WRITING WORKSHOPS
By Shikha Bansal
What happens when like-minded women get together on Zoom and discuss the craft of writing? The vibe is electric, enthusiastic and warm, and two hours fly by in the blink of an eye.
The WiPS Writing Workshop kicked off on 1 April with nine members in attendance. Eight members submitted a piece of writing, fiction and non-fiction, and everyone participated wholeheartedly, giving and receiving writing advice in equal measure, showing compassion and an understanding that pulling out words from thin air and attempting to turn them into art is challenging, although rewarding.
Led expertly by Rinkoo Ramchandani, the workshop produced a sense of shared community that will hopefully encourage the participants to grow and fulfil their potential as writers and one day find opportunities to showcase their work in larger arenas.
Our next workshop will be held on Thursday, 2 June 2022 [https://www.hkwips.com/event/writing-workshop-june-2022/].
UPCOMING AUTHOR EVENT
We are delighted to have our first WiPS president, Robyn Flemming, share her writing and personal journey with us on Monday, 6 June 2022, via Zoom [https://www.hkwips.com/event/its-never-too-late/].
In 2010, aged in her late fifties, Robyn sold her house in Australia and set off with her laptop on what would become a 10-year global odyssey as a freelance editor. But Robyn was also trying to manage a 40-year drinking habit. Robyn will share how Skinful, a planned funny travel memoir, became a brave and heartfelt account of personal change. She will also speak about finding her publisher and the special challenges that writing a memoir presents.
IMPRINT 21
We have had an impressive collection of submissions sent in for Imprint 21. The official deadline is now past, but if anyone has work she would still like to submit, please contact Carol (caroldyer@netvigator.com) soon.
PAYMENT OPTIONS
We have just added a new feature, PayMe for Business, to our payment options for annual subscriptions, events and copies of Imprint.
On behalf of your WiPS committee, I send you our very best wishes and look forward to many wonderful times ahead.
Suzanne