Hong Kong Lit Club
Hong Kong Lit Club
Podcast Description
While the city is often portrayed as a busy financial hub where nobody has time to read, the reality is that people do read - and they write, too. Discover the work of both past and contemporary authors, and dive into the the literary heritage of Hong Kong that often gets overlooked. Each episode will feature three parts: a read-aloud ("Words Unfold"), either by your host, Julia, or by guest authors reading their own pieces, a discussion section to delve deeper into the meaning of the text ("Deep Dive"), and a short language section focussing on a Cantonese word or phrase ("Local Lingo"). Ultimately, this podcast is a celebration of Hong Kong's literary landscape and an invitation for listeners to embark on a literary journey that transcends borders.Learn more here.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
Focused on the literary heritage of Hong Kong, the podcast explores themes of identity, cultural reflection, and intergenerational relationships with episodes that feature contemporary works, discussions on the impact of technology on storytelling, and explorations of local language.

While the city is often portrayed as a busy financial hub where nobody has time to read, the reality is that people do read – and they write, too. Discover the work of both past and contemporary authors, and dive into the the literary heritage of Hong Kong that often gets overlooked. Each episode will feature three parts: a read-aloud (“Words Unfold”), either by your host, Julia, or by guest authors reading their own pieces, a discussion section to delve deeper into the meaning of the text (“Deep Dive”), and a short language section focussing on a Cantonese word or phrase (“Local Lingo”).
Ultimately, this podcast is a celebration of Hong Kong’s literary landscape and an invitation for listeners to embark on a literary journey that transcends borders.
Learn more here.
In this episode, Julia and Emma Pei Yin continue their conversation about Emma’s debut historical novel, When Sleeping Women Wake.
Emma reflects on how readers in Hong Kong have connected with the book’s themes in a way that feels different from her Australian audience, and how writing the novel lead her to rediscover a side of the city she’d missed growing up.
She also opens up about her editorial agency, Yinfluence, which she founded to support underrepresented writers, including Asian Australian and queer voices. The conversation explores who gets to tell which stories in fiction, and what happens when the industry leans toward familiar narratives.
On the craft side, Emma shares her writing habits, her unexpected relationship with writer’s block (or rather, “option overload”), and what she’s learned from working on her second book.
A thoughtful conversation about storytelling, representation, and the stories worth telling.
Follow Emma Pei Yin on Instagram | Website
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