The Edinburgh World Writers’ Conference is a unique series of events that brings writers together around the world to create an historic picture of the role of literature today. The conversation began at the Edinburgh International Book Festival where 50 world-renowned writers discussed the five topics that almost brought writers to blows during the infamous Writers’ Conference of 1962. From August 2012, the World Writers’ Conference will visit 15 different cities and give writers in different countries the chance to add their voice to the growing debate about writing and its relationship to contemporary life.

Reservations required:

* From Tuesday to Friday 11:00-18:00 please call +86 10 57800200 to book. Please note that you can only book 1 seat at a time.

Members can also book by calling +86 10 57800291, or sending an email to: members@159.138.20.147

Li Er (China)

Novelist and short story writer Li Er was born 1966 in Henan Province. He is the author of five story collections, two novels and approximately 50 novellas and short stories. His work appears regularly in Zuojia, Shouhuo, Renmin Wenxue and a variety of other mainland literary journals. German Chancellor Angela Merkel famously gave the German translation of his novel Cherry on a Pomegranate Tree as a gift to Premier Wen Jiabao. His novels The Magician of 1919 and Truth and Variations, about the mired physical and psychological circumstances confronting revolutionary poet Ge Ren in the 1930s and 1940s are now available in English.

AD Miller (UK)

A.D. Miller was born in London in 1974. After studying literature at Cambridge and Princeton, he began writing travel pieces about America. Returning to London, he worked as a television producer before joining The Economist. Currently the magazine’s Britain editor, Miller also served as the magazine’s Moscow correspondent. He is the author of the acclaimed family history The Earl of Petticoat Lane. His first novel Snowdrops, a riveting story of erotic obsession, self-deception and moral free-fall set in post-communist Moscow, was one of the most successful debut novels in 2011, and was shortlisted for numerous literary awards including the Man Booker Prize, the Los Angles Times Book Awards and the James Tait Black Prize for Fiction. He lives in London with his wife Emma, daughter Milly and son Jacob.

Zhu Wen (China)

Zhu Wen was born in Fujian Province in 1967 and spent his childhood in Jiangsu. After graduating from Dongnan University with a degree in engineering, he worked for five years in a thermal power plant (a subject he later revisited in the short story “Ah, Xiao Xie”). He began publishing his poetry in 1989. In 1994, Zhu Wen left his day job to become a full-time writer. Since then, he has published six collections of novellas and short stories, two collections of poetry and one novel. He first gained fame with his 1995 short story collection,I Love Dollars. Zhu Wen is also an accomplished screenwriter and director: his directorial debutSeafood won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2001 Venice Film Festival, and his second film South of the Clouds was awarded the NETPAC Prize at the 2004 Berlin Film Festival. He currently lives in Beijing.

The Edinburgh World Writers’ Conference

Cultural and Education section of the British Embassy

The Bookworm Beijing

The Bookworm Literary Festival

Scottish Government's Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund

Creative Scotland

the City of Edinburgh Council, Event Scotland