British Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong – Telling China Stories: Paul French & Jo Lusby (online) – 14/10/20

Posted: October 12th, 2020 | No Comments »

Telling China Stories: Paul French and Jo Lusby

Fireside Chat with Paul French and Jo Lusby

Part of the China Author Series

Supported by the China Committee

Speakers:

Paul French, Author of “Midnight in Peking” and “City of Devils: A Shanghai Noir”

Jo Lusby, Co-founder, Pixie B

Join us for the second in our series of webinars where we are joined by leading authors focusing on China.

With his true crime book Midnight in Peking about the murder of a young Englishwoman in 1930s Beijing, Paul French put Chinese history on the New York Times Bestseller list. His follow up City of Devils, a story of gangsters, dancehalls, and old Shanghai, is currently being developed for TV in Los Angeles. Paul is also involved in a number of film, TV and podcast ventures in China. In this “fireside chat”, Paul and his former publisher at Penguin, Jo Lusby, talk creative opportunities in China.

Telling China stories can be a business. Books, movies, TV, audio are all areas where Chinese consumers want to hear what the world has to say. The opportunities are as limitless as our imaginations – from history to science-fiction; from publishing to CGI. The UK is a world leader in the field of creative content creation and in terms of China – co-produced moves, jointly created TV shows, reading each others stories in translation, listening to each others voices on audio we’re only just beginning. Moving from selling British books into China, helping develop TV content and movie using the UK-China Television and Film Co-Production Treaty to more recent sectors such as audiobooks and podcast to reach China’s ‘ear economy’. British creative talent is at the forefront of foreign involvement with China.

Paul French was born in London, educated there and in Glasgow, and lived and worked in Shanghai for many years. His book Midnight in Peking was a New York Times Bestseller, a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week, a Mystery Writers’ of America Edgar award winner for Best Fact Crime and a Crime Writers’ Association (UK) Dagger award for non-fiction. His most recent book City of Devils: A Shanghai Noir has received much praise with The Economist writing, ‘…in Mr French the city has its champion storyteller.’ Both Midnight in Peking and City of Devils are currently being developed for television. 

Jo Lusby is co-founder of Pixie B, an independent consultancy and agency specialising in publishing, film, and the creative sector in China. The company works with organizations and individuals seeking strategic and commercial advice, as well as negotiates partnerships and agreements for a wide range of IP brands. Clients include Pottermore and the Blair Partnership, BBC Studios, The Financial Times, The Publishers Association, and others.

A fluent Mandarin speaker and veteran publisher, Jo was North Asia CEO of the world’s largest consumer book publisher, Penguin Random House (and, prior to its merger, Penguin Books) from 2005-2017. She set up and managed local operations across Asia, establishing a market-leading, award-winning local publishing business in English, Chinese, and Korean. Bestsellers published during under her tenure ranged from the #1 children’s hit Peppa Pig and the autobiography of tennis sensation Li Na in Chinese, through to the fiction of Nobel Laureate Mo Yan and the non-fiction bestseller Midnight in Peking. Jo serves as a director of the Hong Kong International Literary Festival, and is a high profile member of the regional business community.

More details & tickets – click here

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