Berlin-based Taiwanese author Kevin Chen (陳思宏) will be touring throughout the US from April 21 to May 15 to present his best-selling novel, Ghost Town (鬼地方). He is scheduled to be featured at 16 literary events across the US this year, spanning California, Texas, Michigan, and New York City.
Kevin Chen said in a Facebook post that “I am about to leave for the United States for nearly a month. It is really a ‘coast to coast’ journey. The events in Los Angeles, Houston, Austin, Ann Arbor, and New York City are all in-person ones, and I’m about to bring my Ghost Town to many fascinating ‘Ghost Towns.’"
Chen’s award-winning novel Ghost Town was published in the US by Europa Editions in October 2022. The novel has attracted global attention since then, receiving critical acclaim in organizations such as The New York Times and Booklist. The novel was also selected by Library Journal in the category of Best of World Literature 2022, and it was longlisted for the 2023 PEN Translation Prize.
Last fall, Kevin Chen was invited by the Taipei Cultural Center in New York and Taiwan Academy in Washington D.C. to give author talks at the New York Public Library, Queens Public Library, Hunter College of CUNY, and George Washington University. The talks were well-received, with strong turnouts at each location.
Now, in collaboration with the Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles, Taiwan Academy in Houston, and Taipei Cultural Center in New York, Kevin Chen has been invited by the PEN World Voices Festival and the LA Times Festival of Books as one of the featured authors for their panel discussions. In addition, he will give author talks at UC Santa Barbara, UCLA, Rice University, the University of St. Thomas, UT Austin, Austin Central Library, Ann Arbor District Library-Downtown, Los Angeles Central Library-Westwood, and Queens Public Library-Flushing. American readers are welcome to register for the events online.
Kevin Chen’s 2023 US tour:
California
April 21 from 7:00-8:00 pm
Red Hen Press, 1540 Lincoln Ave, Pasadena, CA 91103
https://reurl.cc/eXgDDK
April 22 from 12:00-1:00 pm
LA Times Festival of Books, University of Southern California (Albert and Dana Broccoli Theatre)
https://reurl.cc/WDgeqk
April 22 from 2:30-3:30 pm
LA Times Festival of Books, University of Southern California (Taiwan Academy Booth 149)
April 23 from 1:30-2:30 pm
LA Times Festival of Books, University of Southern California (Taiwan Academy Booth 149)
April 24 from 12:30-1:45 pm
UC Santa Barbara, Buchanan Hall 1910
https://reurl.cc/MRg8gK
April 25 from 2:00-3:30 pm
UCLA, Royce Hall 243
https://reurl.cc/9Vq4qj
April 25 from 7:00-8:30 pm
Los Angeles Central Library-Westwood
https://reurl.cc/8qRjV4
Texas
April 27 at 6:00 pm
Rice University, BioScience Research Collaborative 103
https://events.rice.edu/event/347495-liu-distinguished-visitor-series-kevin-chen-ghost
April 28 at 6:30 pm
University of St. Thomas, Anderson Hall 103
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdZYoODU8evl851iQ9mBkF-ulh-MOXfm62McOZZWHswWTaYfw/viewform
May 2 at 11:00 am
UT Austin, Will C. Hogg (WCH)4. 118
https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/cts/events/queer-taiwan-ghost-town-book-talk-taipeilove-screening-3
May 2 at 6:30 pm
Austin Central Library, 710W Cesar Chavez
https://library.austintexas.gov/event/programs-workshops/central-library-author-event-kevin-chen-7727905
Michigan
May 6 at 5:00-6:00 pm
【In Mandarin】Ann Arbor District Library: Downtown, 4th Floor Meeting Room
https://aadl.org/node/613615
May 7 at 3:00-4:00 pm
【In English】Ann Arbor District Library: Downtown, 4th Floor Meeting Room
https://aadl.org/node/613614
New York City
May 11 at 6:00 pm
PEN World Voices Festival
“Translation Slam,” AIA Center for Architecture - Room 532
https://worldvoices.pen.org/session/translation-slam-2023/
May 12 at 9:00 pm
PEN World Voices Festival
“Spirited Away–Haunted Novels,” Joe’s Pub
https://worldvoices.pen.org/session/spirited-away-haunted-novels/
May 15 at 4:30-5:30 pm
Queens Public Library-Flushing
https://www.queenslibrary.org/calendar/author-talk-kevin-chen-author-of-ghost-town/013380-0323
Image Courtesy of Kevin Chen and Europa Editions