To find success as a writer in any given field is a precious rarity; to find success in more than one is a feat of near mythic proportions. Australian writer Geraldine Brooks began her career as a journalist working as a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal where she spent six years reporting from conflict areas around Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Israel, Jordan, and elsewhere. This led to her first book, a clear-eyed and compulsively readable piece of narrative journalism called Nine Parts of Desire, which profiles the Muslim women Brooks met while working abroad.

Now at work on her next novel, Brooks will make her way to China for a series of book talks with Australian Writers Week. Her last visit to China was 11 years ago with her son, but she’s well-read in Chinese literature and is a fan of Mo Yan and Ha Jin. 

Guangzhou:

Geraldine Brooks: At Home in the World, Tue May 16, 7-8pm. UN Bookstore.

Writing for the Human Heart: Geraldine Brooks in Conversation with Li Lanni, Dai Fan and Wei Wei, Wed May 17, 9.30-11am. Guangdong Literature and Art Centre.

Geraldine Brooks: Hearing the Unheard in Journalism and Historical Fiction, Wed May 17, 7-8.30pm. Sun Yat-sen University, School of Foreign Languages.

Foshan:

In Conversation with Geraldine Brooks, Thu May 18, 10-11.30am. Foshan Library.