Kit Fan

FRSL
Born
Fan Chun-kit

1979 (age 44–45)
Hong Kong
EducationChinese University of Hong Kong; University of York
Occupation(s)Author, poet, novelist, critic
Years active2006–present
Notable workDiamond Hill; As Slow As Possible
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese范進傑
Simplified Chinese范进杰
Hanyu PinyinFàn Jìnjié
JyutpingFaan6 Zeon3-git6

Kit Fan FRSL (范進傑; born 1979) is an author and poet from Hong Kong who now lives in York in the United Kingdom.[1][2] In 2011, his poetry book won the Hong Kong University International Poetry Prize. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2022.

Biography

Fan was born and raised in Hong Kong and studied at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, before moving to the UK at the age of 21.[1] He completed his PhD at the University of York on Thom Gunn.[1] His first book of poetry, Paper Scissors Stone, published in 2011, won the Hong Kong University International Poetry Prize and his second, As Slow as Possible, released in 2018, was recommended by the Poetry Book Society, The Guardian and the Irish Times.[3]

His first novel, Diamond Hill, was written between 2016 and 2019[4] and he received a Northern Writers Award for it while in progress in 2018; it was published in May 2021.[5] It was described by The Guardian as "a thoroughly enjoyable and profound exploration of powerlessness, identity and the evolution of a city"[6] and by the Wall Street Journal as a "textured, unsettled portrait of a territory facing a decisive ending".[7] It is set in the Diamond Hill area of Hong Kong in 1987, when the area – once known for its film studios -– was a shanty town. The novel follows the narrator, a former heroin addict nicknamed Buddha [7] who has been sent to live in a nunnery (based on the Chi Lin Nunnery).[4]

Fan was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2022.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Kit Fan". Northern Writers Awards. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  2. ↑ "2018 BAME Prize: Kit Fan Q&A". 4th Estate. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  3. ↑ Ho, Tammy Lai-Ming; Lee, Jason Eng Hun (16 July 2019). "Hong Kong Poet Kit Fan: How 'Writing Poetry is Largely a Solo Act'". KITAAB. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  4. 1 2 Ho, Olivia (23 May 2021). "A rough Hong Kong shanty town comes to life in novel". The Straits Times. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  5. ↑ "An introduction to a seamy slice of Hong Kong—plus a convent". Kirkus. 27 January 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  6. ↑ Teo, Sharlene (21 May 2021). "Diamond Hill by Kit Fan review – pre-handover Hong Kong noir". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  7. 1 2 Sacks, Sam (30 April 2021). "Fiction: Rachel Cusk's 'Second Place' Review". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  8. ↑ "RSL Fellows | Kit Fan". Royal Society of Literature. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
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