June 29th, 1.00pm – 1.55pm (PST) at Centre A: Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art
Set in 1869, the novel follows Pearl Ming Ju Wong, a young woman who, after being chosen as a ghost bride and thrown overboard en route to America, is swept into a dangerously impossible mission. Tasked with recovering a missing artifact vital to saving Chinatown, Pearl must also strike a precarious deal with an octopus yokai to find her missing sister.
What began as a short story for an East Asian female warrior anthology evolved into a full-length novel after the author deeply researched Chinatown’s rich history. After years of perseverance—through rejections, contests, and querying—JF Garrard’s manuscript evolved into a complete manuscript, picked up by a publisher and entered into a literary festival.
Join us as we celebrate the release of this exciting new xuanhuan fantasy novel set in the heart of 19th-century San Francisco Chinatown and learn about JF Garrard’s harrowing journey from short story to novel, the hidden histories behind the book, and what it takes to bring a unique vision to life.
JF Garrard is an award-winning speculative fiction writer, editor, publisher and host of The Artsy Raven podcast about writing and publishing. She is the President of Dark Helix Press, the Canadian Authors Association’s Toronto Branch President, and Deputy Editor for Ricepaper Magazine. Her portfolio of books and short fiction is listed on jfgarrard.com, and you can find her on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube @jfgarrard.
Centre A: Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, 268 Keefer St Unit 205, Vancouver, BC V6A 1X5
We would like to acknowledge that our festival takes place on the unceded traditional territories of the Skwxwú7mesh, Səl̓ílwətaɬ and xʷməθkwəy̓əm First Nations.
LiterASIAN 2025 