September 2024
Welcome to Danyan Chen – who is the fifth Chinese writer to travel to Aotearoa for an eight week residency at the Michael King Writers Centre, this year from September to November.
Danyan is a renowned author known for her impactful contributions to both fiction and non-fiction, particularly focusing on youth and urban narratives in China and the overseas Chinese language community. Her works have been translated into multiple languages. She’s also a prominent travel book writer and has ventured into documentary filmmaking. In 2021, she directed a 93-minute documentary entitled Storage that investigates how to safely store collective memory. It made waves internationally with its premiere at the San Sebastian International Film Festival in Spain. Many of her books have been recognised with awards and have achieved best seller status. Her novel Nine Lives earned prestigious literary awards in Europe, including the UNESCO Gold Medal for Tolerance Literature.
Danyan is a Cultural Director at the Shanghai Chenshan Botanical Gardens, overseeing the rose garden recognised by the World Federation of Rose Societies as one of the world’s finest.
Danyan says, ‘Since I found out about the Michael King Writers Centre and their international residency exchange for writers a few years ago, I have been thinking about this residency and hoping someday to get this opportunity. It was a very happy afternoon when I was told that I have been given the chance to come here for eight weeks this spring. It was especially good news after the long period of Covid and not being able to travel. I started working with Shanghai Botanical Gardens during the pandemic. I work at the rose garden, learning the history of old Chinese roses. So, I hope one day I can start writing a book about how the roses from old China travelled all the way around the world to America, Europe, and Oceania. It is such a great opportunity – like a dream – to stay a while in New Zealand to continue my field work and research. I hope that I can use this pretty long time for gathering more details about roses, adding a rich New Zealand story to my forthcoming book’.
Danyan is also interested in ancient gold mining routes and the history of Chinese labourers in New Zealand as she is researching the overseas history of Chinese people.
Later in her residency Danyan will head to Wellington to appear at Verb Literary Festival, she is also going to spend a week on a farm and is planning to immerse herself in learning about Māoritanga whilst here.
This opportunity is available through a partnership between the Michael King Writers Centre, the New Zealand China Friendship Society, the Shanghai Writers’ Association and the Shanghai People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.