PANEL | Inside the Machine: How Stories Get Signed, Shaped, Sold

Authors and editors gather and talk about the processes of getting their stories to paper.

Inside the Machine: How Stories Get Signed, Shaped, Sold

Speakers: Felicia Low-Jimenez, Myrna Ayad, Brendan Fredericks, and Emma Pei Yin

Moderator: Donna Mah

Date: March 7, Sat

Time: 5:00pm - 6:15pm

Venue: Fringe Club - Fringe Dairy

Address: 2 Lower Albert Rd, Central

Price: HKD268

Language: English

Format: Panel

Description:
From first spark to final shelf, this conversation takes audiences inside the engine room of today’s publishing industry. Editor and writer Emma Pei Yin shares how manuscripts are shaped, refined, and made submission-ready. Internationally respected cultural critic and curator Myrna Ayad brings a deep perspective on storytelling and the global arts ecosystem, drawing on her work amplifying voices across contemporary art, culture, and publishing. As publisher and co-founder of Difference Engine, a comics publisher based in Singapore, Felicia Low-Jimenez offers insights into the comics publishing world, and as co-creator of Tiger Girls, speaks to narrative craft and audience engagement. Joining them is Brendan Fredericks, one of Australia’s most respected publicists and literary agents. Together, they unpack the pathways, pressures, and power dynamics behind getting books into readers’ hands.

This event is presented in partnership with Emirates Airline Eestival of Literature and Australian Consulate-General Hong Kong.

About the Speakers:

Felicia Low-Jimenez

Felicia Low-Jimenez is one half of the writing team behind the best-selling Sherlock Sam series of children’s books and the writer of the young adult fantasy comic, Tiger Girls. She is also the publisher at Difference Engine, an independent comics publisher based in Singapore. She holds an MA in Literary Theory and Asian Studies, with a focus on anime and manga, and has worked in bookselling and publishing. She believes that stories have the power to change the world.

Myrna Ayad

For over two decades, Myrna Ayad has authored, edited, and contributed to several books, magazines and dailies on visual art and culture from the Arab world and Iran. A frequent panellist, jurist, and moderator, her role as an independent cultural strategist allows her to work on projects within the luxury sector, government entities, private companies, and non-profit organisations. She is the founder and author of Noor’s Heroes, a series of illustrated children’s books focused on Arab greats.

Brendan Fredericks

BFredericksPR Literary Agency represents 2025 Miles Franklin Award-winning author Siang Lu and bestselling author Chris Flynn. Established in 2015, BFredericksPR freelances for a diverse list of major and independent Australian publishers and their marquee authors and is the publicity agency for premier industry events. The agency’s director, Brendan Fredericks, has worked in the book industry nearing twenty-five years, starting out as a bookseller and events manager with Angus & Robertson. As in-house publicist and publicity manager with prestigious publishers Hachette and Bloomsbury he promoted and toured luminaries such as Elizabeth Gilbert, Germaine Greer, Robyn Davidson, and Richard Ford.

Emma Pei Yin

Emma Pei Yin is an Australian-Chinese writer and editor. Her debut novel, When Sleeping Women Wake, has been published globally, translated into multiple languages and was longlisted for the ARA Historical Novel Prize (2025). She is also the founder of yinfluence editorial, an agency that works with PoC, queer and neurodivergent writers, connecting them with editors and mentors who understand the stakes of telling stories from the margins. She has been featured in The South China Morning Post, The Australian, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and The Canberra Times.

Don’t miss our special offer: Buy 3, Get 1 Complimentary!

Purchase 3 tickets to any events under HKILF 2026 and claim a complimentary seat at one of these exciting talks at Central Library:

•⁠ 3rd March (Tue): On Muscle: The Stuff that Moves Us and Why It Matters (7:00-8:30pm)

⁠•⁠ 4th March (Wed): I Deliver Parcels in Beijing (7:00-8:30pm)

•⁠ ⁠5th March (Thu): Amitav Ghosh: Ghost-Eye (7:00-8:30pm)

To redeem your complimentary seat, email us at info@festival.org.hk with:

•⁠ ⁠Your 3 ticket order numbers

•⁠ ⁠The event you’d like to attend

•⁠ ⁠Subject line: Buy 3, Get 1 Complimentary!

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ABOUT HKILF

The Hong Kong International Literary Festival (HKILF) inspires the joy of reading by bringing the world’s writers and stories to Hong Kong’s diverse communities. A dynamic year-round programme and an annual festival offer dialogue, entertainment and perspective, while the Young Readers Festival (YRF) motivates students to engage with all aspects of the written word, improving communication skills, while nurturing the art of writing and storytelling.

The annual festival features established and emerging writers from around the world, alongside local literary talents, in a programme that includes panel discussions, book talks, readings, workshops, walks, school programmes, performances, and more.

We are a registered charity non-profit organisation dedicated to bringing the best in the literary arts to Hong Kong. To find more, please visit our official website: https://www.festival.org.hk.

Please note that:

*We are unable to process refunds, please consider your ticket purchase a donation to the festival.

*Photos and videos of participants may be taken during the activities,which may be used by the organiser and the major sponsor for educational and promotional purposes in any way deemed appropriate, including disseminationthrough printed and online channels. Participation in the programme will constitute the participants’ consent to the above arrangement.

*The views and opinions expressed by the speakers do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Hong Kong International Literary Festival. HKILF disclaims any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the information shared by the speakers.

*If the Black Rainstorm Warning or the Tropical Cyclone Signal No. 8 or above is in force 3 hours before the start time of an event, the event will be cancelled and participants will receive a refund. If the Red or Yellow Rainstorm Warning or the Tropical Cyclone Signal No. 3 is in effect, the event will be held as scheduled.