Message from the Committee
Wishing everyone a wonderful start to 2026!
As we welcome the new year, let us look back as well on the many accomplishments of 2025. The WiPS committee kept the year’s calendar full: 18 writers’ workshops at maximum capacity, 24 new members, 250+ participants across a programme of book club meetings and special interest events… and finally, a festive literary dinner.
Despite January’s cool weather, it’s clear that the hearth has been burning at WiPS. Please keep our warmth going throughout 2026 by making sure you have renewed your membership.
WiPS Committee
NEVER MISS OUR ANNOUNCEMENTS
Add our email address (wipshk@gmail.com) to your contacts or Safe Senders list in your email settings to tell the system they are trusted.
New Committee Members
Our first happy event of the year is to welcome two talented women who have just stepped up to join the committee. This extra input and fresh start are invaluable as we expand the scope of the programme we offer members in the months ahead.
Erin Chung
Erin is both a communicator and coordinator, with extensive experience in social media. Currently, she divides her time between Hong Kong and Melbourne, and is the director and a co-founder of Riverbed Collective, an international artist-led social enterprise which aims to celebrate creatives, their unique styles, and their shared stories. Erin will keep you posted!
Imogen Short
Imogen is the managing director, APAC, at Write the Talk, where she helps organizations navigate change through the power of storytelling and leads CPD-accredited narrative leadership programmes across Asia. An author and award-winning writer, she has signed a three-book fiction deal, with her debut novel due in 2026. Imogen is also the co-founder of an award-winning production company and The Impact Collective, a not-for-profit championing women through sport.
Upcoming Events
[Please go to our website under EVENTS for details and registration for all our upcoming events.]
January Book Club: Murder on the Orient Express
Join us for a Book Club session celebrating the most widely read mystery of all time, Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. Just after midnight, the famous train is brought to a halt by a snowdrift and, by morning, millionaire Samuel Edward Ratchett is found dead in his locked compartment, stabbed a dozen times – leaving no doubt that one of the passengers is the murderer. Isolated by the storm, Hercule Poirot must uncover the truth among a carriage full of the victim’s enemies before the killer strikes again, delivering what The New York Times calls a mystery that leaves readers asking, “What more… can a mystery addict desire?” The Book Club session is on Thursday, 29 January, 7–8pm HKT, via Zoom. Members attend free; non-members HK$50. The HK$50 non-member fee will be refunded if you join WiPS (HK$600, valid until the end of 2026) within one week of the evening.
February Writing Workshop
Following our practice in previous years, WW takes a brief hiatus during January. We’ll be back in full force from February for another year of virtual workshops and a sprinkling of in-person gatherings.
Imprint 24 Launch
Don’t miss WiPS’ gala event of the year – the launch of our members’ anthology, Imprint. As a part of Hong Kong International Literary Festival’s 25th anniversary, WiPS is delighted to showcase the 24th issue of the anthology. Come mingle with the city’s literati as we indulge in an evening of poetry and prose in a historic venue in Central. The launch of Imprint 24 will take place on Wednesday, 4 March 2026 at 6.30pm on Lower Albert Road, Central.
Past Events
This past quarter, WiPS members took part in a perfect combination of events. In October, Jo Lusby chatted with Sophia Hotung at our second Manuscript-to-Market event about the importance of global distribution. This was shortly followed by a virtual Book Club on the gothic classic, Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier. In November, we continued with the popular writing workshops, even offering one in-person hosted by Andy Lowe and then a virtual poetry workshop by award-winning poet Nia Broomhall. The month ended with Novella November during which we debated the ethics of posthumous publishing as we discussed Until August by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Finally, we closed the year with our much-anticipated Festive Dinner hosted by social enterprise Gentle Books, which led to a cut-throat white-elephant book exchange over a scrumptious meal prepared by Crushed Wines. A hugely enjoyable evening!
New Members
Since our last newsletter, two new members have joined us: Jo Lusby and Katy Phoon. Also Emma Kovalevsky and Sarah Huda have rejoined us.
Katy Phoon
After a long career as a lawyer in the satellite industry, Katy Phoon has fulfilled her mother’s wish by writing about her childhood survival in war-torn China in her debut novel, A Fine Piece of Jade.
Membership Renewal for 2026
Due 1 January 2026, your renewal ensures we can continue offering meaningful programmes and supporting women’s voices in the coming year.
Enjoy all that WiPS has to offer. Please renew your membership today.