Flora Qian - Breaking Censorship Through Language: One Writer's Journey from Shanghai to New York

Flora Qian is a writer born and raised in Shanghai who later lived in Hong Kong for over a decade before relocating to New York City. Her novel "South of the Yangtze" won the Proverse Prize, an international award for unpublished works in fiction and poetry. Drawing on her experiences growing up in 1980s China and living across multiple cultures, Flora's work explores themes of identity, language, censorship, and cultural displacement through the coming-of-age story of a young Chinese woman navigating complex political and personal landscapes.

In this episode:

• Flora's background and journey from Shanghai to Hong Kong to the US
• The inspiration behind "South of the Yangtze" and its themes
• Flora's writing process as a discovery rather than planning
• Working with a publicist to promote her work in a new country
• Writing in English as a way to bypass censorship
• Plans for future projects exploring motherhood and Chinese folk tales

Resources mentioned:

• Proverse Prize: https://proversepublishing.com/proverse-prize/
• Claire McKinney: https://www.clairemckinneypr.com/
• Picture This Post: https://www.picturethispost.com/

Book Recommendations:

• "The Fat Years" by Chan Koonchung - https://www.amazon.com/dp/0307742822?&linkCode=ll1&tag=pubperf-20&linkId=400c65572fa1761b41f901ed6233057c&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl
• "The Only Gaijin in the Village" by Iain Maloney - https://www.amazon.com/dp/184697514X?&linkCode=ll1&tag=pubperf-20&linkId=400c65572fa1761b41f901ed6233057c&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

Connect with Flora Qian:

• Website: http://floraqian.com
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/salutflora/
• Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13053607.Flora_Qian
• South of the Yangtze:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/9888833456?&linkCode=ll1&tag=pubperf-20&linkId=400c65572fa1761b41f901ed6233057c&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl 

Connect with Teddy Smith:

• @teddyagsmith
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